Preheat your oven and loosen your pants. These indulgent recipes redefine comfort snacking.
Let’s be honest. Tater tots, potato gems, whatever you want to call them, are the trash royalty of the freezer aisle – crispy, carby joy bombs that scream, “You don’t always need kale, Felicia.”
These recipes redefine comfort snacking. They’re a deep-fried love letter to this little golden grease goblin, leaning in to all the social media trends (the good, the bad, and the ugly) for a bit of fun, nostalgia and indulgence.
So preheat your oven, loosen your pants and lower your standards – you’ll be going back for seconds.
You’ll find potato gems (tater tots) in the supermarket freezer aisle, typically in 900g-1kg bags. Any size works for these recipes, which each serve 4-6.
Bang bang tater tots
You will not be able to stop eating these. I know. Each time I tweaked the recipe, I tried. But it was as if an alternate personality had taken over, and I couldn’t get that hand-plate-mouth motion working quickly enough.
Served alongside an icy cold bevvy, this is what snack dreams are made of.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 packet frozen potato gems (tater tots)
BANG BANG SAUCE
- 125ml (½ cup) sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sweet soy
- ½ cup brown sugar
- pinch chilli flakes
- pinch garlic flakes
TO SERVE
- 100g (about ¾ cup) roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 x 5cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced (julienne)
- 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 40g (1 cup) chopped mixed herbs (coriander, mint, Thai basil)
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- 1 jalapeno chilli, finely sliced, seeds removed (optional)
- zest and juice of 1 small lime
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
- Spread the potato gems over a large baking tray, pop them in the oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes. Turn them halfway through. You want to make sure they take on a fair bit of colour – they need a crisp exterior so they don’t go soggy when tossed with the sauce.
- To make the bang bang sauce, add all the ingredients to a large saucepan, place over low heat and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces by almost half – you want it to take on an almost jelly-like consistency. Keep a close eye on it and stir regularly, as you don’t want it to burn.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir through the peanuts, ginger and sesame seeds.
- Scrape the golden potato gems into the saucepan and stir gently to coat evenly in the sauce.
- Turn out onto a serving plate, scatter with the herbs, spring onion and lime zest and drizzle over a little lime juice. Eat immediately while hot, sticky and crispy and delicious.
Gunpowder tater tots
These spicy carb bombs are one of my favourite snacks. I’ve been known to make batches of gunpowder seasoning so that I can scatter this feisty Indian spice mix over all manner of proteins or roasted veg.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 packet frozen potato gems
GUNPOWDER SEASONING
- 1 tbsp garam masala, plus extra to season
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- pinch fenugreek seeds
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- pinch Kashmiri chilli powder
TO SERVE
- ½ cup chopped coriander leaves
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 green chilli or jalapeno, finely sliced (keep the seeds if you love the heat)
- squeeze of lime juice
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
- Spread the potato gems over a large baking tray and season with a pinch or two of garam masala and salt flakes. Bake until golden and crisp (20-30 minutes), turning halfway through.
- While the gems are cooking, add the cumin, coriander, fennel and fenugreek seeds to a dry frying pan and place over low heat. Cook, shaking the pan often, until fragrant. Transfer the seeds to a mortar and pestle and crush them to a powder. Add the ground seeds to a large bowl with the ginger, chilli powder, and the remaining tablespoon of garam masala and stir to combine well. Remove 1 tablespoon of the gunpowder seasoning and set aside.
- Add the cooked gems to the bowl of spices and toss a few times to ensure the spice blend coats them evenly.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the reserved tablespoon of gunpowder spice with the coriander leaves, spring onion and chilli, add a little lime juice and toss to mix.
- Scoop the potato gems onto a serving platter and sprinkle over the spiced herb mixture. Serve immediately.
Crispy pickle potato salad
Get ready for the collision of crispy and hot meets soft and cool in this weird but wonderful dish, which combines the as-seen-on-TikTok cheesy pickle wrap with the crispy smashed potato salad.
For peak crunch, have all the ingredients ready, then assemble just before serving as a salad alongside grilled proteins. And for the best melty, crispy cheese, always shred it yourself – pre-grated doesn’t compare.
INGREDIENTS
- 90g (about ¾ cup) grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup sliced dill pickles, patted dry thoroughly with paper towels
- 1 packet potato gems, defrosted
- 2 celery stalks, finely sliced
- 1 large continental cucumber, finely sliced
CREAMY DILL PICKLE DRESSING
- 220g (1 cup) Kewpie mayo
- 120g (½ cup) sour cream
- 125ml (½ cup) juice from the pickle jar
- 15g (½ small bunch) fresh dill, leaves finely chopped
- 15g (½ cup) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper to season
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
- Evenly sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the paper, then layer the sliced pickles on top. Finally, spread the defrosted potato gems over the pickles. Using the base of a cup, firmly press down on the gems to create a flat, mashed potato-like sheet or a large hash brown. Pop the tray in the oven and cook until the potato is crisp and golden all over, about 20-25 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the creamy dill pickle dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Allow the potato to cool slightly, then break it up into random bite-sized chunks. Add the potato to a large bowl along with the sliced celery and cucumber. Spoon over the dressing, a few tablespoons at a time, and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
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