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Sonic Tater Tots with Cheese
Sonic's famous cheese tots — crispy, golden tater tots smothered in a creamy nacho cheese sauce that's dangerously easy to recreate at home.
sonic · fast-food · side · appetizer
🕑Prep5 min
🍳Cook25 min
⏱Total30 min
🍽Serves4
⭐DifficultyEasy
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen tater tots
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- 1.Bake the tots. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Spread the frozen tater tots in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once, until extra crispy and deep golden brown.
- 2.Start the cheese sauce. While the tots bake, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it smells nutty.
- 3.Add the milk. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- 4.Melt in the cheese. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, paprika, and cayenne. Stir until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth.
- 5.Assemble and serve. Transfer the crispy tots to a serving plate or basket. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and serve immediately while everything is hot.
Sonic Tater Tots with Cheese
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Sonic’s cheese tots are a drive-in classic for good reason. Crispy, golden tater tots drenched in a warm, velvety cheese sauce — it’s the ultimate comfort food side order. The homemade cheese sauce takes about 5 minutes and tastes infinitely better than the processed stuff.
The key is getting the tots extra crispy before adding the cheese sauce. You need them to hold up structurally against all that melted cheddar, so don’t pull them from the oven until they’re deeply golden and crunchy.
Cheese Sauce Tips
- Real cheese, not Velveeta. This recipe uses a proper roux-based cheese sauce with sharp cheddar. It has more flavor and a better texture than processed cheese, and it’s barely any harder to make.
- Low heat for melting. Take the pan off the heat before adding the cheese. Residual heat melts it smoothly. Direct heat can make cheese sauce grainy.
- Work fast. The cheese sauce starts to set as it cools. Have your tots ready to go before you start the sauce.
Sonic vs. Homemade
A large order of Sonic cheese tots costs about $4.50. This recipe makes a generous serving for four people at roughly $4 total — about $1 per person. And you get real cheddar cheese sauce instead of the processed version.
