Tater Tots

By Mark Bittman

Tater Tots
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(355)
Comments
Read comments

There's no need to peel the new potatoes for these otherwise labor-intensive tots, which are little short of a revelation. Serve with ketchup, of course.

Featured in: Yukon Gold Standard

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:About 40 tots
  • 2pounds new potatoes, left unpeeled
  • 1tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon pepper
  • 1teaspoon garlic powder
  • Canola or other neutral oil
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (40 servings)

21 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 49 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Scrub potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place in a medium pot covered with cold water and bring to a boil. Parboil potatoes until tender, drain them and let them cool slightly. Grate potatoes in a food processor, then squeeze out excess liquid.

  2. Step 2

    Place potatoes in a large bowl and use a light hand to mix with cornstarch, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, add canola oil to a depth of ½ inch in a heavy-bottomed skillet set over medium heat.

  4. Step 4

    When oil is hot, form thumb-size balls of the potato mixture and fry until golden, about 15 seconds per side.

  5. Step 5

    Drain on paper towels, and let tots cool. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet, transfer to oven and bake until crisp, about 10 to 20 minutes, turning once.

Ratings

4 out of 5
355 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Barbara

The original article has one small additional step: after the parboil and grating, squeeze out excess liquid.

Shiphrah

In my experience, potato starch rather than corn starch leads to a particularly crispy fried product.

Emily Weinstein, Deputy Food Editor

Thanks — we've added that to the recipe here.

Brooke

This recipe was a mess for me. Not sure where I went wrong, but it took a terrible turn when I tried to roll up the tots into a log. It stuck to everything - my hands, my hair, the cabinets as stuff flung around. They fell apart in the fryer and I almost cried. But they did taste good. Just looked more like blown up hashbrowns than tater tots.

1981virago

Have made this twice, and they’re insanely delicious. I feel like I haven’t quite nailed the right amount to parboil the potatoes- if you cook them all the way I feel like while shaping you have to be careful otherwise you make fried mashed potato balls (which are as delicious as they sound so no real foul), but in order to maintain the texture of tater tots I’d recommend par boiling to “al dente” and using a light hand when shaping.

Penny Ward Wolfson

For those without a food processor, I’m wondering if a potato ricer might work & be less time consuming than a box grater...

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.