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The most perfect Baked (extra crispy) Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots. Made simply with sweet potatoes, parmesan cheese, butter, fresh herbs, plenty of flaky sea salt and black pepper. Each homemade, oven-baked tater tot is delicious…and pretty healthy too. The secret? Rolling the mashed sweet potatoes in Panko bread crumbs for a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside tater tot. Once the tots are out of the oven, drizzle with herb butter. SO GOOD. Serve these crispy sweet potato parmesan tater tots with ketchup. Or just simply enjoy them warm right out of the oven as is. Best autumn appetizer, side dish, or game-day snack!

overhead photo of Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots

These are without a doubt one of my favorite recipes. Oh my gosh.

SO GOOD.

But then, what’s not to love? Oven-baked sweet potato tater tots with herbs, garlic, and butter. Plus crispy Panko bread crumbs, and oh my gosh…parmesan too! The best ingredients all together in a cute little tater tot. Funny enough, this is a very old recipe. Yes, it’s actually a recipe from the first year of HBH that I majorly adjusted and reworked. I look back at some of my super old recipes. The ones from the early, early days of HBH, and wonder how I ever got this far. Man, those recipes…

ovehead photo of Sweet Potatoes before being coating in bread crumbs

Let’s just say that while some of them are amazing and delicious, some of them also need some serious re-working.

Which is what I did with these tater tots, and it was totally worth the effort. These are just about perfect in every way. Crunchy on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside. Hinted with fresh herbs and garlic, and seasoned just right with chili powder, salt, and pepper. Delicious.

overhead photo of sweet potato tots being rolled in bread crumbs

Here’s how I make these sweet potato parmesan tater tots.

To quickly cook the sweet potatoes I absolutely LOVE using my instant pot. Instead of cooking the potatoes in the oven for an hour plus, I simply throw them into the instant pot for 10 minutes. They come out perfectly tender every single time. Using the instant pot to cook vegetables like this is one of my best time-saving tricks.

Of course, if you don’t own an instant pot, you can easily roast the potatoes in the oven. This works just as well, it just takes a little more prep time.

Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots before baking

Once the potatoes have roasted and are super tender, mash them with freshly grated parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Slightly cool the mix, then simply scoop out tablespoon-size balls and roll in Panko bread crumbs seasoned with chili powder. I found it helpful to first scoop the potato mix out by tablespoonfuls and place each onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. As the potato mounds sit, they firm up a bit and become much easier to roll through the Panko crumbs.

Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots after baking

The trick here is not to stress. Your tater tots will not look like perfect cylinders, and you guys, that’s OK. All that matters is that you coat the potatoes in the bread crumbs. Promise, once baked the tater tots are going to look great…and taste great too.

Before baking, brush (or spray) each tater tot with olive oil. This will ensure a nice golden coloring on the outside of each tot.

side angled photo of Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tot sitting in ketchup

While the tots are baking, melt together the butter and fresh herbs, then drizzle the warm herb butter overtop.

So darn good. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, buttery, herby, and seasoned just perfectly. Every little tater tot is a delicious bite.

overhead close up photo of Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots with tot broken in half

These are best served warm, either as is or with ketchup. Honestly, they’re so delicious either way. I’m warning you now, these tots are addicting. But they’re also healthy…ish, so it’s cool. I’m excited to now have this recipe in my back pocket for upcoming Sunday game days, and even holiday parties. They’re a hit with everyone, even the kids.

And if you’re looking for more of a meal, try pairing the tater tots with these smoky chipotle cheddar burgers.

PS. with all of my family…and then some…currently in town, things are getting crazy over here, so the rest of the week’s posts will be on the shorter end. Normalcy will (hopefully) return next week once things settle down a bit, thank you for your patience!

overhead photo of Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots with tot broken in half and ketchup on tot

If you make these baked sweet potato parmesan tater tots be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Watch The How To Video:

Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots.

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 555 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Bake directly on the rack until tender, 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool.
    2. Once cool use your hands to peel away the sweet potatoes skin. It should just easily slip off. Place the potatoes in a medium-size bowl and mash well. Stir in the parmesan cheese, garlic, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
    3. Combine the Panko and chili powder in a shallow bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    4. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the sweet potato out of the bowl, roll into a cylinder and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sweet potato mix. The sweet potato mixture will be wet, don't stress, the shape does not need to be perfect. Roll the sweet potato cylinders in the crumbs to coat and place back on to the baking sheet. Lightly brush/mist each tot with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, flip and bake another 10-15 minutes or until golden and crisp.
    5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the herbs and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Drizzle the butter over the tots. Serve the tots warm, with ketchup and additional herbs, if desired.

Instant Pot

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the potatoes and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and cook on high pressure/manual for 10 minutes. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function and release the steam. Drain the potatoes.
    2. Finish as directed above from step 1 on.

Notes

To Make Ahead: the tots can be made up to 4 days ahead of time. To warm, just place the tots on a baking sheet and warm in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve as directed. 
To Freeze: bake the tots as directed through step 5. Allow to cool, then freeze on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours, until frozen. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months. To warm, bake the frozen tots at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until warmed throughout. You can drizzle the tots in herb butter before of after freezing, it doesn't matter. 
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Comments

  1. Hi! These sounded AMAZING so of course, I had to try them. Unfortunately mine turned out really dry!! Any ideas what I could have done instead?? I think maybe there wasn’t enough butter!

    Reply

  2. I made these tonight for my wife and I, and unfortunately I was very disappointed. After baking them for 30 minutes, they were still mushy. Any ideas what I did wrong?

    Reply

    1. I am so sorry! I have had so many people comment saying they loved these. Did you add all the parmesan cheese? Also, it is really important to let the tater tots sit on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes after they come out of the oven. This way they have a little time to set up and harder. If you did all that, you could try adding 1 egg and 1/4 cup flour to mix. The egg should help the tater tots firm up. Hope this helps and again I am sorry they were a disappointment! That bums me out.

      Reply

  3. Do you think you could make these without the cheese? I have a friend who loves sweet potatoes but doesn’t like cheese. I figured the cheese was used for structure along with some flavor but the only other thing I can really think so use would be bread crumbs but I’m not sure how that would taste. Ugh. I never realize how many recipes use cheese lol

    Reply

    1. Hi Angela! I think that you could sub a 1/3 cup of flour and it would work perfectly! The cheese was mostly for flavor, but since I do not know how they would hold up with out it I would sub a little flour to be safe! Hope it works and I hope you and your friend love these!

      Reply

  5. These are so tasty! I just made them, and wow do parmesan and sweet potato taste wonderful together! I didn’t have sweet potato chips, so I subbed panko bread crumbs for the outside coating and they were delicious!

    Reply

  7. These look SO GOOD! I saw them right before a trip to the grocery store and picked up a couple mammoth sweet potatoes to make them with. Thank you for the recipe. Pinning for future use. 🙂

    I found you through the Sundae Scoop Link Party.

    Reply

  8. Wow, these look so yummy! I’m always looking for ways to get our kids to eat sweet potatoes. Pinning!

    We, in Saskatchewan, like you, are still waiting for spring to arrive. The snow is still high, but at least the weather is getting warmer. 🙂

    Reply

  9. Oh my gosh, these look amazing! And yes, we’ve already broken out the flip flops in Southern California… Luckily, I live about 45 minutes north and we don’t have that icky traffic!

    Reply

  10. I have a recipe that uses sweet potatoes as ‘french toast sticks’ by baking a coating onto them. These remind me of the savory and tot version. Mine are sweet and sticks. I love these!!

    Reply

  13. These look heavenly! I’m a huge fan of french fries, and a french fry food truck would get regular business from me. My waistline is happy that such a thing does not exist in my neck of the woods. Anywho, I am also newly in love with sweet potatoes, and everything is better with parm. Definitely pinning this one!

    Reply

  14. Hi! Followed you over from Ginger Snap Crafts blog hop. Wow, do these look great! My 16 month old would love these. Now following you via FB : )

    Reply