Easy Baked Sweet Potato Tater Tots

GFVGVDF
Jump to Recipe
Jar of our delicious vegan Sweet Potato Tater Tots

If you love sweet potato fries, you will LOVE these easy baked sweet potato tater tots. Or as I like to call them, Sweet Potater Tots. (Insert: laughing crying emoticons.) Plus, 7 ingredients – huzzah!

Big bowl of Easy Baked Sweet Potato Tater Tots and a jar of ketchup

Origins of Tater Tots

Tater tots were invented in the 1950s as a way to use up leftover potato scraps from making french fries. The invention came from brothers Nephi and Golden Grigg who owned a potato processing plant in Oregon near the Idaho border. Gotta love their resourcefulness!

The following is inspired by the bite-sized, crispy tots, but with the swap of sweet potatoes.

Bowl of mashed sweet potatoes and a food processor filled with finely ground breading

Sweet Potato Tater Tots

So I’ve tried to make sweet potato tater tots before and it didn’t work out. They either weren’t flavorful enough or the texture was off. And I wasn’t about to fry them, so back to the drawing board I went. This time, success!

The secret here is the panko bread crumbs, which I seasoned namely with salt, sugar and cinnamon. It gives the tots a crispy outer crust with tons of flavor.

Baking sheet filled with a batch of our Sweet Potato Tater Tots recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato Tater Tots on a baking sheet

The next essential step is baking them until they’re golden brown and slightly crisp. The longer you bake, the crispier they’ll get. It’s magic.

Bowl of Easy Vegan Sweet Potato Tater Tots and a spice jar filled with ketchup

The result is kind of perfect. These tots are:

Crispy on the outside
Tender on the inside
Perfectly sweet
Subtly cinnamon-y
Like sweet potato fries crammed into a tot
& Kind of perfect

You could make these to serve alongside sandwiches or veggie burgers, breakfasty things, brunch, or on their own with other snacky appetizers like these vegan jalapeno poppers or cotija corn dip!

They’re perfectly poppable and sweet and I kind love them. Hope you will, too. Cheers!

Dipping a homemade Sweet Potato Tater Tot into a jar of ketchup
Close up shot of Baked Sweet Potato Tater Tots revealing the crispy outsides and tender insides

Easy Baked Sweet Potato Tater Tots

7-ingredient baked sweet potato tater tots tossed in a cinnamon panko coating that gives them a crisp outer crust. If you like sweet potato fries, you will LOVE these tots!
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Overflowing bowl of Baked Sweet Potato Tater Tots with a jar of homemade ketchup in the background
4.58 from 14 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 30 (tots)
Course Appetizer, Dessert, Side, Snack
Cuisine American, Gluten-Free, Vegan
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? Best when fresh

Ingredients

FOR THE TOTS

  • 2 large sweet potatoes (scrubbed + washed // organic if possible)
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp sugar (I used organic cane sugar)

FOR THE COATING

  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs* (gluten-free for GF eaters)
  • 1 Tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil (melted)
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

  • Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake in a 400-degree F (204 C) oven for 45 minutes – 1 hour until softened, OR in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes. Let cool to touch.
  • While sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare coating. Add all ingredients EXCEPT butter to a food processor and blend until incorporated. While mixing, stream in butter. Dip your finger in to give it a taste. If you prefer it more savory, add more salt. If you prefer it sweeter, add more sugar or cinnamon.
  • Peel sweet potatoes and add to a mixing bowl. Add cinnamon and mash – you’re not looking for a puree, but rather a rough mash. If your sweet potatoes are already pretty sweet on their own, omit the sugar. Otherwise, add it in and mix.
  • Set in fridge to chill and preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
  • Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Scoop out scant 1 Tbsp amounts of sweet potato puree and form them into a “tot” shape – an oblong circle.
  • Transfer to coating and use a spoon to gently toss to coat. Transfer to baking sheet and spritz the top with olive or canola oil to help them crisp up (optional).
  • Bake for 20 minutes, then gently flip. Bake for 20 minutes more then serve immediately. If you want them firmer, just bake them an additional 10-15 minutes. The longer you cook them the crispier they’ll get!
  • To freeze and bake later, form into tots, roll in coating, then transfer to baking sheet and freeze. Once thoroughly frozen, add to freezer-safe bag or container to store for later. When ready to bake, place on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, flip, then bake for 25-30 minutes more or until they reach the desired doneness.
  • You really don’t need dip for these, but if you want, ketchup or a spicy aioli of some kind would be lovely.

Notes

*Instead of panko, you could potentially sub something like almond or pecan meal, but I didn’t try it myself so I can’t vouch for it! I would assume it would be delicious, though.
*If you wanted to get a savory/sweet flavor combo going, consider adding a pinch of cayenne or chili powder to the sweet potatoes and/or the coating.
*Recipe makes ~30 tots.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with vegan butter.

Nutrition (1 of 30 servings)

Serving: 1 tots Calories: 27.9 Carbohydrates: 5.7 g Protein: 0.4 g Fat: 0.4 g Saturated Fat: 0.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0 g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 35.3 mg Potassium: 35 mg Fiber: 0.5 g Sugar: 2.1 g Vitamin A: 1450 IU Vitamin C: 0.3 mg Calcium: 10 mg Iron: 0.2 mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @minimalistbaker on Instagram and hashtag it #minimalistbaker so we can see all the deliciousness!

If you love this recipe...

Get Our Fan Favorites eBook Here!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment & Rating!

Have a question? Use ctrl+f or ⌘+f on your computer or the "find on page" function on your phone browser to search existing comments! Need help? Check out this tutorial!

My Rating:




  1. Donny says

    These turned out pretty good!

    Some feedback I would give is to make them
    1 teaspoon-sized instead of 1 tablespoon if you want them crispier. Also, I baked mine at a higher temperature than what the recipe said. 450 F made them turn out much nicer than I’d imagine 375 F would.
    But anyway, the coating is perfect and it smells wonderful. Would recommend. ;)

  2. Teagon says

    I had huge sweet potatoes that I wanted to get a use out of, so I decided to try making this.

    I mixed all the dry seasoning ingredients together, blitzed it in a spice grinder, added it to a small bowl. and then added in melted (dairy) butter, incorporating it in with a spoon. For the mashed sweet potato, I didn’t add the extra sugar and instead added in some salt and ground pepper along with the cinnamon.

    For the flavour: it really is very sweet. I ate mine with some chipotle tomato salsa to help cut the sweetness, but I can’t say it was my cup of tea. My husband, though, was a huge fan.

    For the texture: Not really crispy (I did the additional baking time, but I didn’t add any oil), but it definitely holds its shape.

    For the measurements (I followed metric because I was baking a completely different ratio of sweet potatoes): the amount of coating is way too high for the amount of sweet potato (of which 350 g for two large sweet potatoes is really not accurate, might I add). I had a ton of sweet potato left (and my husband liked them a lot), so I made some more tater tots. I ended up using about 1 kg of sweet potato total in order to finish off the coating. If you aren’t convinced you’ll love these and are sticking to making a minimum amount of sweet potato, I’d suggest making a third of the coating or else you will be stuck with leftover coating.

  3. Diana says

    I’ve been a huge fan of this website for years now so I know almost all of the time that your recipes are delicious and easy – but this one turned out SO MUCH BETTER than I thought it would. I’m usually skeptical about anything baked that would normally be fried (I absolutely hate frying, too!) and this totally blew me away. The tots are super crunchy and super delicious. Both my kids ate them and they NEVER eat the same thing (one is super picky and the other will eat pretty much anything!) This will definitely be on repeat in the house! (I already stashed another batch in the freezer!)

  4. Annette says

    I make a lot of recipes from here and this was my boyfriend’s favorite! I made it for Super Bowl Sunday to go with chili burgers. Super easy to make. I cooked them longer so they were pretty crispy which wa awesome. Definitely having this again soon.

  5. Dave says

    You lost me at “And I wasn’t about to fry them”
    I’m all for eating healthy but some things are just plain better fried and if you use a healthier cooking oil like coconut oil, it is fine to do occasionally. Only thing I’m concerned about with frying is there is nothing binding it or holding it together.
    Thanks for the idea though! :)

    • Jon says

      Then after you’re done breading, freeze them, then toss them in the fryer when frozen. Also I appreciate tasty non fried recipes. Not necessarily for health reasons, as it’s been proven that when cooked properly, fried foods hardly soak up any oil. But frying is smelly, messy, and a lot of work and showering and cleaning your face and washing all your clothes because your whole life now smells like oil.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      I’m not sure as we haven’t tried it, but if you experiment with the recipe, report back on how it goes. Good luck!

  6. Anna Nicholls says

    I’m interested in trying your recipe BUT… I prefer eating my sweet potatoes savory NOT sweet. I have some ideas on what I can do savory-wise, but wanted to get your take as well. Thanks?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi LaVal! We haven’t tried it so we can’t say for sure, if you do let us know how it turns out!

  7. Liz says

    I know you mentioned freezing these BEFORE baking but can you also freeze these after baking and then reheating it in the oven? Just wondering because my baby is just starting solids and would only eat 2 or 3 at a time. :)

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi! I have not tried freezing them after baking but if you do, let me know how it goes! The only thing I see that might change, is that they won’t be as crispy when frozen than defrosted. Good luck!

  8. YogiTwins says

    These were great for my kids after school snack (and mine:-)). They don’t typically like sweet potatoes but these were a hit! We dipped the tots into maple syrup instead of ketchup and it was a perfect pairing! Next time I’ll add a little more butter to the batter just to give the outside a crispier crust. Other than that – they are de-lish as is!

  9. Becky says

    Fantastic sweet potato tater tots!!! Just made them and my family LOVED them!!! So crispy!! Thanks for a great recipe!!

  10. Mel says

    Yum. I need to work on my tot shapes, but our sweet potato balls were scrumptious! They were toddler approved too – which never happens the first time he’s offered something. Can’t wait to make them again.

  11. Karla Tytus says

    I’m looking forward to try this but I’m gluten free. Is there a substitute for panko and cornmeal ( I can eat corn, I just prefer to not buy it since I never use it)? Thanks!

  12. Yolanda B. says

    These are amazing! I just made them and they are so delicious. My son loved them too. Thanks for sharing this!

  13. Erin Fergus says

    I just made these tonight and coated them with almonds ground in a food processor based on your suggestion of using almond meal as a substitution. They taste like a divine finger food version of sweet potato casserole! Looking forward to trying with Panko to taste the difference :)

  14. Kim says

    I have never been one to enjoy a sweet potato with other sweet ingredients so I was apprehensive about adding cinnamon and sugar but I followed the recipe as its written and must admit that the combo of sweet (sugar and cinnamon) and savoury (salt and chili powder) was divine! Thank you, this recipe is as my daughter says a “make again”

  15. bahan ajar says

    Woah this blog is fantastic i love studying your articles. Keep up the great paintings! You understand, a lot of persons are searching round for this information, you could aid them greatly.

  16. Kourtney says

    OMG! These were sooo delicious and went perfectly with my baked broccoli burger :)

    Any suggestions when it comes to sweet potato fries? Mine always end up mushy :/

  17. Avra-Sha Faohla says

    Simple and delicious! I didn’t have bread crumbs so I crumbled up some bread and put it in the oven at 300 F for six minutes. It worked great! Thanks for the recipe!

  18. kathryn says

    made these for dinner tonight and they could not have been easier or more delicious. and my bf was super impressed i made them totally from scratch. thanks for the great recipe!

  19. Debra @ Worth Cooking says

    Love this idea! I am always on the look out for new ways to serve sweet potatoes as they are a family favorite. This is the first time I have seen this.

  20. Calliope says

    Dammit! I already started making cauliflower tots for dinner. Guess these will have to wait, for now. They look amazing!

  21. Liz says

    I just decided sweet potato was my new favorite thing to eat! It’s so yummy and wonderful and I’m so excited at the timing of this post! Thank you for your incredible work on this blog. I check it daily and am always looking for new recipes to try out.

  22. Millie l Add A Little says

    Yum!! I love sweet potatoes (kind of obsessed…) and these look so good for a snack, although I would probably en up eating them all haha!

  23. CakePants says

    Yum!! I love sweet potato fries (and basically anything coated with panko bread crumbs), so I’m sure this will be a new favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  24. Leah says

    These look delicious! I love sweet potatoes – so I will have to give these a try. Tater tots were a staple in my house growing up but they were definitely not homemade. ;)

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      Mine too! Tater tots in general – especially from Sonic. Ha! Glad I have a homemade version in my arsenal now :D

  25. Emily @ Life on Food says

    These look fantastic. Sweet potato fries is one of my most favorite things. I love that you sneaked in a little sugar and cinnamon.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      Yes! It really enhances the goodness that sweet potatoes already have going on. Hope you enjoy these, Emily!

  26. Leigha @ The Yooper Girl says

    Ooooh, YUM! I’ve never been a fan of real tater tots, but sweet potater tots? YES. They almost look like mini doughnut holes :)

  27. Ella says

    yes PLEASE! Sweet taters are my favorite things, always. And I haven’t had a tater tot in years! Thanks for sharing :)

  28. Audrey says

    OMG I almost died when I saw this post. These look so epic. ;)
    P.S: I was wondering if you have a certain brand of panko you like to use? Thanks.

  29. jesse says

    These look stunning! I wibder if they would freeze well? That way I could have a healthier tot for my girls! Thank you!

  30. Candace @ The Wheatless Kitchen says

    These look INSANE! I can’t wait to make them! So many of my favorite things all at once :)

  31. Meredith @ Unexpectedly Magnificent says

    I just used sweet potato tater tots last night! I once tried to make them myself and they were too mushy. I love the idea of using panko to crisp them up! :)

  32. Maryea {happy healthy mama} says

    Who doesn’t love a tater tot?! Haven’t had one in years, but this post is bringing me back! I love that you used sweet potatoes.

  33. Ala says

    “It’s magic!” Please tell this magic to appear straight on my dinner plate! I love easy bake versions of almost any food, but I tasted tater tots for the first time in years recently and have been craving them ever since–though sweet potatoes are such a brilliant idea. I love it, Dana!

  34. Librarian Lavender says

    This looks so, so good! I’m definitely going to try the recipe! It will be something entirely new for me and I can’t wait to find out how it tastes.

  35. Averie @ Averie Cooks says

    Coconut oil, cinnamon, and sweet potatoes are dreamy! And I love the Panko action! My Monday recipe is a Panko recipe and I want to make your tots next – I still have tons of Panko on hand! They look incredible! Pinned :)