The poor seasoning and texture made these the worst picks.
Taste: As a diehard Tater Tot fan, even a bad one is good. McCain's tots were nice but couldn't compete with the top brands in this taste test. I roasted the tots for a few more minutes but they were barely crispy.
Ore-Ida's Golden Tater Tots are seasoned, shredded Grade A potatoes. The package said to bake them at 450 degrees for 20–25 minutes until they turned "light golden color." My 32-ounce package cost $6.29.
Taste-
Positively, these were well-seasoned and salty throughout, and the potato within was cooked well and not too soft. Unfortunately, the outside wasn't crispy enough. I ate these without hesitation. I would have needed to bake them longer than the container said to acquire the texture I wanted.
Great Value's Taters contain seasoned, shredded potatoes that should be baked for 24–26 minutes at 425 degrees. I paid $3.42 for a 32-ounce bag.
Taste-
Choosing these over Ore-Ida's tots was difficult. I liked Ore-Ida's intermediate seasoning better than Great Value's. The Great Value tots had a better texture and taste than Ore-Ida. They were crispy, held together well, and looked better than Ore-Ida's. I think these are a steal for the second-cheapest tots in this taste test.
Per 9-piece serving: 180 cal, 9 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat), 360 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrates (2 g fiber, less than 1 g sugar), 2 g protein. The potatoes in Lamb Weston's Grown In Idaho Super Crispy Tots are 100% Idaho. Full bags required 24–26 minutes at 425 degrees, while half bags took 18–20 minutes. $4.32 for a 28-ounce bag.
Taste-
These are "Super Crispy" indeed. The crunch from these kids could be heard 20 feet away. I have rarely had tots with such a great texture from a restaurant, let alone my freezer. For once, I didn't want to dunk the tots in ketchup because they were so perfectly seasoned.