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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Dicksie says
Made this for dinner tonight and it is the best Tater Tot casserole. I was out of Worshteshire sauce so I adlibed and used sou saue. It made a huge difference!!! Thank you
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Sounds like a fun twist – thank you!
Lily Blooms says
Tater tot casserole is the ultimate comfort food. I use only cream of chicken soup because nothing can ruin otherwise good food like the pervasive taste of mushroom.
As to the leanness of the beef: in the batch I just made tonight, I used one part lean meat to two parts 80% lean and even at that it isn’t as tasty as it is when I use all fattier meat. If I had used all leaner meat it would have totally ruined the whole thing. Lesson learned. I won’t make the mistake of using leaner meat again Using mozzerella cheese rather than cheddar is probably a better way to cut fat without sacrificing flavor. Regular meat, drained, with mozzarella cheese likely results in a much less greasy casserole than very lean meat with cheddar. I add seasoning to the cream of chicken soup with a bit of milk for easier spreading and that goes on TOP of the green bean layer and just under the cheese so bean blandness is never a concern even if I forget seasoning. I never use anything but green beans. Somebody brought us tater tot casserole with corn once after a death in the family and the disappointment compounded my grief. If it had had corn and peas in it I’d have wept openly and dug a grave in the yard to bury it in because, ew. Just ew. I never use canned beans, only frozen. I use French cut for faster cooking.
A couple years ago I tried out an idea I had had while at work – tater tot casserole soup. Basically a potato soup with the casserole, ingredients, onions, green beans, cream of chicken soup, ground beef, mozzerella cheese, etc. It worked out quite well. The tater tots quickly fall apart into little shreds of potato as it cooks. I took it to a holiday soup supper and it was a hit.
Sheri says
I made this casserole last night, my family is not a green bean family so I just substituted some frozen peas and carrots and some frozen corn. I doubled everything except the hamburger and cheese, used a 9 by 13 and I barely had any leftovers for lunch today. Delicious!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Great substitution Sheri! Basically any veggies will work with this casserole. So glad your family enjoyed it!