Quick Fix: Loaded Tater Tots

Tater tots are the golden god of potato products. There is a local restaurant here that serves the little suckers loaded with a ton of cheese, chives, and bacon--but with all the blogging and the newspaper writing, and being a wife around these parts, I don't get to that particular restaurant much. So I decided to make them myself and share them with all of you!

This is not a healthy recipe--not even close. Besides that, I don't want to hear any complaints about the fact that it isn't healthy because sometimes you just need to indulge--with cheese on top!!! And this week, trust me, has been the sort of week that, as my former theater teacher would have said, makes me want to "stick my head in a vat of hot chocolate."


The best things in life start with bacon--like baconator! Or bacon sandwich. 


Get your green onions all chopped up and set 'em aside. 


When your bacon is done cooking, save the fat! It's great to use in place of butter. 


Crumble up your bacon into bits 


I know what you thinking, slices of cheese? Yes. It's what I had on hand--but this is the great part about this recipe! You can use whatever cheese you have on hand. Yes. Really. 


I don't generally buy ranch dressing, but in the name of gluttony, I did. I love ranch. It's my favorite guilty pleasure. Okay it's my 36th favorite guilty pleasure, but whatever. It's up there. 


You have to cook your tots about 20 minutes in the oven first, and then once they are done, top with cheese..... 


....and green onions... 


AND BACON! Then bake them again for 10 more minutes.... until..... 


They are toasty and melty and sooooo yummy that you can barely resist eating them all.... and then remember that you have to share because guilty pleasures are better when you share them! 

Loaded Tater Tots

Time: 30 minutes, start to finish | Serves 2 | Difficulty: Easy in a scary way 

You Will Need:

1/2 bag of tater tots (I don't care about the brand or anything like that) 
3 pieces of thick cut bacon 
2 green onions
3 slices of cheddar cheese 
Ranch dressing 
Catsup (optional) 

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 

While the oven preheats: heat a skillet on medium high heat. Add bacon and cook the bacon on either side until crispy and brown! (It will crumble more easily if it is cooked WELL, and by "well" I mean sort of burnt.) Once your bacon is done, crumble it up and set it aside... of course, it goes without saying that you are going to save your bacon fat, right? 

Put your tater tots in the oven and let them cook 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, slice the green onions and set them aside. 

After the 20 minutes, remove the tots from the oven and layer with cheese first (break it up unless you are using shredded cheddar--remember, it doesn't matter what form your cheese happens to be in, it all melts!), then the green onions, and then the bacon.

Return it to the oven for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is all melty and yummy!

Serve with ranch dressing and catsup, if desired. Note that the ranch dressing is NOT optional, but the catsup is.... heheh. 

1 comment: