Loaded Totchos – Crispy tater tots are covered in cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, bacon, diced tomatoes, and drizzled with sour cream.

Hooray for the start of football season! We’re about two weeks in and I am loving every second of it. Even with a newborn around, we still manage to watch college games all Saturday long. However, I must say it’s quite a departure from the watch parties we used to have.

Because lugging a newborn around is a lot of work right now, it’s hard for us to leave the house so all our football watching is done from the comfort of our living room. That means I’m usually whipping up snacks in the kitchen.

One of our favorite tailgate snacks are tater tors covered in toppings and eaten like nachos – totchos, if you will. As such, I’ve decided to share this snack with you all so you can make it for all your watch parties, too!

Check out my Loaded Totchos!

These totchos are one of our favorite snacks because it combines so many things we love into one dish – bacon, cheese, potatoes, and sour cream. It’s almost like having a loaded baked potato, well, except for the tomatoes. But you get the idea.

These totchos are also insanely easy to make, which is a bonus. First, you cook the tots according to package instructions. I chose to bake mine to save me the trouble of frying them. But I will say that frying them is probably worth the extra effort because the tots get much more crispy. The choice is yours.

After cooking the tots, lay them on a baking sheet and cover them with cheese and cooked bacon. Then we simple put in the oven to melt the cheese and then finish them with fresh tomatoes, green onions, and a drizzle of sour cream.

This recipe is super easy to throw together. But I still think there is something to be learned from a few helpful tips that I gathered for you all:

1. To help the bacon cook quickly, I cut it into pieces first and then pan fried it. I find that it takes too long to cook it as strips and then crumble it so I cut them before I cook them.
2. I used cheese that I shredded myself. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents in it to prevent the cheese from sticking together. These agents also prevent the cheese from melting nicely so I always shred my own cheese.
3. To make the sour cream easier to drizzle, I added half and half to thin it out a little bit. But milk would also work just fine. If you don’t care about the drizzle factor, dollops of sour cream are okay!
4. I wouldn’t suggest making this ahead of time because the tots will get soggy the longer they sit. However, you can prep the cheese, bacon, and tomatoes ahead of time and assemble right before serving.

And there you have it – your new favorite tailgating treat for the football season. What other treats are you making for your tailgates? Let me know in the comments below!

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