Chicken, bacon and ranch totchos are potatoes’ ultimate form

What’s your favorite form of potato? There’s the simplicity of baked (or air fried) whole spuds. I love the salty crunch of chips of all sorts. The buttery comfort of mashed potatoes is hard to resist. Then there are the various types of french fries, including shoestring, steak-cut, waffle, wedge and curly. But, for me, tots reign supreme.

Made of tiny pieces of potato packed into cylinders, tots are seasoned throughout as opposed to just on the exterior. Plus, the design creates ample nooks and crannies, which allow for more crisp and crunch. Simply put, tots have more flavor and texture than other potato forms. Plus, there’s the nostalgia factor baked right into them, injecting a jolt of happiness into my system every time I indulge in them.

We have Mormon brothers Golden and F. Nephi Grigg to thank for their invention. In the middle of the 20th century, they were expanding their frozen foods business from just corn to include french fries. (The plant, located in the tiny town of Ontario, Oregon, near the border of Idaho, was the start of Ore-Ida.) The company initially had issues separating the fries from the scraps when it was processing the potatoes until a machine sorter originally meant for prunes was modified to work with potatoes. Then came the question of what to do with said scraps.

“This being the northwest, and with the Grigg brothers’ company surrounded by farmland, Nephi decided that the scraps would go to feed the cattle and other livestock owned by the Grigg family,” journalist Kelsey McKinney wrote for Eater. “This was fine for a while, until Nephi realized that these cattle were getting enormous amounts of potato product.”

After all, the potato scraps were perfectly suitable for human consumption, which also meant they could generate more revenue. So the scraps were chopped, blanched, formed into little logs, fried, frozen and packaged to be sold. Thus, in 1954, Tater Tots entered the American diet, from which they have staked their claim as a frozen-food treasure. (The brand was in the news recently for a voluntary recall, though the affected products were limited to larger food-service packages.)

Yes, you can eat them as is, adorned with ketchup or the condiment of your choosing, but that’s just the tip of the tot-berg. Perhaps the most common way to incorporate tots into dishes is in casserole form, such as the Midwestern hotdish. They can also serve as a topping for pot pie or shepherd’s pie, or get tucked in breakfast casseroles. But if you’re looking for something with a little more excitement, totchos are the way to go.

A portmanteau of “tots” and “nachos,” the potato product stands in for tortilla chips in the crowd-pleasing dish. Sure, you could go the route of loading them up with cheese, the protein of your choice, sour cream, pickled jalapeños and whatever other fixings you want, but don’t let your imagination stop there. You could give them the Buffalo treatment for a spicy kick; take inspiration from Greece and top them with feta cheese, herbs and a yogurt sauce; or go the breakfast route with scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon.

Content creator Jessica Secrest opted for chicken, bacon and ranch in her debut cookbook, “Of Course It’s Good!” Secrest dedicates an entire chapter to potato tots. “On those nights when you’re just trying to get something on the table fast?” she wrote. “That’s when we all reach for something that’s easy, satisfying, and — dare I say it — fun. That’s where potato tots come in.” As a lover of the flavor combination for as long as I can remember, I was inspired to share my version of this recipe with you. It would be just the thing to serve at any upcoming football watch parties you may be hosting in the near future. It features melted pepper Jack cheese, diced chicken, crispy pieces of bacon, and a double dose of ranch flavor from tossing the tots in seasoning powder and drizzling the entire tray with dressing. Yes, tots are already totally tubular, but these totchos are on a whole other level.

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Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Totchos

One (2-pound) bag frozen potato tots, preferably reduced-sodium

8 ounces bacon (6 to 8 slices), cut into ½-inch-wide pieces

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 medium breasts)

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon fine salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ranch seasoning powder, plus more as needed

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded pepper Jack cheese

Ranch dressing, for serving

Sliced scallions, for serving

Position racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven, and preheat to 425°F.

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper, arrange the tots in a single layer, and bake on the lower rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, add the bacon to a cold, medium (10-inch) nonstick skillet or sauté pan, set over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the fat is rendered and the bacon browns and crisps, 7 to 10 minutes. While the bacon is cooking, line a small plate or bowl with paper towels and set it near your workspace. Carefully transfer the bacon to the prepared plate with a slotted spoon. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the fat into a heatproof bowl or measuring cup, then return 2 tablespoons to the skillet. (Reserve the remaining bacon fat for another use.)

Pat the chicken dry, and sprinkle both sides with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add the chicken, and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a small sheet pan and roast on the upper rack for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the thickest part of each breast should register at least 165°F. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle, then dice.

When the tots are ready, remove from the oven, sprinkle with the ranch seasoning powder and toss to combine. Taste, and sprinkle with more ranch seasoning powder, as desired. Top with the chicken, bacon and cheese, then return the pan to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Drizzle with ranch dressing, sprinkle with scallions and serve warm.

Servings: 4-8 (makes about 8 cups)

Substitutions: For potato tots, use any frozen potatoes, or other vegetable tots. Gluten-free? Make sure you purchase potato tots labeled as such. For boneless, skinless chicken breasts, use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, with an adjustment to the cooking time. Instead of cooking chicken, you can use rotisserie or leftover chicken. For pepper Jack cheese, use any melting cheese.

Variations: For extra-crispy tots, cook them in an air fryer according to the package instructions.

Nutritional information per serving (1 cup, using reduced-sodium potato tots), based on 8: 443 calories, 26 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 24 g carbohydrates, 848 mg sodium, 82 mg cholesterol, 25 g protein, 2 g fiber, 1 g sugar.

— Adapted from “Of Course It’s Good!” by Jessica Secrest (Page Street Publishing, 2026).