Tater Tot Crusted Meatloaf

It looks like a huge tater tot, but the tot is just a crust for meatloaf! The crispy tot crust gives way to a tender and juicy meatloaf with all that delicious flavor locked inside! Ketchup is a common glaze for meatloaf and it obviously goes great with tater tots too, but I wanted to give mine a kick! I used a little chipotle, honey, and mustard to amp up the glaze and it was a perfect topper for this meatloaf!

The inspiration for this recipe

I have been wanting to make a tater tot crusted meatloaf for a long time! It was originally listed as one of the ideas for my tater tot cookbook. I could never get it to work right though! One of the problems was I was doing a regular sized meatloaf and the whole thing was too huge! It was unwieldy and would fall apart so easily. I had versions break before cooking, in the oven, and especially in the cutting process. It has been about 7 years since that book came out and I revisited the recipe with new knowledge. Having the idea to do these as individual size was the true breakthrough though.

Make the tater tot mixture

This part starts like my normal technique for tater tots but changes later on to create a perfect crust for the meatloaf. Cut the potatoes into big chunks. Season with salt and toss with oil. Bake super hot to brown the edges while keeping the middle undercooked. I baked them at 500 for 10 minutes and then broiled them for another 10.

Once browned, let it cool fully. Add to a food processor and pulse until you get little flecks of potato

Forming the tater tot crust for the meatloaf

Here is where the meatloaf crust becomes different than tater tots. For true authentic tots, I don’t add much! A little more potato flake and some butter or oil is enough to hold them together and they will be crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. For this meatloaf crust we need to bring in some reinforcements to make sure it doesn’t fall apart! I added egg, breadcrumbs, potato flakes, and melted butter.

Make the meatloaf mixture

Beef, pork, salt, onion, garlic, egg, parsley, potato flakes, breadcrumbs, milk, and some of the meatloaf glaze forms the meatloaf mixture. The glaze is made with ketchup. chipotle, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Mix it all up rally well! I made the meatloaf mixture this way so it would be firmer when adding the tater tot crust, but turn tender and flavorful when cooked!

Form the tater tot crusted meatloaf

Another thing I did this time around that helped a lot was a layer of flour and egg between the meatloaf and the tots. It really helped the meatloaf and the tater tot crust form a tight bond to one another.

Bake and glaze the tater tot crusted meatloaf

Brush on a little oil and bake until they are almost done. Then glaze and finish them! I glazed tater tot crusted meatloaf when the internal temp was around 120 and then took it out of the oven at 150.

Serve the tater tot crusted meatlaof

It’s beautiful! Like a big tater tot with a surprise inside!

The tater tot crust really held in a lit of the flavor of the meatloaf! The meatloaf basically steams inside of the tots, so when you cut into it, it’s so tender!

I was so please with how it came out this time around!

It really held together so nicely.

Twists on this recipe

I almost broiled the edges of the meatloaf before crusting it with the tater tots. The browned meat flavor is nice in a meatloaf. I ended up not doing it because I wanted it to be a more approachable recipe, but also really wanted the tater tots and the meatloaf to adhere to each other.

You could also make it easier by just smashing up some store bought tots when they thaw, and adding the egg and some potato flakes and butter to it.

I didn’t make a meatloaf on here for many years, but for the past few years I have been making a ton! Check out my lasagna meatloaf, pickle chipotle meatloaf, or these meatloaf burritos.