Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tot Bombs are the ultimate bite-sized appetizer! Crispy, sweet, smoky, and completely irresistible straight from the oven.
These Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tot Bombs never disappoint. They’re simple, delicious, and feel homemade, not overly processed. Just a few quality ingredients make them shine just like my Slow Cooker Bacon Wrapped Lil’ Smokies!
Sabrina’s Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tot Bombs Recipe
Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tot Bombs are dangerous. Dangerous in the same way the Chicken Fire Poppers and Bacon Wrapped Oven Roasted Corn are dangerous. They’re so delicious you’ll immediately want to crowd the pan to eat them as quickly as possible. Only to realize 20 minutes later that eating 12 of these may be a bit overdoing it.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 24 tater tots , (I used Cascadian Organic, but any cylinder shaped tot will work)
- 24 slices sharp cheddar cheese , the size of the tater tot, but thinly sliced
- 12 slices thick cut bacon , cut in half
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat over to 400 degrees.
- When you are cutting your sharp cheddar cheese you, can cut them the same height and width as the face of your tot. Make sure that the squares are thin since your bacon should still wrap around the tots without creating a bulge for the cheese.
- Roll each tater tot with a piece of cheese on it in the piece of bacon.
- You don’t want to roll it too tight as it will tighten up even more during baking and break the tater tot inside, but just tight enough to not leave extra slack.
- Add the brown sugar to a small bowl and dip each bacon tater tot bomb in the brown sugar.
- You can pat down on it lightly to add a layer of brown sugar to it.
- Put each one in the baking pan bacon, seam side down.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until you bacon is browned.
- Careful when removing from the pan, your brown sugar is now basically molten sugar and can cause a sugar burn if you handle them immediately.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Table of Contents
About this Recipe
I used to cater a lot of parties for clients, and when I’d show up with my plan I’d created for the event, I’d hear things like: “Do you do little pigs in a blanket?” and “Ooh, let’s do those mini grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup shots again!”. I learned quickly to keep the appetizers craveable, fun, playful, and indulgent.
Chef’s Note
In the slide show above, you’ll find a good visual on the amount of brown sugar coverage you’re looking for on the tots. I don’t know about you, but brown sugar caramelized little bacon bombs are basically heaven coated in bacon (which is also heavenly around here), and the crunch of the potatoes inside with the rich melted cheese is (yep, I’m going to go there) a party in your mouth.
How to Serve
- Brunch: You could serve these along with some mini egg frittata bites made in a muffin tin/mini muffin tin for the perfect little bites to accompany this recipe.
- Game Day: Can you imagine how fast these would disappear at a football game viewing party? I’d probably at least double the recipe.
- Holidays: It’s a well-known fact that between October 30th and December 31st, calories don’t exist! These would be perfect at any holiday party you’re hosting (though maybe not great for taking to an office party since they would cool completely and, while still delicious, they are 500% better warm.
Related Recipes
More Bacon-Wrapped Goodness
These photos were in a previous version of this post
Can you you put these together the night before then bake them right before taking them to the event?
Yes!
Could these be made without the sugar? Some of us have to watch our sugar intake.
Yes, absolutley.
Would baking on a wire rack be a good idea.. for crisp?
You definitely could. Enjoy!
This is hands down the BEST appetizer. When I make these, my guests will follow me in a line as I bring the tray to our food table. I have never (and probably will never) use cheese. These are so good, I almost feel like it will take away from the taste. I am always asked to bring these wherever we go.
Glad to know it’s such a hit!
What spice is sprinkled on the finished tots?
I just added parsley for a garnish 🙂
Has anyone made these ahead of time? If yes how did you do it?
You can definitely prep them ahead of time but wait to bake them until right before serving.
Have you ever tried turkey bacon?
No, unfortunately turkey bacon just doesn’t have the fat content you want with this recipe. You can use it but it won’t create the same sort of crispy layer for the outside. Sorry.
Oh. Oh my god. In the best way possible, I want to die eating these.
Haha, they are super addicting!
These are soooo good and easy to make. Mine cooked longer than 15 mins but I like my bacon well done. Will DEFINATELY make again!!
Thank you! They are a HUGE hit in my house too!!
Could you keep these warm in a crockpot?
Yes, but they may not stay as crispy. The tots would get soggy from the steam.
Can these be made using a crock pot? Do you know how long I would need to cook them?
The crock pot wouldn’t get the tater tots crispy and the bacon may not get crispy either, so it is probably better to stick to the oven. Slow cooker bacon wrapped smokies work because with the bbq sauce they usually sit in, they don’t need to get crispy.
i think that if you par cooked the bacon before putting everything together it would really help these not be greasy and help the bacon be crispier.
I’ve tried the par cooking, but the problem then is the meat tenses up so you won’t get a good wrap around the tater tot. When raw the bacon can stretch a bit more, then sort of shrink wrap around the tot.
I just made a small sample to try before making for a party. I put mine in for 15 minutes and noticed the bacon still had a while before it was completely cooked so I went the whole 18 min. The bacon was still under cooked but now the cheese was over cooked. When I pulled them out they were swimming in grease so I thought I’d put them on paper towels only to have to scrape them off the pan, which shredded them. Obviously this didn’t work out the way they are intended to, but I want to make these cause they look amazing. Any idea what I can do different?
Hey Cybil, good thinking testing them out first! I find sometimes the cheese will ooze if the pieces are a bit bigger than I normally use. How big were you cutting the pieces? A second idea if you find the bacon is releasing too much grease would be to put them on a rack like this: http://amzn.to/2hwnLkx so that the grease doesn’t overwhelm the tots during bacon (which can also cause them to cook longer and possibly ooze more). The best advice I can give you is make sure the bacon pieces are on the meatier side than fatty (which I know can be hard because bacon can be deceivingly packed sometimes). Then make sure you’re keeping the cheese completely inside the bacon wrapping and to a manageable size. If you still have an issue with the grease definitely use the baking rack, but I think once you find a more conducive cut of bacon you may not face the same issues. Also, I am always here to troubleshoot so you can email me if you’d like to discuss more 🙂 contact @ dinnerthendessert.com
I made these today and they are great! They are greasy so I would suggest sitting them on a paper towel to soak up the grease before serving. The tots I bought were small so I cut the bacon in thirds to make a little bit more.
I only worry that the brown sugar is going to make it stick to the paper towel. 🙂
Are the tater tots frozen, defrosted or cooked prior to wrapping in bacon?
Frozen is fine, they will naturally defrost a little while you’re making them.
I love just about anything with bacon, and I would definitely devour a few of these!
Holy crap, Sabrina, what are you doin’ to me?? These look positively EVIL–in the best possible way! I am certain that I would have to make two batches for any gathering, and one would be only for me! Wow.
If these aren’t the tastiest little morsels I’ve ever seen, I don’t know what is! Just incredible!!
Oh my gosh – these have me drooling. They look wonderful!
I’d rather have these than pigs in a blanket! They look so yummy. 🙂
Oh my gosh, these are dangerous – I’d be found guilty of eating the entire batch all by myself!!
Oh my gosh! Definitely fun and indulgent! What a great treat for a party!
OMG, I would pretty much devour the entire pan 😀
These will be great for our next BBQ!
I agree! These would be super dangerous to have in my house. I’d eat them up in no time!
You are killin’ me with how wicked good these look!
I would love to snack on these at a party! They sound delicious.
Sabrina…this is the devil to all diets!!!! HOLY WOW!