Best Ever Tater Tot Casserole is a classic comfort food recipe that everyone loves! This casserole is packed full of meat, green beans, corn, soup, and cheese for a totally satisfying dinner!
This post first appeared over at I am Baker, where I am a contributor. Be sure to try out my Chicken Tater Tot Casserole and my Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole too! We also love our Classic Tuna Casserole so much for an easy weeknight dinner.
What is Tater Tot Casserole?
Tater tot casserole is also sometimes known as tater tot hotdish depending on where you live! It’s a simple and comforting casserole with a few main components. Typically in these casserole recipes, you will find meat, potatoes or some other kind of starch, along with a combination of vegetables, cheese, and canned soup.
Tater tot casserole has been popular around family dinner tables for years because they are convenient to make using only one pan. They are also a favorite meal because they are very budget friendly! You can feed a crowd with a single 9×13 inch pan of tater tot casserole, or, you can easily get two meals from one casserole for a family of four.
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole:
My tater tot casserole recipe is so simple to make. A lot of times you will see hotdish made by the layering of ingredients with the meat first, then the soup, then the tater tots.
My version varies a bit from the traditional layering. But, I have found after making this casserole for years, that my way makes for the most flavorful casserole with the most accurate cooking time!
I start by cooking my ground beef with seasonings, then draining the grease if necessary. Instead of layering the casserole, then I mix the cooked beef together with two cans of soup, sour cream, the vegetables, and cheese.
Then, spread the beef mixture in the pan, and top with an even layer of tater tots. By mixing everything together, the meat has excellent flavor, and you don’t have to worry about it drying out!
Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans:
Feel free to use canned or frozen vegetables in this recipe, both work just fine. I typically always use canned green beans and canned corn, because those are my family’s favorites. Tater tot casserole is also great with peas, carrots, broccoli, or whatever veggies your family likes best!
Same goes for the cheese for this recipe. I typically like to use sharp cheddar but have added parmesan as well and it adds great flavor. You can experiment with a mixture of cheeses to make this casserole your own.
How Long to Cook Tater Tot Casserole:
You will want to cook your tater tot casserole at 350 degrees. As tempting as it might be to cook this casserole at a higher temperature, it is best to go a little lower and slower.
Baking at 350 ensures that the casserole will be hot and bubbly, the cheese melted, and the tater tots perfectly light brown and crispy! This will take about 50 minutes total. Next, you will add your extra shredded cheese right on top of the casserole and place it back into the oven for about 5 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 32 Ounce Package Frozen Tater Tots
- 1 Pound Lean Ground Beef
- 1/2 White onion, Diced
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 10 Ounce Can Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
- 1 10 Ounce Can Cream of Mushroom or Chicken Soup
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Divided
- 1 15.2 Ounce Can Corn, Drained
- 1 14.5 Ounce Can Green Beans, Drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet brown the ground beef along with the onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce until the beef is no longer pink. Draine grease if necessary.
- In a large bowl mix together the beef mixture with the sour cream, both cans of soup, corn, green beans, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.
- Spread the beef and soup mixture into the prepared pan. Top with an even layer of tater tots and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until tater tots are brown and the casserole is bubbling.
- Top the casserole with the remaining shredded cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer until cheese is melted.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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If you’re looking for other easy weeknight dinners give these a try:
Very easy. Very tasty. Will make again.
Yummy, added red pepper cuz that’s how I roll! Delicious.
Have you tried this in a crock pot?
No, sorry I haven’t! I have a feeling the tater tots would get mushy in the crock pot.
I’ve made this recipe three times and it is now one of my favorite comfort foods. I crave it about once a month! The first time I used the cheddar cheese/cream of chicken soup combination and found it bland. I don’t like bland food. The second time I tried the cheddar cheese/cream of mushroom soup combination and substituted seasoned salt for the plain salt and it was delicious. The third time I used the cheddar cheese/cream of mushroom soup combination, substituted seasoned salt for the plain salt, and added 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes to the other dry seasonings when browning the beef/diced onion mixture and it turned out GREAT! I think I’m going to continue using the cheddar cheese/cream of mushroom soup, seasoned salt instead of plain salt, and adding some red pepper flakes to the other dry seasonings when browning the beef/diced onion mixture. I might try 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes instead of 1/8 tsp next time. A reminder to others who try this recipe, do not add water or milk for the cans of soup, that would ruin your meal. The tater tots go on top frozen, not thawed or precooked. Don’t omit the Worcestershire sauce because it adds flavor and a kick to the beef/diced onion mixture. TRY SUBSTITUTING SEASONED SALT FOR THE PLAIN SALT AND ADDING SOME RED PEPPER FLAKES. Thanks so much for the recipe Nichole. It’s easy and pleases the entire family.
One more thing I forgot to mention. I have been using French style green beans instead of the regular cut green beans. That probably doesn’t make a big difference but if your kids resist eating regular canned green beans they will not even notice the French style ones in this recipe. The recipe really is delicious and a crowd pleaser. See my previous post about a few changes and additions I made.
My family loved this recipe and they are a super picky bunch! I wish I had doubled the recipe for leftovers. This is a great recipe for staying in.
Do you use frozen tater tots? Defrost them first? Bake them separate first?
Use them from frozen.
I used cream of chicken and cream of celery. Added some red and yellow peppers for color. Delicious.
Can I use two cans of the cheddar soup?
Yes 🙂
I used this recipe and modified with what I had on hand…
I can Campbell’s beefy mushroom and 1 can Campbell’s cream of celery… blended in my Bullet because I cannot stand the texture of mushrooms, love the flavor .. go figure. I then substituted the 2 cans of vegetables for 3.5 cups frozen mixed vegetables.
I started adding the tots before I realized what I was doing so 1/3 of the bag got mixed in the mixture, 2/3 remaining topped the casserole.
Otherwise, followed the recipe which, if you know me, is huge accomplishment.
This turned out De lish ous!!!!!
Everyone said it was very flavor rich and not to change a thing… but you know I will always change soups just to add variety?
Thanks again for a cheap, quick, and easy recipe that satisfies the whole gang!
Juli Brackett
I thought we had sour cream but we didn’t. ?? So I used 2 personal sized yogurt, one lemon and one vanilla and it turned out pretty great! So if anyone else doesn’t have sour cream yogurt works just as good lol