If you’re like my kids, they will never ever let leftover tater tots go to waste! We love to reheat them and eat them again, since there are many ways to reheat tater tots.
So, what is the best way to reheat tater tots? How can you store the leftovers properly to reheat them later? We will discuss all of that below. Read on and enjoy!
What Are Tater Tots?
They are the food mainly made of potatoes. After shredding potatoes, youcompact them into bite-size pieces and then fry them with lots of oil.
For the lower fat content, many people often bake these cylinders. In general, making tater tots is easy and quick.
In the United States, these shredded potato balls are called tater tots. Outside the US, they are called “pom-poms” or oven crunchies.
People know it as the potato “gems” or “royals” in Australia. Kkroketten is the way Germans refer to this food.
The recipe and name of the tater tots could be different in various regions. However, methods of leftover reheating almost hit the same. Now, we turn to the step-by-step guide.
How To Reheat Tater Tots?
Despite the same ingredients of potatoes, reheating “pom-poms” is not similar to reheating roast potatoes at all.
Instead, it requires you to focus on keeping tater tots crispy. For crispness, you can use an oven or an air fryer. Occasionally, it is also great to refry the leftovers.
That said, can you microwave tater tots? Yes, you can. But it cannot meet your requirement related to crispness. For better understanding, we will explain below.
#1. In The Oven
Using an oven is one of the most convenient ways that you can warm the leftovers up effortlessly. The oven reheats your food well to ensure softness on the inside and crispiness on the outside.
But this method takes a bit of time due to the slow heating process.
If you have many “pom-poms” needed to reheat, this one becomes the best option. However, overheating with the oven could make the food dry and burn.
And you know that eating burnt food will be harmful to your health over time.
And here is how to reheat tater tots in oven.
Preparation
- An oven
- A baking tray
- Cooking oil spray
How To Do
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Grease the baking tray to avoid sticking.
- Spread the leftover “pom-poms” on the tray.
- Spray some cooking oil onto the food (optional).
- Place the food in the oven and reheat for 5-6 minutes.
- Turn one side of the food over the other.
- Reheat for another 5-6 minutes.
- Serve it.
#2. In The Air Fryer
When you focus on a perfectly crispy coating, this option is superior to the first one for sure. Moreover, it is such a time-saving and healthy method.
That said, it does not allow you to reheat a large number of “pom-poms” at a time in comparison with the method with an oven. But if your air fryer has a large capacity, there will be no problem at all.
Preparation
- An air fryer
- Cooking oil spray
How To Do
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F.
- Coating the leftovers with some cooking oil (optional).
- Spread the food in the air fryer and reheat them for 6-8 minutes.
- Shake occasionally for better crispness.
- Serve it.
#3. In The Pan
Can you cook tater tots on the stove? It is a big YES with a deep fryer. And we call this method “refrying”. Despite not being the healthiest option, it can make your potato pieces as tasty as new.
For this result, you will need to use a lot of cooking oil. Another drawback is inconvenience and time-consuming.
Preparation
- A deep fryer
- A frying basket
- Cooking oil
How To Do
- Place the deep fryer with some cooking oil on the stove and heat to 350°F.
- Spread the tater tots into a frying basket.
- Insert the basket into hot cooking oil for 20-30 seconds.
- Remove food from the fryer.
- Use a paper towel to drain the food.
- Serve it.
#4. In The Microwave
You may not have an oven or air fryer ready in the kitchen. As an alternative, why don’t you try to reheat tater tots in the microwave.
So, how long to microwave frozen tater tots?
Well, it takes 1-2 minutes only. Hence, busy people should choose this option.
Preparation
- A microwave
- A microwave-safe container
- Paper towels
How To Do
- Place a paper towel on the container.
- Spread the tater tots evenly on the container.
- Microwaving tater tots on medium heat for 30-60 seconds.
- Serve it.
If you love to make the dish crispier, we need additional steps.
- Spray some cooking oil on the potato crunches that you have already microwaved.
- Place the food on the aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
- Place all of them under a broiler for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve it.
Generally speaking, we mark this option with the lowest points among the ones recommended in this guide.
The microwave is quite bad in keeping the crispness of the fried potato dish. If the other ways are possible for you, ignore the microwave right away.
To put it simply, the microwave activates the water molecules to heat the food inside it. Those water molecules will expand to the surface. Consequently, they combine with the crunchy oil outer the food.
A crispy outer of the food is a result of the steaming process at a high temperature. The soft-core steams inside the crunchy exterior.
That said, the temperature when microwaving is not high enough for this process.
Thus, the final result is a soggy fried potato piece. In that case, you can try to mix them with some alfredo sauce.
How To Store Tater Tots?
You bought or made too many potato “pom-poms”. And now there is a large quantity left in the kitchen. Below is what to keep in mind for proper storage.
The better you store the food, the healthier and better it will be after reheating.
How Long Do Them Last?
It is up to you to store the leftovers at room temperature, in the fridge, or in the freezer. However, each of those methods allows the food to be good for a specific amount of time.
At Room Temperature
Like other potato-related products, the tater tots should not be at room temperature too long. We suggest keeping them in this condition no longer than two hours.
In Fridge
With this device, people often keep the leftovers in an airtight container. It can help the food last up to 5 days.
In Freezer
By keeping the kroketten in sealed freezer bags, you can store this food for 6 to 8 months. You need to let each piece get frozen first so that they will not stick together.
Frozen foods can bring more benefits than many people have believed.
How to Store Them?
It would be better if you store the potato “pom-poms” after cooling down. Storing them when they are still hot can leave a terrible sogginess.
Plus, placing a layer of paper towels at the bottom of the airtight container can help to soak up moisture.
For freezing, you should spread the tots on a baking sheet to freeze them individually first. This process typically takes 2-3 hours. Then, you place all frozen pieces in a zip-lock bag in the freezer.
