There are several ways to par cook the potatoes, my favorite way is to pressure cook them, but if you don't have a pressure cooker use the microwave or stovetop method. Pressure Cook: Place 1 cup of water into the inner pot and put the potatoes in the basket or on a rack so they are elevated above the water. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes and then immediately release the pressure. If your potatoes weigh more than 8 ounces each, increase the PC time to 6-7 minutes. Microwave: Poke a few holes in the potatoes and microwave on. high for 5-7 minutes or until a fork starts to pierce the potatoes and meets resistance towards the center. Stovetop: Boil the whole potatoes for about 10 minutes or until a fork will pierce the outside of the potato and meets resistance towards the center.
1½ pounds Russet Potatoes
Once the potatoes are cooked allow to cool for at least 2 hours. This step can be done 1-2 days in advance.
Making the Tater Tots
Peel the cooked and cooled potatoes and using a box grater or a food processor with a grating blade, grate the potatoes and place them into a large bowl. You want a large shred on the potatoes.
Cut and peel a small onion and using the smaller holes on the grater, grate the onion. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add 2 Tablespoons of the grated onion to the potato mixture.
2 Tablespoons grated onion
Mix the spices with the cornstarch and sprinkle over the potato mixture. Toss gently with your hands until you no longer see any cornstarch.
1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1½ teaspoons fine grind sea salt or kosher salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Scoop out 1 Tablespoon of the potato mixture and form the tater tot by making a cylinder in the palm of your and and pressing down on the top and bottom with your thumb and forefinger while rotating the tater tot.
Place the formed tater tots in a gallon size bag and once they are all in the bag sprinkle them with cornstarch. Gently toss the tater tots around to coat them as evenly as possible. Dump them out onto a tray.
Spritz or drizzle oil over the tater tots and roll them around to lightly coat with oil. Use just enough oil so you no longer see the cornstarch.
Air Frying Tater Tots
Preheat the air fryer with the air frying basket or crisping tray inside the appliance at 400℉/200℃ for a full 10 minutes.
Place the tater tots in a single layer and air fry on 400℉/200℃ for 6 minutes. Flip and air fry an additional 4-6 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
Freezing Uncooked Homemade Tater Tots
Once the tater tots are made and coated in cornstarch and oil, place them on a parchment-lined tray and freeze them in a single layer for about 5 hours or overnight.Transfer the frozen tater tots to a freezer bag and store for up to 6 months. The oil coating will reduce ice crystals so don't skip that step!
Air Frying Frozen Tater Tots
You can follow these same instructions whether you are air frying homemade tater tots from frozen or the frozen store-bought ones.Preheat the air fryer on the hottest setting for a full 10 minutes with the cooking surface inside the air fryer.Place the tater tots into the air fryer. You can put them in more than a single layer when they are frozen, but I find they cook better and break apart less when I keep them in a single layer.Air fry on 375℉/190℃ for about 12 minutes or until they are golden brown. Don't try to flip or move them for at least 6 minutes or they may stick.