Crispy Air Fryer Tater Tots

A classic childhood favorite, air fryer tater tots come out perfectly crispy every single time in 15 minutes of less! Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, you're going to want to snack on the whole bag yourself!

Thanks to the air fryer, you can achieve super crispy tater tots that taste like they've been deep fried without the need to fry them in a vat of oil! The air fryer gets the tater tots oh so crispy with only a spritz of oil, just like these air fryer frozen french fries.

You won't even miss the deep fried version after you've made them at home. Whether it's at a fairground or at an old-school diner, tater tots are always welcomed. But why confine tots eating to just that!

While getting deep fried tater tots is an option, I find that they lose their crisp by the time I get home. But with the air fryer you can get crispy tater tots in no time at home!

You can make it a whole fried food meal without the grease and heaviness of a deep fried using the air fryer! Try these air fryer popcorn shrimp, air fryer chicken tenders or even these air fryer pizza rolls to go along with these crispy tater tots.

And you can even have dessert with air fryer cheesecake or air fryer churros. It's awesome because it's ultra easy to use and food comes out so good!

Why this air fryer tater tots recipe works

• It doesn't require turning on the oven (and waiting for it to preheat!) to cook 1 to 2 servings of tater tots. Perfect for when you're having a lazy day and just want to snack on some tots.
• It's faster to air fry tater tots them than it is to cook frozen tater tots in the oven! It's great for when you're in a rush or you have hungry children in the kitchen after school.
• The tater tots are way crispier than if you had baked them in the oven. It's difficult to achieve this level of crispiness at home without the air fryer!

The ingredients for air fryer frozen tater tots

For this recipe, you won’t believe that you only need three simple ingredients!

Bag of frozen tater tots — You may see them labeled as potato puffs, tater puffs, potato tots, etc. They're all the same and can be cooked in the air fryer in the same way. Pick your favorite brand! You can even use the sweet potato version.

Cooking spray oil — I'm partial to canola oil and grapeseed oil for my air fryer.

The full list of ingredients and cooking instructions is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Variations and substitutions

• Substitute sweet potato tots for the regular tater tots.
• Spice up your tater tots by seasoning them with homemade Creole seasoning, simple salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, Old Bay, Montreal Steak seasoning or any seasoning of your choosing.

Step by step instructions to make tater tots in the air fryer

If your air fryer requires it, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Spray the bottom of the air fryer lightly with cooking spray. Place the frozen tater tots in a single layer in the bottom of the air fryer (don't stack them) and spray them with oil.

2. Lightly sprinkle them with salt. Cook on 400 degrees for a cooking time of 15 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes.

3. Let them cool a minute or two then take them out and serve them with ketchup, ranch dressing (the boyfriend's favorite), or my personal favorite, this Cajun remoulade (it's so good guys).

Can also be served with a steak, like this milk steak or this sous vide ribeye! We love theses crispy fried tater tots served at breakfast with this ultra crispy sous vide bacon and these perfect sous vide scrambled eggs.

You can also use these crispy tots in a casserole, top them with cheese, chives, bacon, and sour cream to make loaded tater tots, or just serve them alongside our favorite pork belly sandwich or air fryer chicken tenders.

Expert tips

1. Be sure not to skip shaking the air fryer basket. You want them to evenly cook and shaking the basket helps with that.
2. If you want to add more tater tots, make sure you don't fill your basket more than half way. For the least variation in crispiness, a single layer in the air fryer is best.
3. When spraying oil in the air fryer basket, be sure to use real cooking oil and not PAM as it's not ideal for your air fryer.
4. Air fryers may vary so you might have to take a peek inside your air fryer basket at the 10 minute mark and see if it needs to full 15 minutes.
5. For extra crispness, you can add 1-2 minutes to the air fry time. For less crispness, cook tater tots for 1-2 minutes less.
6. I only use the spray oil if I need seasoning to stick to them. Otherwise, I would just skip it.

Dipping sauces for tater tots

• My favorite, good old classic ketchup!
• Ranch dressing or even ranch mixed wit ketchup is another household favorite.
• Honey mustard sauce
• Sriracha or any other hot sauce you like
• Creamy chipotle sauce or horseradish sauce
• A mixture of mustard and mayonnaise

Frequently asked questions

More air fryer recipes

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