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If you’re a fan of tater tots, then you’re going to enjoy these pie iron cheesy tater tots you can make over the campfire or grill. Red bell pepper, red onion and cheddar cheese combine with the tater tots to make this fun dish, and of course you can serve it as a flavorful side dish with whatever meat, poultry or fish you’re planning to have. It is also the perfect camping breakfast!
Pie iron cheesy tots are easy to make and a great reason to invest in a pie iron or two. Tater tots, peppers, onion and shredded cheese unite to make this flavorful dish.
Campfire cooking fans might also enjoy making shrimp scampi hobo packs, hot dogs with potatoes, or surf ‘n turf foil packs.
Why You’ll Love It
Easy: Cooking with a pie iron is so easy and hobo pies are so easy. With most pie iron recipes, you simply oil pie irons, add your ingredients, and cook the dish over the campfire. Here you just need to layer the ingredients and cook them!
Tasty: Tater tots always make a yummy side dish. Add veggies and cheese to elevate this simple dish to new heights. This is a tasty recipe for sure!
Versatile: Bring the ingredients on your next camping trip and you can create this tasty savory dish to go with breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Pie Iron Cheesy Tots Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tater tots: You’ll need about 15 to 20, depending on the size of your pie iron.
Vegetables: I like to use red bell pepper and red onion. Feel free to sub your favorite veggies or use green bell pepper or yellow if you prefer.
Cheddar cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese is always good. You can sub a different kind of cheese if you wish, or leave it out if you don’t want cheesy tots.
How to Make Cheesy Tots in a Pie Iron
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card
Prepare the campfire and pie iron: First get your campfire ready and warm up the pie iron (this is the one shown here) over the flames, spraying the inside with cooking spray. This guide to cooking on a campfire might be helpful.
Add the ingredients: Add a layer of tater tots to the pie iron and grind some salt and black pepper over them. Add the vegetables on top.
Cook the tater tots: Close the pie iron and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping ever few minutes.
Add the cheese: Carefully open the pie iron, add the shredded cheese and cook for another few minutes over the open fire until the cheese melts. And then serve your delicious campfire tater tots hot!
Substitutions and Variations
Different veggies: Feel free to sub green, yellow or orange bell pepper for the red, or yellow or white onion for the red onion. You can also add other vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, or even jalapenos if you want to spice things up.
Tater tot alternatives: Hash browns would work in place of the tater tots, or you could use seasoned tater tots, tater rounds or tater puffs.
Another cheese: You can swap the cheddar cheese for another kind, perhaps colby jack, mozzarella or Swiss cheese, or use a blend of different cheeses.
Serving Suggestions
Appetizers: Kick off your campfire meal with one of these Italian appetizers or slice up some crusty bread and serve with a homemade artichoke dip.
Main dishes: French dip sandwiches or pineapple chicken hobo pies pair well with these cheesy tots.
For dessert: How do apple crisp, pie iron upside-down cakes or banana boats sound? Both are created for campfire cooking!
How to Store Pie Iron Tater Tots
Store: Keep cooked leftovers refrigerated and eat within a couple of days.
Freeze: I wouldn’t freeze these.
Reheat: You can either reheat these back in your pie irons or, if you’re home, in the microwave.
Top Tips
Season to taste: As tater tots are already tasty, I usually only add salt and black pepper to my cheesy tater tot foil packs, but you can add anything you want to your pudgy pies like garlic salt, butter or a pinch of any kind of dried herbs you want. Minced garlic is good too.
Accompaniments: Serve a dollop of sour cream with your tater tots or perhaps some ketchup or mayo.
Correct cooking time: The exact cooking time depends how hot your campfire is, whereabouts the pie irons are placed in or around the fire and also what pie iron you’re using (as some are thicker or less conductive than others). The best thing is to keep an eye on the recipe and serve once the tater tots are hot throughout.
Pie Iron Tater Tots with Cheese FAQs
If you aren’t camping, you can make this using a cast iron skillet on the stove or even bake them in the oven. However, cooking the tater tots over hot coals is the most fun cooking method!
Add some chopped cooked hot dogs or shredded cooked chicken if you want to make this a main dish instead of a side dish. The whole family will love it, whatever you pick.
Most tater tot brands are vegan but check the ingredients list to double-check. You can use your favorite vegan alternative to the cheddar cheese. If you’re cooking non-vegan items in the pie iron, either clean it out well between courses or buy a second pie iron to use for vegan-friendly dishes.
You can find plenty of different ones in different sizes online or at specialty outdoor stores. I personally love using the Rome pie irons. (it’s the ones I use and they are sturdy!)
Pie Iron Cheesy Tater Tot Recipe
Pie Iron Cheesy Tater Tots
Ingredients
- 15 to 20 tater tots, to fill pie iron
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ red onion, diced
- ½ Cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- nonstick cooking spray, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the pie iron over the fire while getting your supplies ready.
- Spray the insides of the pie iron with cooking spray.
- Arrange a layer of tater tots at the bottom of the pie iron.
- Season tots with salt and black pepper. Then add the peppers and onions on top.
- Close lid and place on the fire over coals but not directly in the flames.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping every few minutes. Check often as time will vary depending on where the pie iron is placed in the fire.
- Add the cheese and close the lid. Cook over the fire again for 3 more minutes, cheese side up, or until cheese is melted.
Notes
Accompaniments: Serve a dollop of sour cream with your tater tots or perhaps some ketchup or mayo.
Correct cooking time: The exact cooking time depends how hot your campfire is, whereabouts the pie irons are placed in or around the fire and also what pie iron you’re using (as some are thicker or less conductive than others). The best thing is to keep an eye on the recipe and serve once the tater tots are hot throughout.
Nutrition
You’re sure to enjoy this delicious cheesy tots recipe if you want to do some campfire cooking and stick to tasty, easy recipes. The tater tots pair up with vegetables and cheddar cheese and they cook beautifully over the fire.
Serve the crispy cooked tater tots with your favorite campfire meat or poultry for dinner or pair them with fried or scrambled egg and toppings like tomatoes and mushrooms if you’re enjoying them for breakfast.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
This was great! I will make it again.
Glad you liked it!