If you need to feed a crowd or are looking for a fun dish to munch on while streaming a movie, you are going to love these loaded tater tots, aka tachos or totchos! Make a little or a lot, pile on your favorite toppings and enjoy some fabulous comfort food!
Find more leftover pulled pork recipes here.
Party food is my kind of food. It’s fun, it’s flavorful and it’s food that my kids and I can all agree on is fantastic! I am also a sucker for a giant plate of nachos. I love all the flavors and textures they have.
I have shared my family’s favorite pulled pork nachos already. And of course, San Diego is famous for introducing carne asada fries, which is like steak nachos but on french fries.
And now I am sharing our latest noshing obsession, loaded tater tots!
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Why you must try this recipe
- Irresistible: These tachos are very similar to their nacho-like cousins Instead of tortilla chips, you use tater tots!
- Budget Friendly: Pulled pork is made using some of the cheapest cuts of pork. Make a lot and freeze extras for later!
- Simple: You can make these tachos as simple or as loaded as you want.
- Texture: I like to bake my tater tots extra crispy before loading them up. This way they don’t get soggy with all the toppings.
- Party Favorite: Because you can make this with all of your favorite fixings and toppings, these tachos are the BEST!
Ingredients you need
- Tater tots: You can bake a whole bag of tots or individual portions. I’ve even made this with roasted potatoes, when we were out of tater tots! You do NOT need to thaw them first.
- Meat: If you have leftover pulled pork, chicken or steak, you can use that. You can also brown some ground meat with taco seasoning and add that to your loaded tater tots. In the pictures I’m sharing in this this post, I used leftover pulled pork. For a vegetarian option, use pinto or black beans instead.
- Cheese: I am not a fan of that gooey jarred nacho cheese. Instead, I use shredded Mexican cheese blend as it melts nicely and tastes great. You can also use just Monterey Jack or just shredded cheddar.
- Sour cream: I like adding some sour cream to add some creaminess to the dish. And of course potatoes and sour cream go beautifully togehter!
- Tomatoes: You could add salsa on top of your tachos, but it can make the tots soggy. I like to add chopped tomatoes or make my own pico de gallo, which is what I share in the recipe below.
- Onions: When using raw onions, I like red onions. Again, you can add them separately or mix in the pico, as I did.
- Avocado: I scattered chopped avocados over the tachos, but you could mash them up and make guacamole. Again, I don’t like the potatoes getting soggy, so I prefer the chunks.
- Jalapeños: I diced these up for my pico de gallo, but you can add slices alone or omit if you don’t like the heat.
- Cilantro: You gotta have fresh cilantro – unless you have the soap gene. In that case, use a little fresh parley or green onions instead.
- Lime: With avocados and pico de gallo I love the addition of fresh lime juice.
Step-by-step directions
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- Bake the tots! You can use the air fryer or oven to cook your tater tots. I love how quickly the air fryer gets them nice and crispy. However you bake them, make sure they are CRISPY, otherwise you will have a soggy mess after all the toppings sit on them. If you do use the air fryer, transfer it to a baking sheet when done.
- Add the meat. Whether you are using leftover pulled pork or taco meat, make sure it is cooked first. Once cooked, layer it over the crispy tater tots.
- Say cheese! Layer a hefty amount of shredded cheese over the meat and tots then place the baking sheet under the broiler until the cheese is melty.
- Make the pico. Chop the tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño and cilantro and combine in a bowl. Mix with lime juice and salt.
- Add the toppings. You can add as much or as little toppings as you like. We added our favorites: sour cream, pico de gallo and avocado chunks.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
This is a very versatile dish. You can easily scale it up for a crowd or make an individual portion. You can customize it with your favorite toppings, adding more of what you like. So easy and so freaking delicious.
To serve, just scoop a giant mound with a spatula and put it on your plate. Grab a fork and dig right in! You could use your fingers, but I prefer a fork.
Totchos makes perfect grazing food and is often served as an appetizer. But it is very filling and pretty awesome as a fun main dish, too.
If you prefer a more melty cheese texture, skip the shredded cheese and use my 2-ingredient white queso instead. You should also try my hot corn dip made with Hatch chiles. Feel free to dip it with tortilla chips or tater tots!
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. This doesn’t reheat well with the toppings, but if you can remove the toppings you want to remain cold before reheating in a microwave, that would great. It won’t be crispy like it was when first made, but it is still tasty reheated!
TO FREEZE: I do not recommend freezing leftovers.
Tachos (or totchos) are basically nachos but made with tater tots instead of chips. They are typically loaded with meat, cheese, sour cream, avocado and all of your favorite nacho toppings. To keep your loaded tater tots crispy with all the fixings on top, bake your tots until they are super crispy. This means to bake them in oven or in the air fryer longer than the package directions suggest. If baked ’til super crispy, they hold up beautifully and don’t turn to mush after adding all your nacho toppings.
Tachos, or loaded tater tots, are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven. You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Because they are typically loaded with both hot and cold toppings, it makes reheating the tachos tricky. If you don’t mind warm sour cream or hot guacamole, you can warm it in the microwave, toaster oven or oven. Just understand that the tater tots will be more on the soft side and won’t be crispy as they are when you first make them.
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Tachos (Loaded Tater Tots)
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen tater tots
- 1 pound cooked pulled pork about 2 cups
- 8 ounces shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 large tomato diced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and diced
- 2 avocados chopped
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup diced red onions
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Juice from 1 lime
Instructions
- Place frozen tater tots on a baking sheet and bake per package directions. Bake until the tots are very crispy. You can also bake the tater tots in an air fryer.
- While the tots are baking, make the pico de gallo. Combine the chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeño and cilantro together in a bowl with the salt and lime juice. Reserve.
- Once the tots are done, change open temperature to broil and place top shelf close to the broiler.
- Scatter the pulled pork over the hot tater tots and then cover with the shredded cheese.
- Place the tachos back in the oven and cook until cheese is melty, about 2-5 minutes depending on how close the tray is to the broiler. Watch the tots as you don't want it all to burn.
- Once all melty, top with sour cream, pico de gallo and chopped avocados.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
