How To Reheat Tater Tots
Who doesn’t love a crispy golden side serving of tater tots? They are the perfect comfort food and the perfect snack for hungry toddlers during the day.
If you make a little extra and want to keep some to add to a meal the next day, what can you do?
How do you reheat tater tots? The best way to reheat tater tots is in the oven, but you can also choose to reheat them on the stovetop or in the air fryer. Avoid reheating them in the microwave, as you will be left with a soggy, disappointing mess.
Below is all you need to know about reheating tater tots using a few different methods!
Reheating Tater Tots In The Oven
Reheating tater tots in the oven is the best way to do so. The dry heat of the oven ensures that the tater tots will be crispy and golden on the outside, but still soft on the inside.
Using the oven is great, as you can also reheat a large number of tater tots in one go, feeding everyone without having to reheat in batches!
Here is how to reheat tater tots in the oven for the best results:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. The oven needs to be heated fully before you place tater tots inside to be reheated, so don’t try and cut the time short.
- Lightly grease a baking tray and layer the tater tots on the pan. Try to have them in a single layer and with a bit of space between them; crowding them won’t give you the same crispiness.
- Cover the baking tray and the tater tots with aluminum foil.
- Place the baking tray into the oven and leave them to bake and reheat for 15-25 minutes. Check on the tater tots every now and then to prevent them from burning.
- Once the tater tots have heated through fully, remove them from the oven and serve while still hot.
The aluminum foil helps to keep the heat in, without drying out the tater tots. It reheats them evenly so all are nice and hot once removed from the oven.
Reheating Tater Tots On The Stovetop
A quick and easy way to reheat tater tots is by using a frying pan. If you cannot wait for the oven to warm up and you are desperate for some tater tots, this is the second best option.
Here’s how to reheat tater tots on the stove:
- Place a large skillet on the stovetop on medium heat. Add some oil to the pan to prevent tater tots from sticking to the bottom.
- If it looks like the pan is too hot, reduce the heat slightly to avoid any burning.
- Place the tater tots carefully into the pan and watch them as they heat. They will heat up very quickly in the frying pan, so keep watch on them to ensure that they do not burn.
- Heat them evenly on all sides, flipping them over often.
- Once the tater tots have been reheated, remove them from the pan and place them onto a plate that is lined with a paper towel. This will help to soak up excess oil.
- Serve the tater tots while they’re still warm!
Using a frying pan and the stovetop to reheat tater tots is one of the quickest ways to have them hot and ready to eat, but it does come with some risk.
If you do not watch the tater tots constantly, or flip them over, they might burn and stick to the bottom of the pan.
If you put too many tater tots into the frying pan, they might not become crispy and might even end up soggy.
Too much oil might also ruin the tater tots, with them soaking up all the oil and not crisping up properly. Nobody wants an oily tater tot for lunch!
Reheating Tater Tots In The Air Fryer
If you have an air fryer at home, chances are that you used it in the first place to cook the tater tots. You can then also use it to reheat any leftover tater tots too!
Here is how to reheat tater tots in the air fryer:
- Preheat the air fryer to 380°F. Allow it to heat up fully before placing the tater tots in.
- Place the tater tots into the air fryer basket and leave to reheat for 5 minutes.
- Check the tater tots after 5 minutes and remove them from the air fryer if they are reheated well. If not, place them back into the air fryer for another 2 minutes, checking again to see if they have heated through properly.
When using the air fryer to reheat the tater tots, you will probably not even notice a difference between reheated ones and freshly cooked tater tots. It offers up some great results!
The air fryer is also one of the healthiest ways to reheat tater tots, as you do not need to add any extra oil when reheating. The dry heat helps them crisp up and stay a gorgeous golden brown, while still being moist and soft on the inside.
Can You Reheat Tater Tots In A Deep Fryer?
You can reheat tater tots in a deep fryer if you have one at home. It is a great way to get the tater tots back to how they were originally.
You would just need to preheat the oil until it is at the right temperature, and then place the tater tots in for a few minutes, two minutes at most.
Remove the tater tots from the oil and lay them on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Avoid placing too many tater tots in the deep fryer at one time, as this could overcrowd it, bring down the temperature of the oil, and not allow the tater tots to crisp up properly.
While you are reheating batches of tater tots in the deep fryer, keep the already warmed ones in the oven on low heat!
Can You Reheat Tater Tots In The Microwave?
As tempting as it might be to put the tater tots in the microwave for a little bit to warm up quickly, you should not do this.
Think of it the same way you would with reheating French fries – putting them in the microwave just leaves you with a soggy mess.
French fries and tater tots just do not do well when reheated in the microwave. This is true for other fried foods as well.
No matter how quickly you want your tater tots heated up, choosing to use the oven, the air fryer, or the stovetop is the wisest course of action.
The results will really be worth the extra few minutes you had to wait to reheat them properly, and you will be happy you took the extra time to do so.
The microwave does not offer the same dry heat that an oven or air fryer does, and because of this, it causes fried food, such as tater tots, to go moist and soggy.
Tater tots should be crispy and beautifully golden on the outside, and unfortunately, you won’t get this from a microwave.
Using a stovetop or the air fryer will not take much longer than the microwave, so there is no reason to use the microwave to reheat tater tots!
The Best Way To Reheat Tater Tots
Tater tots are so great to have as leftovers, especially when you reheat them properly to taste almost identical to how they did when they were first cooked!
The best way to heat them up would be in the oven. This allows you to crisp them up beautifully while keeping the inside moist and juicy, and you can heat up a large batch at once.
The air fryer and the stovetop are also great ways to reheat tater tots. You’ll have some beautifully reheated tots, as long as you don’t use the microwave!
Related Questions
Can You Reheat Tater Tots That Have Been Reheated Already?
No, you cannot reheat tater tots that have already been reheated.
This is true for almost all food. Reheating food more than once increases the chance of bacteria growth, which could lead to food poisoning.
Only reheat what you are going to eat, and if you have any reheated tater tots left that will not be eaten, throw them away.
Can I Freeze Tater Tots That Have Been Cooked?
You can freeze tater tots that have been cooked. Cool the tater tots after freezing and place them into a large freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before freezing.
You could also lay the tater tots out on a baking tray and freeze them like this first, before placing them into a freezer bag.
This stops them from sticking together when frozen, and you can remove as many as you want to reheat without defrosting the whole batch.
How Long Can You Keep Tater Tots in the Fridge?
Tater tots can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days. Any leftovers after this should be thrown away.
Keep in mind that their texture will change the longer they are in the fridge, so they are best when reheated the next day.
Always look for signs of spoiling, such as an odd smell or appearance, when reheating leftover food.
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