Tater Tots! Just the name itself sounds kid-friendly. I’d bet that in 1953 when Ore-Ida came up with how to make use of the leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes and created these little bites, they realized the name alone would be a huge selling point. Especially for kids. Accorfing to the company, Americans eat approximately 70 million pound of Tots each year and based on how often I ate them in my youth, I can only imagine that kids comprise a big part of that figure. Whether you remember them from the frozen food aisle at the grocery or your own school cafeteria, I’m sure you consumed at least a few of these crispy, deep fried potato nuggets in your day.
I’ve got nothing against the frozen potato tots that I grew up on, but this homemade recipe is really easy to make and so much more healthy and delicious then the frozen kind (no frying for starters — these are baked). But if you’re still nostalgic for frozen tots, just grab some more potatoes, double the recipe, and you’ll have plenty extra to freeze and enjoy at a later date. No more heading out to buy fried potatoes in a bag. Now your kids can discover all the joy of tots without you having to worry about all the fillers and additives of store bought brands. It’ll be like reliving your own youth — only healthier!
Potato Tots
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes, about 1 pound, cut into 2 inch cubes
- kosher salt
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
- Boil the potatoes in salted water in a pot for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain off all the water and cool the potatoes.
- Using the side of a box grater, grate all of the potatoes into a bowl.
- Place the flour, whisked egg and breadcrumbs in THREE separate bowls.
- Take about 1 tbsp of the potato mixture and shape into “tater tots”.
- Roll the tots into the flour, followed by the egg, then the panko bread crumbs, coating lightly.
- Place onto a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet and coat evenly with cooking spray.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
- To Freeze: Shape them into tots and freeze before you bake them – After freezing, just pop them in the oven from the freezer adding at least another 3-5 minutes baking time.
Would this work with sweet potatoes?
My daughter is allergic to eggs and gluten. Have you ever found anything that makes veggie burgers, potato pancakes, etc. stick together, OTHER THAN EGGS??
3-5 months!