These Tater Tot Cheeseburger Cups Are the Meat & Potatoes Combo You've Been Waiting For

You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you used to get when your favorite cartoon character appeared on another show for a crossover episode? Well stop separating your burgers and tots, and you'll get that feeling again, plus the delightful pleasure of being irresponsibly full of meat and potatoes. The stars of this cup-shaped show are the tater tots, but things really heat up when the burger enters the scene, complete with ketchup, mustard, mayo, and a shiny pickle on top. If that's a series you'd be interested in, check out this video.

Cheeseburger Tater Tot Cups

Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: Serves 12

INGREDIENTS:
  • 48 frozen tater tots
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • ½ cup onion, finely diced
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 4 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 6 tablespoons pickle relish
  • 1 cup of Cheddar, shredded
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 12 pickle slices, for garnishing
DIRECTIONS:
  • Place the tater tots in a medium-sized mixing bowl and let them defrost to room temperature. While they are defrosting, preheat your oven to 425°F.
  • Once the tots are at room temperature, mash them thoroughly with a fork. Then crack in 2 eggs and stir until evenly combined.
  • Spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick spray. Spoon tater tot mixture into tray and press them down to form cups using your hands. Once all cups are formed, place the tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
  • While the tater tot cups are baking, brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Once the meat has browned, add in the onions and cook until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of mustard, all of the ketchup, and 2 tablespoons of the pickle relish to the ground beef and stir to combine. Add in salt and black pepper to taste.
  • Pull the tater tot cups from the oven and fill each one with the ground beef mixture. Top each cup with the Cheddar cheese.
  • Place the filled cups in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes so that the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let the cups cool for 5 minutes.
  • While the cheeseburger tots cool, make the sauce. In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup of mayonnaise, 4 tablespoons of the relish, 2 tablespoons of mustard, white wine vinegar, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir until combined.
  • Drizzle the special sauce over the cheeseburger tots and garnish with a pickle slice.


Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.