Truly the BEST Tater Tot Casserole recipe around! Layers of amazing flavor combine for an easy and delicious dinner any night of the week! This fantastic casserole recipe will quickly become a family favorite! Love casseroles as much as we do? Make sure to try this Twice Baked Potato Casserole and Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole soon!
Best Tater Tot Casserole
Easy dinners are my favorite and I’m a big fan of casseroles, as you well know 🙂 As a mom with two active boys, I’m all about fast and easy dinners that my boys will actually eat. The boys play sports year-round and with me or my husband always running in run direction or another with various practices, our family relies on recipes like this delicious and easy Tater Tot Casserole.
I love this easy tater tot casserole recipe because it takes only a handful of ingredients and most can be found in my pantry. I frequently have ground beef and tater tots in the freezer so this meal is one I can pull together quickly and easily.
You may have a Tater Tot Casserole before and chances are you were less than impressed. There are so many variations out there but I truly believe that this one is the best.
I make my tater casserole with green beans but if I don’t have those on hand, my second favorite is a tater tot casserole with corn. Both are delicious!
What Ingredients Are In a Tater Tot Casserole
I start with really lean ground beef and brown it nicely before adding in diced onion and garlic. I season with salt and pepper and add some Worcestershire sauce before throwing it all into a prepared casserole dish. Now it’s time for the easy layers. A can of cream of mushroom soup goes on next. Please, use the “healthy” or “low-sodium” option. (This tater tot casserole with cream of chicken is also a good option.)
Next a can of green beans and again, low-sodium works perfectly. Finally lots of cheddar cheese followed by the frozen tater tots.
It really is that simple.
Now, here’s the trick: season every single layer as needed. If you were serving green beans by themselves, you’d season them, right? So do it for the casserole too! The worst thing that can happen is taking a bite of a casserole and thinking it’s bland – yuck!
I don’t add cheese to the top because I want those tater tots perfectly crisp and crunchy. It’s essential to the overall texture of this casserole. Season the tater tots when the casserole is removed from the oven and get ready to enjoy a delicious dinner!
What You Need To Make This Tater Tot Casserole
- With all those layers you need at least a 2-inch deep 8 or 9 inch baking dish. Square, round, oblong – doesn’t matter!
- You don’t want large pieces of garlic in this casserole so you can either buy minced garlic or use a garlic press. This is the one my husband bought me for Christmas and I love it!
- I think freshly grated cheese makes the cheese melt so much nicer so grab a cheese grater and get to work!
- When dinner is this is, I think clean-up should be too! Make sure to spray your baking dish with a good quality non-stick cooking spray before assembling your casserole.
How To Make Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
The BEST Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef (the leaner the better)
- 1/2 onion , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 15 oz can green beans , drained
- 10.75 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups frozen tater tots
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Lightly grease an 8 or 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat.
- Add the onions to the skillet and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for an additional minute.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer ground beef mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
- Top with cream of mushroom soup, followed by green beans, followed by the cheddar cheese. Make sure to season the green bean layer.
- Finally, top with tater tots.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tater tots are golden brown and cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Easy dinner the family will love!
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Linda Kulish says
Do you cover when you put in oven?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
No I don’t, I like the tater tots to get golden brown and crispy.
Barbara says
Made this today. Added a can of roitel tomatoes to spice it up. Just mixed them in with the soup. Y’all it was good!
Steve says
What are your thoughts on adding some finely diced bacon to the mix?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
My thoughts are DO IT!
Mak says
Will a 13×9 work?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
If you are doubling the recipe, yes. If leaving as is, no. It’s too little to cover that large of a baking dish.
Gabrielle Clissold says
This was comfort food as it’s best-really delicious-lots of flavor! Do you know how people write a review for a recipe but they change stuff in it and they say and a boy it was really good….ONLY for the purpose of explaining that the substitutions I made worked well and they were made because of what I had around the house (not because I want to change this recipe but Trish is just an all-around great cook) I have made so many of her recipes! I made this with ground turkey, cream of chicken soup, a whole onion and frozen mixed vegetables-beside that everything was the same. Honestly it was delicious I think her reminder to season the vegetable layer is important. Thank you Trish for another great recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I appreciate this so much Gabrielle – thank you!
Miriam Hartman says
After reading this recipe several times, I finally decided to make it. However, the bag in the freezer I thought was tator tots was actually potato wedges. Not wanting to take a trip to grocery store @ 6pm., I went with the potato wedges. Delicious! We loved the combination of all the casserole’s flavors. The wedges were crisp, just like the tots would have been. I guess you can now call it Tatar Tot or Wedges Casserole 😌.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Oh my gosh! A happy accident I think lol! I’m gonna have to try it this way!
Leanne says
Okay. I haven’t made any Tater Tot Casseroles since the Turn of this century, and the last one I made had broccoli, I think? But this is seriously the BEST tot casserole I have ever had. You win the tots award for 2020, and I thank you. OH! Almost forgot. I used ground turkey for this and it still rocked!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Lol! Winning! Ground turkey definitely is a great substitute in this recipe. Thanks Leanne!
Donna Watt says
Iv been making this for so long. I remember helping grandma and now my girls love helping make. I pre cook the tots a little so they do come out crispy I also put a layer on bottom.
Richard says
I added a layer of white cheddar mac and cheese under the tater tots, too. Love this recipe amf it is one of those foods that is bettet as leftovers.
Shanna says
Good recipe my husband likes to make this he uses ground turkey, cream of chicken, and also puts some wild rice in with it we usually skip the veggie because honestly I have 5 children and none of them can agree on a veggie they all like lol!
Very good recipe tho thank you for all your wonderful ideas!!