The variations of tater tot nachos are vegetarian tater tot nachos, spicy Chorizo tater tot nachos, Breakfast or "Brunch" Totcho", BBQ Pulled Pork Tater Tot Nachos, Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Nachos and Classic "Tex-Mex" Totchos.
Vegetarian tater tot nachos is a variation of the regular tater tot nachos, where you avoid the meat entirely and instead load up the tater tot nachos using other protein like beans, seasoned black beans, pinto beans, sauteed bell peppers, corn and fresh avocado.
Spicy Chorizo tater tot nachos is a variation of tater tot nachos where you kick up the heat by topping the potato base or tater tot base with crumbled pork or soy chorizo, pickled jalapenos and a fiery salsa verde.
BBQ Pulled Pork tater tot nachos is where you swap the beef for slow cooked pulled pork or shredded BBQ chicken, then you finish it with a drizzle of barbecue sauce, gouda or mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Buffalo Chicken tater tot nachos is a variation of tater tot nachos that involves tossing shredded rotisserie chicken in some spicy Buffalo sauce, drizzling with cool ranch dressing and topping it with some blue cheese crumbles and sliced green onions.
And Classic "Tex-Mex" or Totchos is where you smother the crispy tater tots with seasoned ground beef or some turkey, shredded cheddar cheese or shredded Monterey Jack cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole and even a generous dollop of sour cream.
The best way to layer tater tot nachos is to spread half of the hot and crispy tater tots onto a cast iron skillet or on an oven safe serving platter or baking sheet.
Then sprinkle a base layer of shredded cheese like Pepper Jack Cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese or Cheddar cheese and if you want, you can drizzle with some warm queso as well.
Next add half of the cooked meats or hearty ingredients to the tater tot nachos like seasoned ground beef, shredded chicken, black beans and or chorizo.
For the second layer of the tater tot nachos, layer your remaining cooked tater tots on top, followed by another generous handful of shredded cheese, more queso and then the rest of the meats and beans.
And for the cheese, treat the cheese as being both a binder and flavor booster and layer the cheese throughout to ensure that every bite has melted cheese, instead of just the top layer.
Then place the fully loaded baking sheet or over safe platter back into your oven at 400 F for 3 minutes to 5 minutes until the cheese has melted beautifully and is bubbling.
Then for the fresh cold toppings, once the tater tot nachos are out of the oven, immediately start piling on the lighter and fresh toppings so that they don't lose their texture or wilt.
You can then also finish the tater tot nachos with some Pico de gallo, diced red onion, sour cream, guacamole, sliced jalapenos, and fresh cilantro.
Some ways you can spice up tater tot nachos are by adding some hot sauce, jalapeno peppers, crushed red pepper or even some BBQ sauce.
You can also add some spicy chipotle sauce, jalapeno Ranch dressing, habanero salsa, pickled jalapenos or even pickled red onions.
You can also use a warm, creamy queso or a homemade chili con queso or top the tater tot nachos with queso fresco or cotija for a salty authentic pop.
The kind of cheese that is best for tot nachos or tater tot nachos is a blend of Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.
The Monterey Jack cheese or Colby Jack cheese are great for supreme, stretchy meltability and the sharp cheddar cheese is perfect for bold flavor for your tot nachos or tater tot nachos.
A good alternative cheese for tot nachos or tater tot nachos is Velveeta cheese or even queso sauce, which also ensures that you get maximum coverage without making the crispy tater tots soggy.
To make tater tot nachos, start by baking a bag of frozen tater tots on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 425 F for 20 minutes or so until extra crispy.
Then layer the crispy tater tots with any of your favorite nacho toppings such as beans, taco meat, ground beef and shredded cheese and then broil the tater tot nachos until the cheese is melted.
You can add any ingredients to the tater tot nachos that you prefer including even lettuce, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers or anything else you desire.
Another good topping for tater tot nachos that I love to put on my tater tot nachos are some pieces of sliced bacon.
To make your tater tots really crispy, cook the tater tots longer and at higher temperatures than what the packaging instructions say to cook the tater tots at.
Most packaging instructions for tater tots will underestimate the actual cooking time needed to fully evaporate the moisture and build a deeply and caramelized crust for the tater tots.
If cooking your tater tots in a deep fryer, use a deep fryer thermometer to ensure that the oil is heated to 350 F to 375F.
And fry the tater tots in small batches as frying the tater tots in large batches at once lowers the oil temperature and causes the tater tots to absorb grease and turn then soggy.
And never drop the fried tater tots after frying them onto a flat plate.
Instead rest the fried tater tots on a metal wire cooling rack set over a paper towel lined baking sheet to allow air to circulate underneath.
If air frying the tater tots, preheat the air fryer to 400 F before adding the tater tots.
And arrange your frozen tater tots in a strict single layer so that the air from your air fryer can hit every side.
And lightly mist the tater tots with an oil spray like Pam Cooking Spray to help the heat transfer.
And shake the tater tots frequently when air frying them.
Cook the tater tots in the air fryer for 15 minutes to 20 minutes and during this time be sure to shake the air fryer basket every 4 to 5 minutes vigorously to ensure the tater tots get uniform browning.
If cooking the tater tots in the oven.
Preheat your oven to 425 F to 450 F.
And leave the empty baking sheet inside the oven while it also preheats as placing frozen tater tots on to a hot metal pan directly sears the bottoms of the tater tots instantly.
And use fat generously.
Toss the frozen tater tots directly into a tablespoon of melted vegetable oil, duck fat or even some savory bacon grease right on the pan before you bake the tater tots.
And plan to bake the tater tots for 35 minutes to 45 minutes and turn the tater tots over halfway through baking, instead of the standard 20 minutes that is printed on the bag.