The Unexpected Shortcut That Makes Classic Potato Salad Even More Delicious

Potato salad isn't just an American classic, it's also a common side dish around the world. Still, one thing that unites most global potato salad recipes is a foundation of boiled potatoes. However, you can skip peeling, cutting, and boiling potatoes because the unexpected shortcut to transform classic potato salad into an even more delicious version is using frozen tater tots. 

Tater tots are pre-cooked, pre-seasoned, and ready to heat up in the oven or air fryer, giving you plenty of time to prepare your dressing and chop up any additional potato salad mix-ins. But, they're more than just a shortcut to save you time. They also offer a major texture and flavor upgrade to classic soft and tender boiled potatoes. Tater tots are crispy, fried, bite-sized morsels that lend a rich earthy savoriness and they'll hold their addictively crunchy bite even after being drowned in dressing. There are plenty of frozen tater tot brands to choose from, too; our favorite is Aldi's Season's Choice tater tots, with Target's Market Pantry tots coming in a close second.

You can toss tater tots into a potato salad bowl straight out of the oven to mimic the boiled chunks in a traditional recipe, but a smashed tater tot salad would also be delicious. While the tots are hot and fresh out of the oven, you can take a drinking glass, metal measuring cup, or a standard masher to them, smashing each tot flat before incorporating them into your potato salad.

Tater tots are simply fried, crunchy potatoes, so you can swap them into any potato salad recipe for an instant upgrade. If using smashed tater tots, bake them in the oven for an extra 10-20 minutes after smashing them for maximum crispiness. Whether they're smashed or not, adding the tater tots to the prepared sauce bowl is preferable to pouring sauce over the tots. Slowly folding the potatoes into the sauce will help maintain their crisp and integrity.

The internet has taken this novel idea viral, with many Instagram and TikTok foodies making their own versions. Some of our favorite mix-ins for tater tot potato salad include pickles, green or red onions, and cucumber for crunch, tang, and a spicy bite. Fresh herbs are also the key to a good potato salad; dill is the most common addition, like in our creamy dill potato salad. This French potato salad recipe uses both dill and parsley with a lighter oil-based vinaigrette dressing. Tater tots would be the perfect potato swap in both recipes. Of course, now that you have plenty of crunch from the tater tots themselves, soft or chewy mix-ins would be the perfect textural contrast. So, this recipe for bacon, egg and Ranch potato salad is a great way to diversify the texture profile of a crispy tater tot salad. Incorporate a wealth of seasonings into a mayo- or yogurt-based sauce to cut through the richness. Onion and garlic powder will brighten things up, while paprika and red pepper flakes would bring a smoky and spicy zing.