Crunchy, spicy, savory, and cheesy, these Totchos check all the boxes for game day, movie night, or a fun family dinner.
I’ll take almost any excuse to make a platter of nachos: game day, movie night, or even as a riff on Taco Tuesday! But what do you get when you swap out the tortilla chips with crunchy, golden Tater Tots, yet still stay true to all your favorite nacho toppings? You get totchos! And once you’ve tried them, your tortilla chips might never find their way under those toppings again.
If you are a Tater Tot lover like I am (and, really, who isn’t?), this dish is your idea of heaven. There’s just something really divine about how the crunchy, salty potato bites marry with the spicy ground beef, the sharp, melty cheese, and all of the other ingredients that can transform a beloved appetizer into a very fun meal. Just like nachos, you can easily eat totchos with your fingers, but they’re pretty awesome scooped into a bowl and devoured with a fork!
No matter how you choose to eat them, you’ll be pretty happy when you discover how easy totchos are to make. While the Tater Tots are in the oven, brown your ground beef and add the taco seasoning. Spoon the seasoned meat over the Tots, pile on the cheese, and back into the oven it goes for the melting. When that’s done, sprinkle on your favorite toppings: as you can see in our recipe, we love tomato, avocado, jalapeño, black olives, and red onion, but you do you! And enjoy.
Customize your totchos
We love this totchos recipe with the taco meat and melted cheddar, but you can customize totchos in all sorts of ways. Perhaps you’re trying to cut down on red meat but still crave totchos. Replace the ground beef with browned ground chicken, turkey, or pork; you can even use shredded or pulled chicken or pork. Or maybe you want to up your red meat game and please the steak and potato lovers in your house? Try topping totchos with bite-sized pieces of leftover steak (or cook up a fresh one). Want to keep totchos vegetarian? That’s easy! Just replace the taco meat with seasoned black or pinto beans.
How do I store leftovers?
Totchos are best eaten right away; that said, while they will last up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the Tater Tots can get soggy and the fresh toppings limp. If you have leftovers and need to store them, here’s our advice: if possible, store the Tots, meat, and cheese in an airtight container and the toppings separately; then heat the totchos base in the oven or air fryer to crisp the spuds back up, and serve with your fresh toppings. We don’t recommend freezing totchos.
Serving suggestions
Any condiments you normally serve with nachos are delicious with totchos. We love Salsa, The Best Queso Ever, Mexican Crema, and Avocado Crema. We also love totchos with Green Enchilada Sauce. And even though totchos really are a meal unto themselves, they pair very well with Tex-Mex sides, like Fajita Veggies on a bed of Mexican Rice (yes, you can have potatoes and rice in the same meal!). And save room for dessert, especially if it’s Tres Leches Cake or crispy Sopapillas with a side of The Best Chocolate Sauce Ever.
Totchos Recipe
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen Tater Tots
- 16 ounces lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tomato diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 jalapeño thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup black olives sliced
- 1/2 red onion finely diced
- Sour cream for serving
- Fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Spread the Tater Tots in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the Tater Tots for 20-30 minutes until crispy and golden.
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until browned, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain any excess fat, then stir in the taco seasoning and water. Let it simmer for 5-6 minutes until the flavors blend.
- Remove the crispy Tots from the oven. Spoon the seasoned ground beef evenly over them and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Return the sheet to the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.
- Top your totchos with diced tomato, avocado, sliced jalapeños, black olives, red onion, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. Serve immediately while hot.
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