Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole is the best breakfast or brunch! Full of tater tots, eggs, cheese, and your favorite meat like ham, bacon, or sausage!
Breakfast Casserole:
I’m a sucker for a good breakfast casserole on the weekend! Probably one of my favorite things to do is have a relaxing brunch at home with my family and since we all already like classic Tater Tot Casserole it felt natural to make a breakfast version. I originally posted this recipe to my blog back in December of 2017, but I wanted to update it with a few new pictures and some more info on how to make this. If you’re looking for some more weekend breakfasts try out our Bananas Foster French Toast Casserole, the best homemade Breakfast Pizza that comes together in 30 minutes or so, and homemade Belgian Waffles!
How To Make Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole:
I typically always use diced ham in this casserole, but you can also use a pound of crumbled cooked bacon, or sausage. Or, keep it meatless and add your favorite veggies if you’d like!
- Start by dumping your tater tots into a buttered 9×13 inch dish, and spread them into a single layer. Crumble over your choice of cooked meat, and two cups of cheese. Feel free to use any cheese combo you like as well! We love sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and moterrey jack, personally.
- Next, whisk together your eggs, milk, sour cream, and seasonings and pour evenly over the tater tot mixture.
- At this point you can bake, or chill for later.
- A note on the hot sauce, I don’t find that it makes the casserole spicy, and the brand I like to use is Cholula, it adds great flavor.
Can I Make This Breakfast Casserole Ahead?
Yes! You can make this ahead and refrigerate overnight, or up to 12 hours unbaked. If you want to freeze this casserole, you will want to bake it first, then, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed in the recipe card.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole with Ham
Ingredients
- 1 30-32 Ounce Bag Frozen Tater Tots
- 16 Ounces Diced Ham
- 1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack Cheese
- 8 Large Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1-2 Teaspoons Hot Sauce, Optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the tater tots, diced ham, 1 Cup of cheddar, and 1 Cup of mozzarella into the baking dish. Toss with your hands to combine.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, seasonings, and hot sauce if using.
- Pour the egg mixture over the tater tot mixture in prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Top with remaining 1/2 Cup of cheese and return to oven for 5 more minutes until melted.
I’ve made this tater tot dish several times and it’s SO DELICIOUS! I usually make it the night before, if I need to, but it can easily be made in the morning with pre-cooked breakfast sausages cut into bite size pieces. Thanks for your sharing.
I made this recipe last week for my husbands guy friends. WOW!!! It was a true hit. Everyone was ranting and raving about it. It was delicious. I decided to make it for my church brunch the next day. Again, it was a HUGE hit. Thank you for sharing the recipe and I’m sure I will be trying many more from your sight.
Trying with ham this morning, can’t wait!
Do the tots get crispy?
Yes
I just made a half batch of this in a 7 x 11 casserole, and it was delicious! I used Crispy Crowns, the flat tater tots and they work great also. For cheese I used half shredded fiesta blend and half mozzarella (I know, I should grate it myself). I forgot to add the hot sauce, ended up adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper after baking, I bet with the hot sauce it would not have needed any. So delicious, so easy, and my sour cream hating DS loved it too! Thanks so much, I will be trying more of your recipes!
In the directions for freezing this dish, I’m confused if I should bake it before or after freezing. Could you clarify? Thank you!
Bake, then freeze after cooling completely. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Im confused too. Do you mean reheat vs bake again? I’ve already baked once, then placed in freezer. If I’m baking again after thawing, how long does it bake and what temperature?
Do you think this would hold up well for meal prepping for your daily breakfast? Do leftovers heat well?
Thanks!
Yes! It reheats well in the microwave or in the oven. Leftovers are good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days 🙂
My husband and I work at a hospital and every Tuesday they have breakfast casserole in the cafeteria. My husband loves this… He has been bugging me to make something similar for a while.
I made your recipe tonight and turns out it was a huge hit!! A win for all!
I will be doing this for brunches or weekend breakfast more often!!
If freezing do I bake it first. Do I cook it longer
Made this for New Year’s breakfast with leftover Christmas ham. Had Tater Tots and Cheddar Cheese on hand, so it was a perfect match. Added grated onion, too. Can add sliced green onions, too. This recipe turned out amazing! This will be my go to recipe for any leftover ham. My husband loves this!
I made this for dinner with my housemates. oddly they had never before had it. I did sub out pork sausage for the ham, as that’s my favorite, and made a half recipe as there are only 3 of us. it was a hit! I do agree that the sour cream makes a subtle but huge difference. thanks!
Can I prepare this entirely with egg and refrigerate the night before ?? I will put it in oven in the am ! ?
Yes, you can! 🙂
I’m plannng on freezing this … any issues you see with that? I would put in refrigerator to thaw completely before baking.
Thank you
Do u cover it with tin foil when u bake it? Thanks so much
Hi! No need to cover with foil 🙂
Hi
PLEASE HELP! LOL! I am making this for my daughter’s gender reveal TOMORROW and I just realized that I ran into a snag! ??? Am I supposed to use frozen tater tots or cook the tots first according to the directions on the bag?
ANY HELP WOULD BE SOOOO GREATLY APPRECIATED! ???
THANKS IN ADVANCE
Pam in St Augustine Florida
Hi Pam! Sorry for the delayed response. You just use the tater tots from frozen, no need to cook them first! Congratulations to your daughter! 🙂
Can I use left over tater tots? Or do they have to be frozen?
Hi! I haven’t tried making this with tater tots that have already been cooked so without further recipe testing it’s difficult for me to give an accurate answer. I’d say you could try it out, but, I would watch the cooking time closely.
If you are refrigerating it overnight, do you put the liquid on it the night before or when you are ready to bake it?
You can put it on the night before 🙂
Do you pour the egg mixture over the tater tots after mixing it? It doesn’t specify. Thank you in advance
Yes! Sorry about that missing step, it’s been added to the recipe card for you 🙂
First time making this. I’m making it for Christmas morning. Thank you for an easy make-ahead of time dish. I know it’s going to be so delicious.
Yummmm! I will try to make this recipe for breakfast. I know this casserole would be a hit at our house! Pinned!