Tater tots, especially the crispy golden variety, are a household favorite. In addition to being a delicious treat, they’re also a great mid-day snack for kids who are always on the go.
What should you do with any leftovers if you plan to use them in a different recipe the next day?
Reheating tater tots is a simple process. However, you have the option of reheating tater tots on the stovetop or in the air fryer if you prefer. Reheating them in the microwave will result in a soggy mess that will be a disappointment.
You’ll find out how to reheat tater tots in a variety of ways below!
Reheating Tater Tots In The Oven
The best way to reheat tater tots is in the oven. The tater tots will be crispy and golden brown from the oven’s dry heat, but they will remain soft on the inside.
Using the oven saves time because you can reheat a large number of tater tots at once, which means you can feed everyone at once.
To get the best results when reheating tater tots in the oven, follow these simple steps:
- Set the oven to 350°F and prepare the dish. Don’t rush the process of preheating the oven before adding the tater tots to be reheated.
- Spread the tater tots out on a baking sheet and lightly grease it. If possible, arrange them in a single layer with some breathing room between them so that they cook more crisply.
- Use aluminum foil to protect the baking pan and the tater tots.
- Leave them to bake and reheat in the oven for 15-25 minutes after placing the baking tray there. Keep an eye on the tater tots to make sure they don’t burn.
- Remove the tater tots from the oven and serve while they’re still hot, once they’ve been fully heated through.
The aluminum foil helps to keep the heat in while not drying out the tater tots too much during baking. It evenly reheats them, so when you take them out of the oven, they’re all nice and hot.
Reheating Tater Tots On The Stovetop
Reheating tater tots in a frying pan is a time-saving method. If you’re in a hurry and can’t wait for the oven to heat up, this is your second-best option for tater tots.
To reheat tater tots in the microwave, follow these steps:
- Set a large skillet over medium heat in the kitchen. To prevent the tater tots from sticking to the pan, add a small amount of oil to it.
If the pan appears to be too hot, turn the heat down a notch to prevent any burning. - Place the tater tots in the pan with care and keep an eye on them as they cook. Keep an eye on them in the frying pan because they’ll heat up quickly and you don’t want them to burn.
- Turning them frequently will help you cook them evenly on all sides.
- Remove the tater tots from the pan and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel after they have been reheated. As a result, excess oil will be absorbed.
- While the tater tots are still hot, serve them up!
Reheating tater tots on the stovetop in a frying pan is one of the quickest methods, but it comes with some risk.
You risk burning the tater tots if you don’t keep an eye on them or flip them over frequently.
Adding an excessive number of tater tots to the frying pan increases the risk of them not becoming crispy and even becoming soggy.
It’s possible that using too much oil will result in soggy tater tots that don’t crisp up properly. For lunch, nobody wants greasy tater tots!
Reheating Tater Tots In The Air Fryer
If you own an air fryer, it’s likely that you cooked the tater tots in it. Any tater tots left over can be reheated in the same way!
To reheat tater tots in an air fryer, follow these steps:
- Set the air fryer to 380 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the food. Before adding the tater tots, allow the skillet to come to room temperature.
- Reheat the tater tots for 5 minutes in the air fryer basket.
- After 5 minutes, check to see if the tater tots are reheated properly and remove them from the air fryer. If not, give them another 2 minutes in the air fryer and check to see if they’ve heated all the way through.
You won’t be able to tell the difference between reheated tater tots and freshly cooked tater tots when using an air fryer to reheat them. It’s a great tool that gets great results!
Reheating tater tots in the air fryer is one of the healthiest methods because no additional oil is needed. However, even after drying them out for a long time in the oven, they still remain moist and soft inside.
Can You Reheat Tater Tots In A Deep Fryer?
If you have a deep fryer, you can use it to reheat tater tots. It’s a great way to restore the original flavor of tater tots.
To cook tater tots, all you need to do is heat the oil to the correct temperature before adding the potatoes. They should only be in there for one or two minutes.
Lay out the tater tots on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil after they’ve been removed from the frying pan.
Avoid putting too many tater tots in the deep fryer at once because this could overcrowd it, lower the oil’s temperature, and prevent the tater tots from getting crispy.
Keep the already warmed tater tots warm in the oven while you reheat batches in the deep fryer!
Can You Reheat Tater Tots In The Microwave?
While it may be tempting to warm up the tater tots in the microwave for a few seconds, resist the urge.
If you’ve ever tried to reheat French fries in the microwave, you know that the results are always soggy.
Microwave reheating fails miserably with potato snacks like french fries and tater tots. This holds true for a wide variety of fried foods.
Using the oven, air fryer, or stovetop is the best option no matter how quickly you want your tater tots heated up.
You’ll be glad you took the extra time to reheat them properly because the results will be well worth the few extra minutes you had to wait.
Because a microwave does not provide the same dry heat as an oven or air fryer, fried foods like tater tots become soggy and moist in the microwave.
A microwave won’t make tater tots crispy and golden brown on the outside, which is what you want.
Teriyaki on the stovetop or in the air fryer will only take a few minutes longer than in the microwave, so don’t waste time with that.
The Best Way To Reheat Tater Tots
They make wonderful leftovers, especially if they’ve been properly warmed so that they taste almost identical to how the food originally tasted.
The oven is the best option for reheating them. You can crisp them up beautifully while keeping the inside moist and juicy, and you can heat up a large number of them at the same time this way.
Reheating tater tots in the air fryer or on the stovetop both work well. If you don’t use the microwave, your tots will be perfectly reheated.
Related Questions
Can You Reheat Tater Tots That Have Been Reheated Already?
Reheated tater tots cannot be reheated, sorry.
This holds true for virtually every kind of food. It’s more likely that food poisoning will occur if you reheat it more than once.
Reheat only what you intend to consume; if you have any reheated tater tots left over after that, discard them.
Can I Freeze Tater Tots That Have Been Cooked?
Cooked tater tots can be frozen for later use. Then, after they’ve been frozen, remove them from the freezer and place them in a large freezer bag, squeezing as much air out of the bag as you can before sealing it.
Before putting the tater tots in a freezer bag, spread them out on a baking sheet and freeze them that way.
If you use this method, the cookies will not stick together when frozen, and you can defrost just the ones you need to reheat.
How Long Can You Keep Tater Tots in the Fridge?
Tater tots will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Once you’ve finished, throw away anything that might be leftover.
Since their texture changes as they sit in the fridge, reheating them the next day will give you the best results.
When reheating leftovers, keep an eye out for telltale signs of spoilage, such as an off-putting smell or appearance.
