These tater tot nachos will be the highlight of any party or meal. These loaded totchos are filled with chicken and beef taco meats, cheese, and crispy golden tater tots for a flavorful dish everyone will love!
We always keep a bag of tater tots on hand and most of the time, it's for simple lunches to pair with the dino nuggies my toddler is obsessed with, but sometimes I get to turn them into something fun.
This totchos recipe is a perfect blend of fun and creativity as well as frugality. You can DIY your meats and toppings fresh for the experience or do as I like to do and use up leftover taco meats and toppings prepped for dinner the night before. This is great for when we have Crockpot Chicken with Enchilada Sauce!
Still have tater tots leftover? Check out our Overnight Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole and Tater Tot Casserole.
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- Leftover taco meat. Turn leftovers into a frugal new dish with this simple sheet pan meal idea! If you don't have a lot of taco meat on hand, you can still make nachos. So save those leftovers for something truly amazing!
- These totchos are customizable. Add your favorite meats, toppings, cheeses, and more. Customize this dish to suit your tastes, and enjoy every last scoop.
- You don't have to thaw the tots beforehand. Don't want to thaw your tots? You don't have to. Just add your frozen tots to the baking sheet to begin. Dinner will be ready in no time.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Frozen tater tots- This is the base of the nacho recipe, similar to chips, except we get golden crispy potato nuggets.
Taco seasoning- For a great flavor you can use Homemade Taco Seasoning, or you can keep it simple with storebought.
Shredded chicken- Adding extra meat to the totchos is what gives them that "loaded" feeling and keeps you feeling full.
Whole kernel corn- This adds a little bit of refreshing crunch to the dish, which really works out well. I use a can of corn that has been drained, but frozen corn works well, too (if you thaw or warm it first).
Cheddar cheese- You can use any cheese you want, but I recommend cheese that you shred yourself. We like cheddar cheese on our nachos, but Colby jack and pepper jack work great too.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🧾 Substitutions
Taco meats. You can swap out the taco meats for any of your favorite cooked taco-flavored meats. You'll want up to 2 cups worth of meat but not more than 3 cups because it will be a mostly meat dish at that point which would hide the other ingredients.
Cheeses. If you don't want to use cheddar cheese other options include a fiesta blend of shredded cheeses or Colby Jack. Monterey Jack also works well with these flavors.
📖 Suggested Toppings
These loaded totchos are always better with fun toppings, so check out these great tasting suggestions:
- Sliced Black Olives
- Chopped Green Onions
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Pico De Gallo
- Guacamole
- Queso
- Chorizo
- Refried Beans
- Chili
- Sliced Avocado
Of course, you can add anything you want to this dish and still have it taste great. I do recommend saving any cold toppings until after the tots have finished cooking. Then you can place them on top without having them get too warm before arriving on your plate.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 2: While the oven is preheating, cook your ground beef in a skillet until browned, drain the grease and stir in the taco seasoning until well mixed. Set aside.
Step 3: In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, salsa, and shredded chicken until well-mixed. Add in more sour cream or salsa if you want the mixture wetter. Set aside.
Step 4: Arrange frozen tater tots on the sheet so that they can fit.
Step 5: Bake the tater tots in the oven for 15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove tater tots from the oven and sprinkle the top with cheese.
Step 7: Scatter the ground beef over the top of the cheese, followed by the corn and the chicken mixture.
Step 8: Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted completely.
Step 9: Remove from the oven and add your favorite toppings.
Serve and enjoy.
💭 FAQs
This recipe for totchos is meant to be made and consumed in the same sitting. The tots are crispy and best tasting when hot from the oven, but if you find yourself with leftovers you can make them last about a day or two in the fridge in an airtight container. Note that they won't be as good when reheated because they'll be soft.
Absolutely! Just omit the meat and instead, sprinkle some of the taco seasoning blend over the tater tots before baking so that as they thaw and crisp, they can absorb some of the yummy taco flavorings. Then layer your favorite meatless toppings and cheese on top.
No. This recipe is based on using frozen tots straight from the oven. Do not thaw your tots before baking. If you do, the bake time will be reduced and the time will vary, so keep a watchful eye on them.
❤️ More Delicious Main Dish Recipes
If you tried this Loaded Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos), please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Loaded Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)
Ingredients
- 32 ounce Bag Frozen Tater Tots ($1.68)
- 1 pound Ground Beef ($3.27)
- 1 Tablespoon Taco Seasoning ($0.30)
- 1 cup Cooked Shredded Chicken ($1.04)
- 1 Tablespoon Sour Cream ($0.05)
- 2 Tablespoon Salsa ($0.05)
- 1 can (15 ounce) Whole Kernel Corn, drained ($0.50)
- 8 ounces Cheddar Cheese, Shredded ($0.93)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- While the oven is preheating, cook your ground beef in a skillet until browned, drain grease and stir in the taco seasoning until well mixed. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the sour cream, salsa, and shredded chicken until well mixed. Add in more sour cream or salsa if you want the mixture wetter. Set aside.
- Arrange frozen tater tots on the sheet so that they can fit.
- Bake the tater tots in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove tater tots from the oven and sprinkle the top with cheese.
- Scatter the ground beef over the top of the cheese, followed by the corn and the chicken mixture.
- Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted completely.
- Remove from the oven and add your favorite toppings.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Swap taco meats with your favorite taco-flavored cooked meats (up to 2 cups).
- Try alternative cheeses like fiesta blend, Colby Jack, or Monterey Jack.
- Enhance your totchos with toppings like black olives, green onions, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and more.
- This dish is best enjoyed fresh but can be refrigerated for 1-2 days; note that reheating may affect texture.
- For a meatless option, skip the meat and sprinkle taco seasoning on the tots before baking. Top with meatless options and cheese.
- No need to thaw the tots; use them straight from the freezer for the best results.
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