My mother and I have been making this dish every Christmas for almost 15 years. People often beg for the recipe and more because it is such a hit! On some of the cookies, I occasionally put two Hershey’s® Kisses on each one.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- canola oil cooking spray
- 1 (28 ounce) package frozen bite-sized potato nuggets (such as Tater Tots®)
- 1 (8 ounce) package bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Cover a sheet pan with foil, and spray generously with cooking spray.
- Spread frozen potato nuggets evenly on the prepared pan, then spray the tops with cooking spray.
- Bake in the center of the preheated oven until well browned and extra crispy, 40 to 45 minutes. Please note, this will be about 10 to 15 minutes longer than the package directions.
- Meanwhile, prepare dressing: Place bacon in a cold, dry pan. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until fat has rendered, and bacon is foamy and almost crisp. Reduce heat to medium and toss in diced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften and turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in sugar, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until sugar just starts to caramelize onto the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan by stirring in apple cider vinegar and scraping the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits. Turn off the heat.
- Remove Tater Tots from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a large mixing bowl. Pour warm bacon dressing over top and toss until thoroughly and evenly coated. Mix in parsley and chives. Taste and adjust for salt before serving.
- Choose potato nuggets with the fewest ingredients on the label, like potatoes, salt, and oil.
- The bacon dressing can be used to make a warm spinach salad or spooned over a chicken breast or pork chop. You could even try it over vanilla ice cream, no joke!
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 242 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 30 g |
| Cholesterol | 10 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 852 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I LOVE tater tots, and LOVE German potato salad, so was excited to see this recipe and anxious to try it immediately. Followed the recipe as written, but I really just wasn’t crazy about it. Dressing was delicious, especially with all that bacon. I think it would be much better on plain boiled potatoes, and will try that next time.
My new favourite!!! Don’t be afraid to cook the tater tots even longer!
Wonderful recipe, don’t change anything in it! its the ultimate combination of sweet, tangy, salty, and savory. If you love regular German potato salad this is a fun, low-maintenance way of making it. Chef John knocks another one outta the park!
Ok, being a lover of German Potato Salad I found this recipe wanting – if you love tater tots you will love this I guess.
Delicious!
The men absolutely loved these! Didn’t change anything. Made a half recipe for a serving of two…apparently. Went great with fried chicken. Will have to do these again when tater tots come into the house to help use up the bag!
AMAZING!!! Didn’t change anything, we ate the whole bag of tots; there were 4 of us, lol.
I was skeptical on the length of cooking the tater tots but the recipe is dead on