After-School Smoked BBQ Chicken Totchos
Back-to-school season usually means packed schedules, homework, practices, and trying to get dinner on the table without making another boring weeknight meal. These After-School Smoked BBQ Chicken Totchos turn a bag of crispy tater tots into a loaded BBQ dinner that is easy enough for a school night and good enough for game day.
The chicken gets seasoned and smoked until tender, then chopped or shredded and tossed with your favorite BBQ sauce. Once the tots are crispy, everything gets piled together with cheese, bacon, jalapeños, and another drizzle of sauce before going back into the smoker until hot and melted.
Using the smoker adds another layer of flavor without making the cook complicated. Hickory, pecan, cherry, or apple wood all work well here, and you can easily use leftover smoked chicken if you already have some in the refrigerator.
Serve the whole tray straight from the smoker and let everyone add their own toppings. Sour cream, green onions, pickled jalapeños, ranch, and extra BBQ sauce all work, making this an easy meal to customize for both kids and adults.
Smoked Chicken Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tbsp BBQ rub
- 0.5 cup BBQ sauce
Totchos
- 2 lb frozen tater tots
- 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 0.5 cup pickled jalapeños
- 0.5 cup BBQ sauce
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
Optional Toppings
- Sour cream
- Ranch dressing
- Additional BBQ sauce
- Pickled red onions
- Fresh jalapeño slices
- Chopped cilantro
Smoke the Chicken
- Preheat the smoker to 275°F.
- Lightly coat the chicken thighs with avocado oil.
- Season all sides evenly with the BBQ rub.
- Place the chicken directly on the smoker grates.
- Smoke until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 175–185°F, about 1½–2 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the smoker and rest for 10 minutes.
- Chop or shred the chicken.
- Toss the chicken with ½ cup BBQ sauce.