Tater Tot Cups with Chicken and Bacon

These tater tot cups are a great appetizer, afternoon snack, or even a main course. Golden tots are topped with crispy chicken tenders, smoky bacon, cheddar, and sour cream, and served in a fun handheld package.

These quick, easy, and delicious cups are made with frozen tater tots, chicken tenders, bacon, cheddar, and sour cream.

They make the perfect easy gluten-free appetizers alongside other poppable eats like lemon pepper honey wings or chicken sliders.

I also love serving them as an unexpected addition to my gluten-free main dishes paired with sweet potato fries with Big Mac sauce.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Limited Ingredients: It only takes a handful of ingredients to make these cups.
• Super Easy: It only takes a few simple steps and a little over 30 minutes from start to finish.
• Classic Comfort Food Flavor: Every bite is loaded with tots, chicken tenders, bacon, cheese, and sour cream. It's total comfort food.
• Versatile: Of course, these are amazing appetizers, but they make a super-fun main course, as well.
• Kid-Friendly: What kid can resist tots and chicken tenders?!

Key Ingredients

You'll find a complete list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.

• Tater Tots: Any brand or size of tots will work for this recipe, so you don't have to be choosy about the ones you buy.
• Chicken Strips: Fully cooked chicken strips add tons of delicious flavor. I use Springer Mountain Farms chicken strips for their high quality and commitment to no added antibiotics, hormones, or meat by-products in their feed.
• Bacon: Bacon adds a smoky, salty flavor.
• Cheese: Cheddar cheese adds more flavor and a melty texture.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream adds rich, tanginess that's perfect with the bacon, chicken, and tots.

Variations

• Chicken Strips: You can use chicken strips, nuggets, or cut-up patties for this recipe as long as they're coated.
• Cheese: I love cheddar cheese for these cups, but you can use your favorite cheese.
• Ranch: Mix ranch dressing seasoning into the sour cream for a zesty, tangy ranch version.
• Breakfast Cups: Use breakfast sausage in place of chicken, eggs, and cheese.
• Other Toppings: Top these tots with other ingredients like the sauce from my Buffalo chicken pasta, chicken bacon ranch pasta, or gluten free Hamburger Helper to create different variations.

How to Make Tater Tot Cups

1. Air fry the chicken tenders until heated through and crispy. Then, cut them up into small pieces.

2. Place the tots in the wells of a prepared muffin tin. Then, bake until soft but not fully cooked. Use a shot glass to press down the center of the tots and bake again until crunchy and golden.

3. Add the shredded cheese and bake again until the cheese is melted and the tots are golden brown.

4. Top with chicken, bacon, sour cream, and green onions, and enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Grease the Muffin Tin: Be sure to lightly but thoroughly grease or spray the muffin pan wells to prevent sticking.
• Adjust Your Tot Amount for Size: Use more tots if you have smaller tots. You'll add about 5 regular tots or 8 to 10 small tots.
• Be Careful with Your Baking: Be sure to bake the tots until they're soft but not fully cooked the first time around. Overbaking them at the start can cause the cups to crumble along the edges.
• Kitchen Shears Make Things Easier: Use kitchen shears to easily cut up the chicken tenders for the cups.
• Grease the Shot Glass: Grease the bottom of your shot glass before pressing into the tots to keep them from sticking to the glass when you remove it.

Tater Tot Cups FAQs

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