These gorgeous bacon wrapped tater tots are tiny, crispy bites of joy – the kind of fun little appetizer that flies off the plate at parties. Super quick to make, they crisp up beautifully in the air fryer or oven, and the festive sprinkle at the ends makes them feel instantly special.
With major pigs in blankets vibes – cute, crispy, very snackable – these LOVELY little bites are one of my favorite appetizers to serve at parties year-round.
They’re big crowd pleasers (who doesn’t like crispy potatoes and bacon?) and secretly incredibly easy to make.
Cook them in the air fryer OR the oven – then finish with a drizzle of hot honey and a cute little festive sprinkle, and you’ve got yourself a very special little party bite that took basically zero effort.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Tater tots. Any brand works here! Just your regular frozen tater tots.
- Bacon. Thin-cut, streaky, or American bacon is best here. It wraps best around the tots and cooks quickly. Anything too thick will take longer to crisp up and may burn the tots in the process.
- Festive sprinkle topping. To make these feel a little special, I’ve gone for a drizzle of hot honey sauce (you could use regular honey or sweet chili jam), crushed pistachios, dried cranberries, parmesan cheese, and chives for freshness.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots
- Slice your bacon in half, then wrap each half around a tater tot.
- Air fry or bake the bacon-wrapped tater tots in the oven until gorgeously golden and crispy.
- Drizzle with hot honey, sprinkle over your pistachios, parmesan, cranberries, and chives, then serve while gorgeously hot and crispy.
Air Fryer or Oven?
I tested these bacon-wrapped tater tots in both to see which gives the better result:
Air Fryer
- MUCH faster (15 minutes).
- Gorgeously golden and crispy result.
- Can’t cook quite as many tots at once.
Oven
- Best for larger batches.
- Takes longer – 25 minutes rather than 15.
- They’re not quite as golden and crispy.
My verdict? The air fryer wins for me – it’s undoubtedly quicker and gives a better, crispier result. But if you’re cooking for a larger crowd, the oven is better for cooking big batches at once.
Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots FAQs
You don’t! Just use them straight from the freezer. This makes them SO quick and easy.
You can. Wrap the tots in the bacon, pop them onto a baking sheet, and store them in the fridge up to 24 hours ahead of time. Or, freeze them and cook straight from frozen (just add a couple of minutes onto the freezing time).
I recommend using your air fryer – 3 to 4 minutes at 350°F (180°C) works well. You can also pop them in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
You can reheat them in the microwave, but they’ll go soggy.
Definitely! You’ll find it won’t crisp up quite as well, but it’ll work. The air fryer will definitely be the best option for you.
Place the tots seam side down, and make sure the bacon is wrapped tightly around the tot. For extra security, you can pop them in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes before cooking them.
Like this recipe? Try these easy appetizer ideas next
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Easy Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots (Air Fryer or Oven)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 40 tots 1x
Description
These gorgeous bacon-wrapped tater tots are tiny, crispy bites of joy – the kind of fun little appetizer that flies off the plate at parties. Super quick to make, they crisp up beautifully in the air fryer or oven, and the festive sprinkle at the ends makes them feel instantly special.
Ingredients
For the bacon wrapper tater tots –
- 40 frozen tater tots (roughly half a regular 32oz / 2 lb bag)
- 20 strips of thin-cut bacon, cut in half (streaky bacon is best)
For the festive sprinkle topping –
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot honey sauce (or sweet chili jam, or regular honey mixed with a pinch of chili flakes)
- 2 tablespoons of pistachio nuts, finely chopped or crushed
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, finely chopped
- A handful of chives, finely sliced
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients. If you’re using the oven, heat it to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wrap the tots. Pick up a tater tot, and tightly wrap a half strip of bacon around it. Place it bacon seam side down on your prepared tray, or straight in your air fryer basket. Repeat with the remaining tots and bacon.
- Cook the tater tots (air fryer instructions). Air fry the bacon wrapped tots at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes, shaking them halfway through the cooking time, until the bacon is gorgeously crispy and the tater tots look golden and gorgeous. You’ll notice the tots will expand as the bacon crisps – making them longer. This is fine.
- Cook the tater tots (oven instructions). Pop the baking sheet into your oven and bake the wrapped tots for 25 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through the cooking time, until the bacon is crispy and the tots are nice and golden.
- Garnish and serve. Pile the hot, crispy wrapped tots into a serving bowl or onto a platter. Drizzle with the hot honey sauce, then scatter with the crushed pistachios, grated parmesan, chopped dried cranberries, and the chives. Enjoy while hot, crispy, and gorgeous. PRO TIP: You can make them a little fancier by serving the tots as individual bites – scattering each one with the festive sprinkle and hot honey.
Notes
SCALE UP OR DOWN: This is a very easy recipe to scale up or down – I’ve listed 40 tater tots here, but please do make more or less as you see fit! You just need half a slice of bacon per tot.
PREP AHEAD: You can wrap the tots in the bacon up to 24 hours before baking them if you like. You can also wrap them, pop them into the freezer, and then cook from frozen when you’re ready. You may just need to add a couple of minutes onto the cooking time.
INGREDIENT NOTES: Thin-cut, streaky, or American-style bacon is best. Thick-cut bacon is (naturally) thicker, so it takes longer to crisp up, and the tots may burn in that time. Swap it for turkey bacon if you like – it won’t be quite as crispy but will work. Play around with your topping – for festive, holiday vibes, I love the pistachio, cranberry, parmesan mix, but everything bagel seasoning or nutty spiced dukkah is great, as is a drizzle of ranch, egg-free garlic aioli, or spicy gochujang aioli.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I love serving them up with a little dipping sauce – creamy ranch, egg-free garlic aioli, spicy gochujang aioli, whipped cottage cheese dip, creamy beet feta dip, cranberry sauce, or whipped creamy feta dip are all great options.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: appetizers
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tots
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 310mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 17mg
