Loaded BBQ Chicken Totchos
These cheesy loaded BBQ chicken totchos (tater tot “nachos”) are fantastic! Hearty enough for an easy weeknight dinner, fun enough for an appetizer or party – they are so yummy!
This innocent-looking tater tot recipe is easily one of the best things I’ve eaten all year. Delicious eaten warm straight from the pan, the leftovers are even better.
I’ve never considered myself a tater tot fan, but thanks to these totchos, I am firmly planted in the keep-tater-tots-around-at-all-times camp.
How to Make Totchos
These loaded totchos are incredibly easy to make. On a sheet pan or in a 9X13-inch pan bake tater tots until sizzling, and then layer:
- Cooked chicken + BBQ sauce
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Bacon
- More cheese (of course)
This layered concoction bakes until the cheese is melty and all the ingredients are hot and bubbling.
Once the totchos come out of the oven, start layering on the toppings.
You can pick and choose whatever toppings you like, but here are our favorite toppings for these loaded BBQ chicken totchos:
- Sour cream
- Chopped tomatoes
- Chopped avocados or guacamole
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Sliced jalapeños (fresh or jarred)
SO INCREDIBLY YUMMY.
All of the ingredients in the tochos and the toppings can be altered according to your likes, dislikes and little taste buds. It’s a very adaptable recipe! Just follow your heart. You really can’t mess these up.
A Moment of Silence for Leftovers
These BBQ chicken totchos make an excellent and very easy weeknight dinner. But they’d be perfect for an appetizer or party or any other special, fun event.
What I really need to emphasize one more time is my undying love for the leftovers.
Slightly warmed up in the microwave, toppings and all and with extra cheese for good measure, these totchos are the most heavenly mess of leftover deliciousness I’ve ever eaten.
Like, hide the leftovers behind the wilting container of spinach in the fridge kind of good. I can’t wait for you to try these totchos. They are next level delicious.
One Year Ago: Lemon White Chocolate Cream Bars
Two Years Ago: Rhubarb Custard Cake
Three Years Ago: Super Easy Focaccia Bread (No Mixer Needed!)
Four Years Ago: Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Five Years Ago: Make-Ahead Refrigerator Bran Muffins
Six Years Ago: Chili Lime Tacos with Mango Salsa {Grill or Instant Pot}
Seven Years Ago: Simple and Delicious Sour Cream Muffins
Eight Years Ago: Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread {Pao de Queijo}
Nine Years Ago: Layered Mexican Cornbread Salad
Ten Years Ago: Classic Snickerdoodles
Loaded BBQ Chicken Totchos
Ingredients
- 28-ounce bag tater tots
- 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
- 1 ½ cups BBQ sauce
- 2 to 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ cup thinly sliced or chopped red onion
- ½ to 1 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (about 6-8 slices)
Toppings:
- Sour cream
- Chopped tomatoes
- Diced avocados or guacamole
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced or diced fresh or jarred jalapeños
- Any other toppings you like
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Arrange tater tots in an even single layer down the center of a half sheet pan or in the bottom of a 9X13-inch baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tater tots are heated through and sizzling (they'll cook more in a later step).
- While the tater tots bake, combine the cooked chicken and BBQ sauce.
- Top the tater tots evenly with the chicken mixture, half of the cheese, red onion, bacon, and remaining cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and all the ingredients are heated through.
- Top with any and all toppings you like and dig in.
The recipe as written is awesome. A variation: I was staring down the freezer on a Saturday night, trying to figure out what to make (always burnt out by this point of the week), and found tater tots, frozen pulled pork from a previous meal, and I remembered a bag of cole slaw from the fridge that needed to be used….fantastic combination!! We piled the slaw on top of individual servings and ate every last bit.
We have made this so many times as written and it is delicious! This time I had some cooked and seasoned taco meat in the freezer, so we made taco totchos with taco meat and leftover pinto beans. They were just as good! Thanks for a great (and versatile) recipe!
Mel, we tried this last night and ABSOLUTELY loved it! I’m one of your biggest fans (not just in physical size but in adoration :)) and make your recipes all the time. I tell everyone that will listen about you. This recipe made me dream about having leftovers for lunch today. Yum, yum, yum Can’t wait to invite people over and make it again.
Thank you so much, Mary!!
This was a bomb recipe! So genius! I had leftover salsa chicken (mildly flavored) and added some bbq sauce to flavor it up. Was too lazy for bacon (I know. Just one of those days)but topped it off with some of Mel’s lime cilantro dressing we had leftover from the cafe Rio night the night before. It was so delicious. The whole family gobbled it up. Thanks Mel!!!
This is great! I didn’t have tots so I cooked those “little potatoes” on the grill, smashed them and continued with the toppings- yum!
What is all the hype about?! Well, just try it and you will see. I wish I would have made a full batch so I could try leftovers. It is satisfying to taste every flavor. There are no throw away ingredients. They go together harmoniously. Everyone enjoyed it. Thank you!
This has become a new family favorite for all the right reasons: Fast and easy to put together, minimal clean up and so so good. We all fight over the leftovers. When there are leftovers.
A fantastic meal was enjoyed by all! Thank you
These were the best to end fast Sunday ha! We had all the basics and gobbled it right up. Definitely making again.
Amazing! My family was super skeptical when they saw me putting this together. When I said I was making “totchos” I think they thought I had finally lost my marbles. But after they tasted it my highly critical nine year old said it belongs in a five star restaurant. This will definitely be a regular for us, especially for school nights. Thank you!
My family loves this meal! I make it super easy and use instead of chicken, three large cans of shredded pork from Costco. I mix it with the BBQ sauce and 1 Tbsp of steak sauce then proceed with the recipe as written. Super easy, weeknight dinner that every one loves!
I saw this recipe right before my tot-loving husband’s birthday. It was perfect! He and most of the rest of our crew loved it. I have two kids that don’t like bbq sauce. Weirdos.
Ridiculously easy and delicious. All my kids ate it (a minor miracle).
I am dying to try this recipe, but the only meat I have on hand at the moment is ground beef. Could I sub this for the chicken and leave the rest of the recipe as is?
Sure, I think you could try that!
This was so good. Comfort food at its best! I made it for my husband and 6 kids as they got back from a day of hard work and chainsawing. It was delicious and filling. I didn’t have any avocados or jalapeños but it would be even better with them. This would be a good take-in meal for a family with kids!
This was so good. Comfort food at its best! I made it for my husband and 6 kids as they got back from a day of hard work and chainsawing. It was delicious and filling. I didn’t have any avocados or jalapeños but it would be even better with them. This would be a good, easy take-in meal for a family with kids.
A million stars. Delicious. Surprising. ADDICTIVE! A new family favorite.
We had plans to go camping this weekend and my daughter suggested we make tin-foil nachos. I had just seen this recipe and thought it might be fun to try it over a fire. So, we did tin foil totchos! I made slow cooker BBQ shredded chicken and did not add any extra bbq sauce when we cooked them. As with any food cooked over a fire, they were not evenly cooked and would have been better in the oven. But, they were still quite good and really fun. Also, way easier than trying to do regular tin foil dinners.
What a fantastic camping meal!! Thanks for the suggestion!
This looks soo good!! I make something similar with waffle or crinkle fries and bbq pulled pork as the base. I add corn and green onions but hadn’t thought of any fresh nacho toppings like you have added after baking. I am definitely making a hybrid version of my recipe and yours next time. Thanks for the fun ideas 🙂
These totchos were soooo good! My 13-year-old said, “Mom, this looks like restaurant food!” They were a hit. Thanks!
Hi Mel! Do you have a recommendation on best form of cooked chicken for this recipe? Like should I just cook some cut up pieces on the stove? Or what’s your fave for this dish? This looks like a fun Friday night dinner!
Hey Carolee! I usually use a rotisserie because it’s quick and easy (and I don’t have to cook the chicken). Some people have reported back they used canned chicken and it worked great, too. Or you can cook some chicken thighs or breasts in the instant pot or slow cooker and shred OR do what you suggested and cook up chicken pieces in a skillet on the stove. There’s really no wrong way!
Loved !
Made these for dinner tonight — delish! My family was snatching bites of things the whole time I was prepping it, so I had to kick them out of the kitchen. My daughter can be picky at times, but she even asked me to make this for her birthday dinner (which isn’t for a couple more months lol!). Thanks for another yummy dish, Mel!
Oops forgot to add some stars…
I made these for a family gathering and they were a huge hit!! Thanks Mel!!!
Yay, Linda! Thanks for letting me know!
My husband is with you – he is NOT a fan of tater tots, yet this recipe had him digging in for seconds! He can’t eat tomato/nightshade based foods, so on his half I used a homemade queso recipe instead of the barbecue sauce. Between the two options, it was a hit with everyone!
My five stars didn’t seem to take in my first comment, so I’m making sure they do in my second!
Thanks for the review, Ashley! Great idea on using queso to offset having to eliminate some ingredients. Happy these were a hit!
Mel.. this was amazing! I switched out regular bacon for turkey bacon. And regular tater tots for sweet potato ones! Absolutely amazing! Your best recipe yet. Thanks as always.
Also.. wanted to mention to anyone reading this. The guacamole is definitely necessary!!! Lol
Ha! I agree about the guac!
Nachos are my favorite food, so I am definitely going to have to try these, BUT I have never liked BBQ sauce/flavoring. I’m afraid if I leave it out these will be dying for some seasoning/flavor. Any suggestions on alternate flavors/sauces/spices/marinades that can give the chicken a yummy boost?
Hi Courtney, you could try to mix spices like cumin, chili powder, oregano, etc into a tomato-based mixture (like tomato sauce maybe?) and toss that with the chicken for a Mexican-ish flavor vibe?
Same! I used grilled chicken which was all ready super tasty and queso (nacho cheese sauce) and is was DELISH!
Yum! Came on here to figure out what to make for dinner tonight and as always, you didn’t let me down! Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know, Tara!
Oh my gosh! I made these tonight and they were PHENOMENAL! I used the Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce from Trader Joe’s. YUM! Thanks, Mel!
I forgot to put my five stars on my review! So I’m back to make sure everyone knows how amazing these are. Hahaha!
Oh yay! I’m so, so happy you loved them! I was really hoping people would love this recipe as much as I did!
We tried these tonight and we loved them! I only made half the recipe for my husband and me and we have enough for another meal. I will definitely make these again!
Thanks, Colleen! Appreciate you letting me know!
These were amazing!
I’m so happy you liked them! Thanks for letting me know!
Looks so yummy! Can’t wait to try this!! Thanks Mel!!