Why is this the most amazing grilled bacon and cheddar sandwich ever? Because instead of bread, we used waffles. But not just normal waffles — these are made out of tater tots.

Everyone knows how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. But not everyone knows how to make an insane grilled cheese sandwich. Usually when we try to up our grilled cheese game, we just stuff it full of more delicious things — bacon, avocado, veggies, gourmet cheeses — and leave the bread as-is.

Tater Tot Grilled Cheese waffleTipHero

That’s fine – yawn – but this time, we gave our grilled cheese a makeover from the outside in: we used a waffle iron to fuse a whole bunch of tater tots into a delicious crispy potato “bread”. (Which yes, technically makes this a gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich.)

Tater Tot Grilled Cheese gif waffle ironTipHero

In between those tater tot waffles, we layered on melted cheddar cheese, bacon, green onions, and more oozing cheese. Can you think of ways to make this even more over-the-top? We can: hot sauce, buffalo chicken, a fried egg, mac and cheese — you get the idea.

Tater Tot Grilled Cheese cheddar baconTipHero

Eat this grilled cheese sandwich and totchos hybrid for brunch, lunch, or midnight munchies.

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Tater Tot Grilled Cheese

Makes 2 – 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 bag frozen tater tots, thawed (you will need 20 ounces or more, depending on the size of your waffle maker)
  • 4 – 6 slices bacon, cooked
  • 4 – 6 slices of cheddar or American cheese (or ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese)
  • 1 green onion, sliced (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat a 7-inch classic waffle iron on high.
  2. Place the thawed tater tots very close together in an even layer on the waffle iron. Close the lid and press it down, using an oven mitt or a kitchen towel to protect your hands. Cook until the tater tot waffle is crisp, about 5 – 10 minutes. (The exact time will depend on your waffle maker). Remove the waffle from the waffle iron and allow it to cool on a wire rack.
  3. Repeat the process to make a second tater tot waffle. When the second waffle is crisp, top it with half of the cheese, the cooked bacon, and the sliced green onions. Top that with the remaining cheese, and place the first waffle on top.
  4. Using the bottom plate of the waffle iron, heat the sandwich until the cheese has melted on the bottom waffle. When the cheese has melted, carefully flip the sandwich over and allow the cheese to melt on the other side before removing the sandwich from the iron. Cut it into quarters and serve.
Tater Tot Grilled Cheese waffle sandwichTipHero

Want more tots? Check out all of our tater tot recipes, like zucchini tater tots, tater tot pizza, tater tot waffle ham & cheese sandwich, and bacon-wrapped tater tots.

Tater Tot Grilled Cheese bacon sandwich platedTipHero

Here are some more unexpected ways to use your waffle iron to make epic fusion foods: waffle cornbread mix and cover it in chili; pour chocolate cake batter onto the waffle iron to make ice cream sandwiches; or grill up one of these crazy Belgian waffle cakes.