Add a spicy twist to your favorite pan of nachos with these Buffalo Chicken Tots. The combination of crispy tater tots, buffalo chicken, and melted cheese make these totchos the perfect game day food.
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Our family absolutely loves anything buffalo chicken. In fact, the most requested appetizer every month is buffalo chicken dip.
So when I saw buffalo chicken tots on the menu at Friar's Nook in Magic Kingdom, I had to try them. After all I love tater tots and I love buffalo chicken, so the dish sounded magical.
One of my favorite things to do is recreate Disney recipes, so a pan of those buffalo totchos had to happen when I got home. It's a great way to enjoy the magic of the Parks when you can't be there.
What are Totchos?
Totchos are nachos made with tater tots. The crispy tots take the place of chips and are covered in cheese and all your favorite toppings.
Why You Will Love Them
A pan of loaded buffalo chicken totchos combines buffalo chicken with crispy tater tots. They are amazing and so delicious and can be served as a full meal or as an appetizer.
The key to this totchos recipe is the crispy tot base. Use your oven or air fryer to bake them before loading with all the toppings.
- They are made with just a few ingredients.
- Easy meal prep that can be done in minutes.
- Change up the toppings based on your preferences.
- Great game day appetizer!
Other buffalo chicken recipes that you may enjoy is this buffalo chicken salad, these buffalo chicken calzones, or this buffalo chicken pizza.
Main Ingredients
There are not a lot of things you need for this buffalo totchos recipe. With a few store bought ingredients you can enjoy a pan of hot tater tot nachos in no time at all.
- Tater Tots - Any store bought brand of frozen tots will work. This is the base of the totchos.
- Chicken - Keep it simple by using a cooked rotisserie chicken. You can also used canned chicken, diced precooked chicken, or a bag of popcorn chicken.
- Shredded Cheese - A mixture of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese works great. You can also use colby jack cheese or monterey jack cheese.
- Buffalo Wing Sauce - We like using Frank's Red Hot sauce or Sweet Baby Ray's wing sauce. Feel free to use your favorite hot sauce for this recipe.
- Ranch Dressing - Adds some coolness to the heat of the wing sauce. Or use blue cheese if you like that better.
- Blue Cheese Crumbles - Adds some extra flavor to the top of the nachos. Feta and goat cheese are other options if you don't like that flavor.
- Green Onion - For a little color and garnish.
BruCrew Tip: Make a pan of buffalo chicken peppers nachos if you are looking for a healthier buffalo chicken appetizer.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Totchos
In no time at all, these easy buffalo tots can be ready for dinner. Serve them just like nachos and let everyone dig in. They are messy, so you may need a fork and a napkin.
- Cook the tater tots. Place the whole bag of frozen tots on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Make sure they are nice and crispy, so they hold up under the toppings.
- Mix together the buffalo chicken. In a small bowl combine the shredded chicken, diced onions, buffalo sauce, and dressing of choice.
- Assemble the totchos. Place half of the cooked tots in the bottom of 2 small cast iron pans. Top the tater tots with half of the buffalo chicken and half the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers in the pans again.
- Bake and serve. Bake the buffalo totchos until the cheese is melted and gooey.
BruCrew Tip: Top the tots with additional buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, green onions, and blue cheese crumbles right before serving.
Storage Recommendations
Buffalo tater tots are best served hot from the oven. You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and then reheat it later.
Reheated leftovers do not taste as good the second time around if you microwave them. The tater tots will not be crisp, and this would taste more like reheated buffalo tater tot casserole.
Place the buffalo totchos on a pan and reheat in the oven for best results.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure your tater tots are nice and crispy before loading them with toppings because nobody likes soggy tots.
- An air fryer is the quickest way to cook your tots.
- To keep things easy, canned chicken or store bought rotisserie chicken works well with this recipe.
- Use ranch or blue cheese dressing depending on what you prefer.
- For a spicier buffalo flavor, use hot sauce. Wing sauce has butter added to it which tames down the spice.
- Don't have small cast iron pans? You can bake the tater tot nachos on a large cookie sheet.
Recipe FAQS
No, tater tots cook up best when cooked from frozen. Place a single layer on a baking sheet and flip halfway through the baking time.
These really do need to be made right before serving for the best taste. You could mix together the chicken mixture and have in in a container in the refrigerator to speed up meal prep.
Traditional buffalo wings from Buffalo New York are served with blue cheese dressing. So a true wing lover would only use blue cheese, but I like using ranch, so feel free to use whichever you prefer.
Tater tots are a great thing to cook in an air fryer. They can be cooked and crispy in about 10 minutes. Make sure to shake them about halfway through.
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Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Tots
Add a spicy twist to your favorite pan of nachos with these Buffalo Chicken Tots. The combination of crispy tater tots, buffalo chicken, and melted cheese make these totchos the perfect game day food.
Ingredients
- 1 - 32 ounce bag frozen tater tots
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- ⅓ cup diced red onions
- ½ cup ranch dressing + 1 tablespoon, for garnish
- ½ cup buffalo wing sauce + 1 tablespoon, for garnish
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons green onions
- 2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°. Line a sheet pan with foil.
- Bake the tater tots for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through the cooking time.
- Stir together the diced onion, shredded chicken, ½ cup ranch dressing, and ½ cup wing sauce.
- Mix together the two cheeses in a separate bowl.
- Place half the cooked tater tots in the bottom of 2 - 6 inch cast iron skillets. Spoon half the chicken mixture on top of the tots. Sprinkle half the cheese on both skillets.
- Repeat the layers in the skillets. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted.
- Garnish with the remaining dressing, wing sauce, green onions, and blue cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can also use 3 - 6 ounce cans of chunk chicken breast. If you are using canned chicken, drain and break it apart with a fork before using.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 519Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 1083mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 35g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
*The post for buffalo chicken totchos was first published February 2019. It was updated and republished December 2022.
Vbkim
Wow! This was fantastic! I did half potato and half sweet potato tots and we couldn't stop eating! Perfect combination of flavors. Thank you!