The Best Frozen Tater Tots at the Grocery Store (Now with Loaded Tots, Too)

The best frozen tater tots are crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and actually taste like potato. In fact, they may not even be called “tots.” See, Ore-Ida trademarked the name “tater tot,” which is why you see a lot of “potato puffs” and “tater bites” in the frozen aisle. Over the course of three separate taste tests, we rounded up all the tots, puffs, bites, and rounds we could find to determine which are the best store bought tater tots of them all. 

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I love tater tots. Yes, I know. That makes me super unique and interesting, right? Next time you’re out for drinks with friends you can tell them how you read this article about a lady who likes tater tots. Record their reactions and tag me on social media! Okay, okay. Everyone loves tater tots. As frozen potato shapes go, they’re so perfect, they put french fries to shame. And, in my opinion, it’s much easier to find restaurant-quality tots at the grocery store than it is to find restaurant-quality fries (although, we’ve found some great frozen fries, too).

What makes good frozen tater tots the best frozen tater tots? 

These suckers are all about flavor and ratios.

• We were looking for the perfect ratio of crispy-crunchy coating to hot, creamy insides. Our new #1 favorite tater tots NAIL the exterior-to-interior ratio. 
• A fresh, clean potato flavor. Some tots we tasted and loved in the past were downgraded after our most recent taste test because they tasted too much like frozen potatoes. 
• A fresh oil flavor, too. Nothing is worse than frozen potato products that taste like stale oil. Yuck.

After our most recent taste test, these are the best frozen tater tots (and bites and puffs) you can buy.

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Best Loaded Tots

Season’s Choice Loaded Potato Tots

Aldi

Are these actually tater tots? Nope, they’re not. They’re like bacony, cheesy mashed potato pellets that were battered and deep fried, but, to be perfectly honest, we don’t care if they’re actually tater tots or not because they’re so damn good! They taste like deep-fried twice-baked potatoes. They’re rib-sticking and rich and packed with cheesy bacon and chive flavor. Aldi’s frozen appetizer game is notoriously terrible, so these were a VERY pleasant surprise.

Credit: Liv Averett / Aldi

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Sweet Potato Tots

365 Sweet Potato Puffs

Amazon

I understand that when most people are looking for the best frozen tater tots they aren’t necessarily looking for sweet potato tots. All the same, I absolutely love that these things make it seem like you’re doing something healthy by eating a fried potato product. Of the two brands of sweet potato tots we tried during our taste tests, we decided that 365 had the more robust sweet potato flavor (I tried them head to head with Alexia to confirm). If you don’t like sweet potato, you’re not going to like these! But if you want the best frozen tater tots with that combo of sweet, salty, and oily flavors, these are the way to go. These would be excellent with a bite-y garlic aioli. (And if you want even more frozen sweet potato in your life, check out our list of the best frozen sweet potato fries.)

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Basic Tater Tots

Kroger Tater Bites

Ralphs

To my recollection, the cafeteria tater tots of my childhood had a slight oniony flavor that I absolutely loved. If you also loved that, these frozen tater tots from Kroger are the best store bought tater tots for you. There’s a deep, savory flavor here that would pair extremely well with a charbroiled burger loaded with lots of raw onion. Supplement their built-in flavor with a sprinkle of Lawry’s or Jane’s, ready a ramekin of tangy ketchup, and you’re in business.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Ralphs

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Previous #1

Grown In Idaho Super Crispy Tots

Instacart

Grown in Idaho Super Crispy Tots were our favorite frozen tater tots for several years, but our most recent taste test changed things. Other brands were much creamier inside; these were dry by comparison and the flavor was just a little bit off when we tasted them back to back with other tots. We KNOW Grown in Idaho makes good frozen potato products. They consistently make our rankings. But for now, these little suckers are being downgraded—better luck next taste test!

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Seasoned Tater Tots

Alexia Crispy Seasoned Potato Puffs

Instacart

Sure, you can season tots on your own, but it’s also nice to not have to—especially if the seasoning tastes like the delicious powdery coating on salt and pepper potato chips. This bag of Alexia tots promises a lot from its seasoning: roasted garlic, cracked black pepper, and a hint of sour cream and chives. I don’t know if I picked up on any sour cream or chive flavor, but the garlic and cracked pepper flavors are bold and delicious. These are the best tater tots if you don’t want to bother with a dip.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Tater Rounds

Kroger Potato Rounds

Instacart

Compared to tater tots, tater rounds are more like hashbrowns you get at fast food places like Burger King. They’re shaped like flat little potato discs rather than little potato pellets. You definitely get less creamy, mushy potato filling, but if you come to tots primarily for their crispy outsides, you’re going to love these. We tried these head to head with Ore-Ida’s potato rounds and Kroger blew Ore-Ida out of the water. They’re salty and super crunchy—right out of the bag they look toasty and well fried. The Ore-Ida ones were too potatoey and tasted like oil. Put ‘em in a little paper sleeve and people will absolutely think they came from a fast food spot. What a fun weekend treat. Even though these are a different take on tots, we still think they’re among the best frozen tater tots at the grocery store.

Credit: Merc / Food 4 Less

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Crispy Tater Tots

Ore-Ida Crispy Tater Tots

Instacart

These were previously in the number one spot on our list of the best frozen tater tots, but they didn’t wow us as much during our second taste test. Still, these are incredibly good, especially if you like your tots very well cooked. They are extremely crispy (as advertised), and that crackly coating gives way to a hot, creamy potato center that contributes a convincing freshly fried feel. I also love the size of these tots—while it’s come to my attention that most people eat most tater tots in a single bite, some are two-bite foods. These? These are the best tater tots to eat in one bite (and they’re even more perfect dipped in a good ranch dressing).

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Interesting Flavor

Trader Joe’s Potato Tots

Trader Joe’s

I don’t think any of us expected to love Trader Joe’s potato tots. They look identical to all the other mid, store-brand tots we cooked up, but trust me, they have a flavor all their own. This is a really, really specific description, but hear me out: When I was a kid, my mom used to buy these Night Hawk frozen dinners that always involved a steak (like Salisbury) and a potato (like tots), and when you’d cook the meal in the microwave, the potatoes would take on the flavor of the savory meat. That’s what these taste like. We cooked these in the oven rather than the air fryer because that’s what the bag suggested, and they were still pretty crispy—not crunchy, but definitely crisp. Trader Joe’s hash brown patties are among our favorite potato products, and now we’re adding these to the list, too. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Fast Food Dupe

Sonic Tots

Walmart

Okay, we tasted Sonic Tots when they first hit grocery stores back in 2023 and we weren’t impressed. They weren’t bad by any means, but they were just … ya know, tater tots. Why make a big fuss about being fast food-adjacent if you just taste like all the other frozen tots at the grocery store? Well, this taste test changed our tunes. We were all convinced that these have gotten better. They’re SO CREAMY on the inside. And the outside is so light and crispy. They’re well seasoned too, without being too salty. I’m not a frequent Sonic diner by any means, but these do a good job of tasting as indulgent as fast food.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Mini

Ore-Ida Crispy Mini Tater Tots

Instacart

I wouldn’t have guessed size would have anything to do with the flavor of the best tater tots, but here we are! Ore-Ida Mini Tater Tots are like little tater tablets you can pop like pills if potatoes are your drug of choice (they are mine). They’re small, but still super creamy inside and super fresh tasting. We love that the compact size makes them crispier than regular sized tater tots—the insides-to-outsides ratio is actually ideal. If you aren’t super attached to big ol’ tots, you have to try these. They really are the best.

Credit: Merc / Target

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Other tater tots we tried:

O Organics Potato Puffs, Alexia Sweet Potato Tots, 365 Tater Puffs, Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns, Ore-Ida Golden Tater Tots, Folkland Himalayan Pink Salt Organic Potato Tots, Roots Organic Potato Tots, Great Value Taters, Signature Select Seasoned Potato Tots, Season’s Choice Cheesy Jalapeno Potato Tots