Crunchy Bite Sized Bacon Tots

Crunchy Bite-Sized Bacon Tots will be the hit of your next get together. Whether served as an appetizer or a side dish you will LOVE these crunchy, bacon filled tots. Better than your average tot because it has Bacon in it too!

You heard that right? Crunchy Bite-Sized Bacon Tots! Bacon in your tater tots!

I’ve been on a bacon kick recently. There is really not anything I wouldn’t put bacon on. Salads, sandwiches, pizza, baked potatoes and even meatloaf! (Check out my recipe for Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf if you love bacon as much as I do!… I promise you won’t be disappointed!)

All of those are great ways to have bacon but I wanted an appetizer to share with you so I tried adding bacon pieces to this recipe for Crunchy Bite-Sized Bacon Tots!

I have always loved tater tots so it seemed only natural to add bacon to them and see what happened. When you make these the trick is to crisp the bacon up before adding it to the tot so you have already drained away the bacon fat which would make the tot a little greasy if you don’t crisp it really well.

It doesn’t take much bacon to flavor a whole batch. So it’s quite economical for a party.

I tried two ways for shaping the tots. The traditional log shape and a coin-shaped disc. At our house, we preferred the coin-shaped disc because we like things really crispy and crunchy. The smaller surface area gave more crunch!

BREAKDOWN OF THE CRUNCHY BITE SIZED BACON TOTS:

EASY/DIFFICULT: Easy to make, but they can be time-consuming. They are very addicting so you have to make a lot of them.

PREP AHEAD? Yes! You can make these ahead of time and just fry them to order when you need them.   You can assemble these up to 24 hours ahead keep covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to fry them.

BONUS: These are freezable! I made a quadruple batch and froze half of them for a later time. That really is a bonus the next time you are ready to serve them!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: As an appetizer serve them with different dipping sauces. This Sriracha Dipping sauce, or this horseradish cream sauce or a traditional ketchup or BBQ sauce are some options for you!  For something really different and colorful try this Herby Sauce!

Yield: 12 appetizer servings

Crunchy Bite Sized Bacon Tots

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Crunchy Bite-Sized Bacon Tots will be the hit of your next get together. Whether served as an appetizer or a side dish you will LOVE these crunchy, bacon-filled tots. Better than your average tot because it has Bacon in it too!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 medium baking potatoes
• 1-2 Tbs flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 6 pieces bacon
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 cups oil

Instructions

Bacon

1. Place 3-4 paper towels on a microwavable plate, then lay 4 strips of bacon across the paper towel.
2. Cover top of bacon with another paper towel.
3. Microwave on high, start with 4 minutes. Each microwave is different, you want the bacon to be extra crispy, but not burnt.
4. Once bacon finished, allow to cool then break or cut bacon into tiny pieces.

Potatoes

1. Puncture potatoes and bake in the oven for 45 mins on 350. (The potatoes should still be firm but easily slit with a knife. They will finish cooking in frying)
2. While potatoes are still warm, peel the skins away.
3. Using a cheese grater, grate peeled potatoes into a mixing bowl.

Assembly

1. In mixing bowl over the top of the potatoes sprinkle crumbled bacon, 1 tbs of flour, salt and pepper.
2. Stir gently.
3. To test if it needs more flour take a tablespoon of mixture and squeeze it in your hand into the desired shape (see blog for picture of coin vs log shaped.) If it sticks together and doesn't fall apart you do not need to add any more flour. If they don't hold together sprinkle the other tbs of flour into the potatoes.
4. Make remaining mixture of potatoes into desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet.
5. Once all tots are made, let them sit for a minimum of 10 mins to set. ** SEE NOTES FOR FREEZING OR PREPPING AHEAD OF TIME!
6. In a pan, add oil to be about 1 " deep.
7. Turn oil on to Med High and get oil hot.
8. Once you feel the oil is hot enough, add one tot to pan. If the oil starts immediately bubbling when tot is placed in the pan, add several tots to pan and cook until one side is a golden brown color (about 2-3 minutes).
9. Be sure to leave enough space in between to not overcrowd the pan.
10. Then flip the tater tot and brown the second side until it is golden brown as well.
11. Once both sides are nice and crispy golden brown, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and allow to drain on a stack of paper towels on a plate.
12. Repeat frying steps until all tots are complete.
13. Season to taste once all Bacon tots are complete.
14. Serve immediately with any of these sauces: Ketchup, BBQ, Horseradish Cream, Herby Sauce, Sriracha Sauce!

Notes

You can prepare these to this step and place in the refrigerator until ready to fry/serve.

You can also freeze them at this point for a later use. If you are freezing them, flash freeze them on a flat plate for 30 minutes so they hold together. Then gently place in a sealed container for future use. I stored them for up to 3 weeks before serving them. I allowed the potatoes to thaw for 1 hour before beginning the frying process.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

12 appetizer servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 142Cholesterol: 2mgSodium: 443mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gProtein: 6g

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