Loaded Tater Tot Cups

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Loaded Tater Tot Cups are a fun finger food that you can fill with your favorite baked potato toppings. Perfectly portable for game day, parties, and family gatherings.

Prep Time5

Cook Time28

Total Time33

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 160kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

1 pound frozen tater tots or half of a 32 ounce bag
¾ cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
⅓ cup sour cream
½ cup bacon crumbles
⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions also known as green onions

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Divide the frozen tater tots between the 12 cups (4-5 tater tots per single muffin cup) of a standard muffin pan.
1 pound frozen tater tots
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove the muffin pan from the oven, and using the flat bottom of a small glass, press down in the center of the tater tots, giving a light twist while pressing down, until the tater tots for a cup in the muffin cup. Repeat with the remaining tater tots until all the tater tot cups have been formed.
Return the muffin pan to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the muffin pan from the oven and add 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese to each of the centers of the tater tot cups.
¾ cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
Return the muffin pan to the oven and bake another 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Remove the cheese filled tater tot cups from the oven and allow them to rest in the muffin pan for 3-4 minutes.
Carefully run a butter knife, or a small offset spatula, around the edges of each of the tater tot cups to ensure they do not stick when lifting them out from the muffin cups and onto a serving platter.
Remove the tater tot cups from the muffin pan (a small offset spatula works well for this) and place them onto a serving platter.
Top each of the tater tot cups with a dollop (approximately 1 - ½ teaspoon sized) of sour cream to the center of each of the loaded tater tot cups, a sprinkle of bacon crumbles and thinly sliced scallions.
⅓ cup sour cream, ½ cup bacon crumbles, ⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Reheat: Reheat in the oven or air fryer at 350ºF for 10 minutes or until warmed.
Make Ahead: You can pre-bake and form the tater tot cups up to the point of adding and melting the cheese. At this point, you will need to allow the tater tot cups to cool completely in the pan, then cover the pan with plastic wrap. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the muffin pan and bake the formed tater tot cups in a 400* F preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until crispy. Add the cheese and toppings as directed in the recipe before serving.

Tips:

I find that most name brands of frozen tater tots already have plenty of oil added to them that no oil, or non-stick spray, is needed for the muffin cups to prevent sticking. If you are worried about your tater tot cups sticking to the muffin pan, you can certainly spray a light coating of non-stick spray to each of the muffin cups before adding the frozen tater tots.
This recipe can easily be doubled to use the entire 32 ounce bag of frozen tater tots. You will need two standard muffin pans if doubling the recipe.
You can substitute the cheddar cheese with a cheddar-jack blend or colby jack cheese. Any of these are wonderful melting cheeses and they pair well with the other toppings.
You can substitute finely chopped chives for the scallions as a topping for these loaded tater tot cups.
For the crumbled bacon, you can make your own by frying (according to package directions) 6 slices of center cut bacon then crumbling it. You can also use microwaveable, fully-cooked, bacon and heat it according to package directions before crumbling. Another great short cut is store bought bacon bits that are found in the aisle where salad dressings, and toppings, are found.

Nutrition