Review of Alexia Crispy Seasoned Potato Puffs with Roasted Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper

I fired up the grill a few weeks ago to make burgers. Grilling season is always something to look forward to; especially on the weekends. Picking the meat dish to grill is the easy part. I often struggle to come up with a side dish to prepare that requires minimal work.  When we get great Saturday or Sunday afternoon weather, I want to enjoy family backyard time, and spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. When I am out of ideas for an accompaniment to burgers or chops, I will occasionally defer to a potato item (fries, wedges, tots) that can be easily cooked on a cookie sheet while I am outside grilling.

My side dish at the time ended up being the Alexia Crispy Seasoned Potato Puffs with Roasted Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper. These were on sale at the nearby Jewel and I have tried this brand’s sweet potato fries before and enjoyed the flavor. The bag of tots or “puffs” were on sale for $1.99 and figured this to be an easy sell as I enjoy the flavor of just about any items that includes hints of garlic and pepper.

The preparation of these puffs is easy as I unloaded the full bag onto a foil lined cookie sheet. I use a full bag to feed our hungry group of five. The oven was preheated to 425 F and baked for about twenty seven minutes. If you plan on making half a bag, then bake for about twenty two minutes. Technically you are supposed to turn them midway through baking. I did not perform that extra task as I was busy outside with grill and kids.

The result of skipping the turning step resulted in a more brown finish on one side of the tot which was really no big deal. If I was inside, I would have taken the time to flip them. Skipping this step for with some ovens may cause the one side to burn.

The potato puffs had a pleasingly light crunch and zesty garlic and pepper flavor. Four out of five of us enjoyed the puffs to accompany our burgers. My five year old was not a huge fan as he detected the slight hint of black pepper and wasn’t a big fan. I would definitely prefer this puff over a basic tater tot as it has a great flavor. A recommend the Alexia Crispy Seasoned Potato puffs as a strong buy.