Earlier this week, we premiered the first segment in a series of recipes inspired by Hidden Valley Ranch’s new Secret Sauces. Today we continue on with our mission to help bring effortless, Pub-style meals to your home, this time with a recipe for a HVR Nashville Hot Tots.

Let’s dive in.

Start with heating up the tots, which is as simple as following the directions on the back of whatever bag of golden delicious that lies in your freezer. 

Then it’s time to create the base of the dish’s flavor: the spice mix. While the tots are heating up, mix together one tablespoon of brown sugar, one teaspoon of chili powder, one teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and  3 tablespoons of cayenne pepper (a measurement which can, of course, be seasoned to taste based on your threshold for spice). 

Once the spices have been combined and tots have been crisped, mix the two by coating the tots in the spice mix. 

After that, it’s as simple as topping your spiced potatoes with a cheese sauce of your preference, and a healthy dose of the HVR Smokehouse Secret Sauce, the most BBQ-esque of the HVR’s Secret Sauce trio.

Realistically, though, once the tots have been tossed, the topping choices are pretty flexible. 

Just don’t forget the secret sauce, otherwise you’ll be left with an approximation that’s “missing something.” Which, as far as recreating recipes goes, is a disappointing result. The sauce is the key here, reader. 

Check out the full recipe below, and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for our next HVR Pub to Plate recipe, which will be dropping in the next couple days.