Easy homemade Air Fryer Tater Tots - perfectly golden and crispy in the air fryer every time! This recipe is gluten free, kids friendly and made to a vegan-friendly recipe using Maris Piper potatoes alongside delicious seasonings. These tater tots are simply perfect served alongside tasty dips, such as tomato ketchup or egg-free mayo.
This air fryer recipe is:
- homemade and kid friendly
- 100% vegan and plant based
- egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free!
- easy to make & simply delicious
- better than frozen tater tots
- using only natural ingredients & made from Maris Piper or Russet potatoes
- crispy & made in an air fryer
This tater tots recipe are one of my favorite air fryer recipes as it's so easy and delicious to make and works well served with homemade tomato ketchup, vegan mayo, Vegan BBQ Sauce or other dips - such as this Spicy Butter Bean Dip. They are super easy to make and they turn out wonderfully golden and crispy in the air fryer each time.
If you love using your air fryer, definitely give these Crispy Air Fryer Gnocchi a try and make some Easy Air Fryer Burgers for dinner this week!
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Why this recipe works
There are a few things I love about this recipe:
- it's so easy to make! All you need is an air fryer and the right type of potato (more details below!)
- they turn out crispy and golden every time
- the air fryer is such a quick and easy way to prepare tater tots
- the recipe uses only natural ingredients and compared to store-bought tater tots you know exactly what goes into them
- there are no black spots in homemade tater tots, which happens occasionally with frozen tater tots
- they taste better than frozen tater tots
- they are easy to make from scratch and a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen!
- they are lower in fat compared to frozen tater tots
- the air fryer tater tots are ready in just a few minutes!
Ingredients & Notes
The recipe for these air fryer tater tots is pretty straightforward and uses only a few simple ingredients:
- Maris Piper potatoes: The star of the show - the humble potato! It's a great all-rounder and becomes wonderfully crispy and crunchy in the air fryer. Just how I like my tater tots! The key is to use a starchy type of potato. Instead of Maris Piper, you can also opt for Russet or King Edward potatoes which are all on the starchy side.
- Salt: The salt in this recipe is divided between the potato cooking water and the additions to the tater tots.
- Spices and seasonings: For this air fryer tater tots recipe I've used onion granules, dried thyme, nutmeg, garlic powder and black pepper, which gives these tater tots a well rounded flavor that works well with your favorite dips and sauces.
- Oil spray: to lightly coat the air fryer and tater tots to prevent them from sticking.
What type of potatoes to use for tater tots?
The best type of potatoes to use for this air fryer recipe are starchy potatoes. I have used Maris Piper potatoes on this occasion, which are a great all-rounder potato with a high starch content, but you could use either of the following:
- Maris Piper
- Russet
- King Edward
Equipment:
- Air fryer: The one I use is from Ninja Kitchen and called the 'Ninja Foodi'. Learn more about Best Practises for Using an Air Fryer in this post.
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 large mixing bowl
- grater or food processor with grater attachment
Instructions (Step-by-Step)
You can make these homemade Tater Tots in just a few simple steps! Please read through all of the steps and details below to allow for some successful tots.
Step 1: Prepare the potatoes for your tots
Place the potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover them with water. Bring it to a boil and cook the potatoes for 9-10 minutes, then drain the water. Pierce the potatoes with a fork and carefully peel them with a small knife. Set aside to cool down until they are cool enough to handle.
Grate the potatoes into a large bowl - you can use a food processor to make it easier/quicker.
Step 2:
Season the shredded potatoes with sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, and black pepper.
Mix until well combined.
Step 3:
Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the mix and shape a tater tot with wet hands. Repeat until the potato mix is used up and place the tater tots onto a lined tray.
Thinly coat the homemade potato tots with the cooking spray.
Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (204°C) and set the timer to 15 minutes. Once your air fryer is preheated, place a layer of tater tots into the fryer basket without the tots touching.
After 5 minutes of cooking time, carefully open the air fryer and give the tater tots a little toss. Repeat after another 5 minutes to allow for even cooking. If needed, add another 3-5 minutes to the cooking time (this might depend on your air fryer).
Once done, transfer the cooked tater tots into an oven dish and keep them warm in the oven at low temperature whilst you cook the rest of the tater tots in the air fryer.
They're now ready to enjoy!
If you make this tater tots recipe at home, I would love to hear how it turned out! Please leave a recipe rating and let me know what you thought. 😊
How to Serve Tater Tots
There are a few different and delicious ways to enjoy tater tots. I personally just love them dipped into tomato ketchup or vegan mayo - or also drizzled with some melty vegan cheese (oof!).
Here are a few more delicious options of what to serve with tater tots, in case you fancy trying something new:
Frequently Asked Questions
Starchy potatoes such as Maris Piper, Kind Edward or Russet potatoes work best for this recipe.
I personally use a Ninja Foodi which is booth an air fryer and health grill - and allround fantastic multi-purpose device that I can only recommend.
In my personal air fryer, the Ninja Foodi, the tater tots need at total of 15 minutes at 400°F (204°C) to become golden. If you use a different device, the cooking time might vary slightly. I recommend checking in on them every 5 minutes to turn or shake up the tater tots and add an additional 3-5 minutes to the cooking time if needed.
This recipe can easily be adapted to your own air fryer model! There's, unfortunately, no magic to finding out how long your own air fryer needs to make crispy tater tots, but what I recommend:
- make sure to let the air fryer preheat to 400°F (204°C) before adding the tater tots to the fryer basket.
- start with setting the time to xx minutes and check on the tater tots after 5 and after 10 minutes. You might have to adjust the cooking time to be slightly longer or shorter depending on your air fryer, so I recommend checking in regularly to make sure you don't overcook yours.
- give the tater tots a little toss during the air frying process to ensure they cook evenly and get crispy on all sides.
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Air Fryer Tater Tots
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 grater or food processor
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 35 oz Maris Piper Potatoes (1 kg)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- oil spray
Instructions
- Place the potatoes into a saucepan and cover with water, then add half of the salt. Cook the Maris Pipter potatoes for 9-10 minutes, then drain and carefully remove the potato skins. Allow for them to cool down until ready to handle.
- Grate the potatoes into a large bowl and add the rest of the salt, onion powder, thyme, nutmeg, garlic powder, and black pepper. Mix to combine well.
- Shape bite-size tater tots with your hands and preheat your air fryer to 400°F (204°C).
- Spray a little oil spray into the basket of your air fryer and place a layer of tater tots across the air fryer basket without them touching. Spray a little oil onto the tater tots to lightly coat them and fry the tots for 15 minutes, turning them about every 5 minutes.
- Once golden, remove them from the air fryer and enjoy alongside your favorite dips!
Notes
- The best potatoes to use for this recipe are starchy potatoes, such as Russet, Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes.
- The cooking time might vary depending on your air fryer. Check in on the tater tots every couple of minutes and add a few extra minutes, if needed, until they're golden.
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