These tater tot waffles are a fun twist on tater tots as an appetizer. These crispy tot waffles are a perfect bite for game night, Super Bowl parties, casual entertaining, or movie nights! Plus, they’re so easy to make.
WE. LOVE. TOTS! Spicy or plain, loaded or dipped in ketchup, tater tots are the perfect comfort food! Now we've upped the tot amazingness by making waffle tater tots for a fun, delicious appetizer!
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Ingredients
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
- Frozen tater tots. We start with frozen tater tots. You can definitely use homemade tots if you like.
- Spices. Some paprika and cayenne add a little kick.
- Toppings. We top these waffle tots with a little sour cream, crispy chopped bacon, and sliced green onion.
How to Make Waffle Iron Tater Tots
Basic Order of Operations
- Waffle Iron: Preheat the waffle iron. We like ours on the high setting to ensure a crispy waffle tot.
- Tater Tots: Use frozen or homemade tater tots for this recipe. Make sure the tots are defrosted before placing in the waffle iron.
- Spices: Toss your defrosted tots with the spices. We used a bit of paprika and cayenne for our tots.
- Place tots in the waffle iron and close the lid. Our waffle iron doesn't have a latching top so we like to press down on the top of the lid to press the tots into the waffle grills. Make sure to use a heavy duty pot holder or multi-folded towel if you are pressing on the top of the waffle iron lid - it will be very hot!
- Once the tots are done, remove them from the waffle iron. NOTE: The cook time will depend on your waffle iron and how hot it is set. Our waffle iron, on high, took 5-8 minutes per batch to cook.
- Serve with your favorite toppings!
How Many Tater Tots to Use
We tested our tater tot waffle bites in a 1-tot bite, a 3-tot bite, and a full tot size waffle where everyone just breaks off their own piece. While they are all great, we liked the 1-tot and 3-tot bites the best. They were easy to make, easy to just pop in your mouth, and the most fun to eat!
HOW TO LOAD THE WAFFLE IRON FOR DIFFERENT SIZE TOT BITES
- 1-tot waffle bite. Place one tot in a single layer with space between each tot.
- 3-tot waffle bite. Position two tots, touching, side by side and a third tot on top of the other two tots facing the opposite direction. Note: we tried these many different ways. The third tot across the top of the side-by-side tots helps hold the tot bite together. Otherwise, they sometimes fall apart when you pick them up.
- Full size tot waffles. Fill the waffle iron by placing tots, touching, side by side. If you want to help the waffle stay together easier, place another layer of tots across the bottom layer, going the opposite direction, before closing the lid. A full size tot waffle takes extra time to crisp up.
Time Saver and Make Ahead Tips
We like to make things from scratch, but when we're making appetizers and find a solid shortcut, like using frozen tater tots, we're all in! Of course, extra points to you if you make your own tots!
Use pre-made dips and sauces.
Make the tater tot waffle bites in advance and keep warm in a 170-200°F oven if serving right away. Tater tot waffles can also be made up to a day in advance and placed in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. Remove from the fridge and heat in a single layer in a 200°F oven. Tot waffles can start getting soggy if refrigerated much longer than a day or two. For best results use them within 24 hours.
Some Favorite Riffs
- Use your favorite dipping sauce; ketchup, blue cheese dip, or cheese sauce are all great!
- Use homemade tater tots, frozen tater circles, or even shredded hash browns in 1-2 Tablespoon heaps.
- Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper; more for spicier bites and less for milder bites.
- Add some smoked cayenne pepper or chipotle pepper.
How to Serve Tater Tot Waffle Bites
We like serving these like we would chips and dip. Tot waffles in a bowl, basket, or on a board/platter with a dish of dip next to the tot bites. Serve with small bowls of different dips so your guests can try them all and select their favorite!
We served these tots with a simple sour cream sauce made with sour cream, a bit of lemon juice, and chives (recipe included). We topped some with bacon and cheese and they were delicious! Other ideas for toppings: ketchup, spicy mustard, cheese sauce, crispy bacon or prosciutto, blue cheese dip, or a caramelized onion dip!
Other Favorite Potato Appetizers
Common FAQ's
We tried just pouring the tots into the waffle iron and cooking but they came out in clumps that fell apart when we picked them up. While you can just dump them in, we like the bites when they have more 'holding power' that comes from placing them purposefully in the waffle iron. It only takes an extra minute to place them and we think it is worth the time.
If you want them to stay warm for longer than 20 minutes or so, we recommend using a chafing dish. Place a linen napkin in the bottom of the food pan to keep the tot waffles from becoming soggy. What is a chafing dish? A chafing dish uses heat, usually from sterno, to heat water in a pan. A food pan rests inside the water pan so the food is indirectly heated from the warm water.
📖 Recipe
Tater Tot Waffle Bites
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 60-70 1-tot bites 1x
Description
Tater tot waffles are a fun twist on tater tots as an appetizer. The perfect bite for game night, Super Bowl parties, casual entertaining, or movie nights! Plus, they’re so easy to make.
Ingredients
DIP
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon chives, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
TOT WAFFLE BITES
- 1 ½ pound frozen tater tots, thawed
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking spray
Instructions
MAKE DIP
- Mix sour cream, chopped chives, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Stir until combined. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired.
- Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve tot waffle bites.
TOT WAFFLE BITES
- Heat waffle iron to high setting.
- Mix paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined.
- Add thawed tater tots to the bowl and toss until well coated.
- Spray the plates of the waffle maker with cooking spray to keep the tots from sticking.
- Place seasoned tater tots in the hot waffle iron.
• For 1-tot bite: Place one tot in a single layer with space between each tot.
• For 3-tot bite: Position two tots, touching, side by side and a third tot on top of the other two tots facing the opposite direction. Leave about ½ inch between groups of tots.
• For full size tot waffle: Fill the waffle iron by placing tots, touching, side by side. If you want to help the waffle stay together easier, place another layer of tots across the bottom layer, going the opposite direction, before closing the lid. - Close the lid and using hot pads, press down on the top of the waffle iron to press the tots together.
- Cook until crispy, about 5-7 minutes. This will depend on your waffle iron and the temperature.
- Lift lid and carefully remove the tater tot waffle bites. Repeat until all tots are cooked.
- Serve with dip on the side.
Notes
How many tots? Make these tater tot waffle bites any size you want. We like the 1-tot bite and the 3-tot bites the best. But mix it up and have fun! 1 ½ pound of tots makes approximately:
• 60-70 1-tot bites
• 20-24 3-tot bites
• one full size tot waffle
Arranging the tots in the waffle maker. We think it makes a much better tot waffle bite if you take the extra minute to arrange the tots in the waffle iron. See photos above for how we arranged the tots for 1-tot bites, 3-tot bites, and a full tot waffle size.
How to serve the tot waffle bites. We like serving this like a dip and chip. Waffle tot bites in a dish and dips on the side. Keep waffle tots warm in a linen lined chafing dish while serving.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tot waffle bite
- Calories: 19
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 90.5 mg
- Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0.6 mg
Dev D says
Oooof potatoes in the waffle iron are my new fav thing!! Adding that little dollop of sour cream elevates it even further
Team Appetizer Bliss says
WAHOO! So happy to hear you loved these waffle bites!