Crispy tater tots with layers of spicy buffalo chicken and melted cheese, topped with blue cheese dressing, crumbled blue cheese and green onion. These tater tot nachos are fully loaded and perfect as a meal or as an appetizer for sharing.
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What are totchos?
Totchos are just like nachos except they are made with crispy, delicious tater tots.
If you aren’t familiar with tater tots, they shredded potatoes that have been pressed into little nuggets that are then fried or baked. The outside is deliciously crispy while the inside is pillowy soft.
To make totchos you start by cooking the tater tots, then you layer them with delicious nacho toppings, such as chicken, beef, cheese and vegetables.
These buffalo chicken totchos are fully loaded with spicy buffalo chicken, monterey jack cheese, ranch or blue cheese dressing, crumbled blue cheese and green onion.
- It is made with simple, easy to find ingredients.
- It comes together quickly with very little prep.
- It works as a meal or an appetizer.
- Can be easily customized with your favourite toppings.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Tater tots – I use the frozen, pre-made variety. You should find these at most supermarkets.
Cooked, shredded chicken – Store-bought rotisserie chicken works great for this. You can also cook and shred a couple chicken breasts or use an instant pot chicken.
Hot Sauce – My favourite for buffalo chicken is always Frank’s Red Hot. But you can use your favourite.
Shredded cheese – I love using Monterey Jack for this recipe because it melts well and has good flavour, but you can use cheddar if you prefer. I recommend shredding your own for best results.
Dressing – I generally use blue cheese. But you can use ranch if you prefer, or even use both.
Crumbled blue cheese – Blue cheese is a common ingredient when it comes to buffalo chicken. If you don’t like blue cheese, feta is a good choice.
Green onions
Step by Step Instructions
Start by cooking the tater tots according to package directions. You can do this in the oven, or you can cook the tater tots in an air fryer.
After the tater tots are cooked you can assemble the totchos.
One – Mix the hot sauce with ¼ Cup of dressing in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the hot sauce mixture and stir to combine.
Two – on a baking sheet or in an oven safe skillet, place a layer of tater tots, followed by half of the chicken and half of the shredded cheese, then repeat the layers ending with shredded cheese.
Pro Tip – For the best tots, make sure you bake them nice and crispy before adding the toppings. This will help them hold together when baked with the chicken and cheese.
Three – bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until hot and the cheese is melted.
Four – remove the totchos from the oven and drizzle additional hot sauce, and dressing, and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese and green onion.
Serve hot.
How to serve tater toto nachos
We serve these tater tot nachos just like we would serve nachos made with tortilla chips, though you will probably want to use a fork instead of your fingers to eat them.
In addition to drizzling sauce and dressing on top of the totchos, you can serve additional hot sauce and blue cheese on the side for dipping.
We like to simply place the tray in the middle of the table and let everyone dig in like a share plate, but you can also serve them as a meal with a simple salad on the side.
Top Tips & FAQS
Yes, you really do. If you don’t pre-cook them they won’t be able to get crispy and the middle layers will be very soft and soggy.
I recommend assembling these just before you are going to serve them for best results. However, to speed things up you can mix the chicken and sauce, and have your cheeses prepared ahead of time.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
More Tater Tot Recipes to Try:
Cheeseburger casserole – by Easy Dinner Ideas
Cheesy chicken tater tot casserole – by Kylee Cooks
Tater tot breakfast casserole – by Tornadough Alli
Cheesy tater tots recipe – by From Michigan To The Table
Printable Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Totchos
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Tater tots
- 2 Cups Shredded chicken breast cooked
- ½ Cup Hot sauce plus more for drizzle
- ¼ Cup Ranch or blue cheese dressing plus more for drizzle
- 2 Cups Shredded monterey jack cheese
- ½ Cup Crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ Cup Sliced green onion
Instructions
- Cook the tater tots according to package direction.
- In a small bowl, mix the hot sauce and ranch or blue cheese dressing.
- Combine the hot sauce mixture with the shredded chicken.
- Remove the tater tots from the oven and place half of the tots on a 9×13 baking sheet or in an oven save skillet.
- Top the tater tots with half of the chicken and shredded monterey jack cheese, then repeat the layers ending with the cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until heated through and the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven, drizzle with additional hot sauce and dressing, sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese and sliced green onions.
- Serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.