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.
Video
Nutrition
Easy dinner the family will love!
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Ryan R says
I grew up in the upper midwest and ate this dish many times in our home, our grandmothers, in school, and even in restaurants and it was never layered like this. Not once.
Cook the beef onions and garlic [optional] and drain, and add the mushroom soup and green beans into the skillet, mix well, and then pour into the baking dish, add tots and cheese and bake.
If a person wants to make it healthier (the advice on using low sodium beans and then adding salt to season the beans made me giggle), use the shorter length tots, such as Crispy Crowns.
Barb says
Very good! We also have always mixed all ingredients except tots, rather than layer. A tip: I half thaw tots (set out or microwave) before placing on casserole. It will be on the table quicker!
Vikki says
I make this often. I now use a jar of Alfredo sauce, adding a tad of water to rinse out the jar, in lieu of the mushroom soup. I also mix the meat,veggies, and sauce instead of layering. It is really quite flavorful. Give it a try!
Nancy P says
Delicious! It’ December and casserole season!! I used Italian style green beans and IT”S THE BOMB! Thanks so much!
Roger W Dunn says
I love this recipe. It reminds me of what my mom used to make, but I make it a little better with this recipe. Thank you for posting this! The article does contain one type-o. It says, “When dinner is this is, I think clean-up should be too!” I think you meant “When dinner is this easy…”
Alison says
Delicious!! But if you’re feeding more than two people, double the recipe. This only fits an 8×8 or 9×9 pan as stated. I also mix the burger, beans and soup together l, then top with cheese and the tater tots. I personally didn’t care for it layered.
Dale says
Hello Trish, I’m a 65 yr old single man and I’ve recently gotten into backing things. Of course I like the word (simple) as in simple to make being new to so much. I was able to make a decent Lasagna 3 weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to making yours. Now down to my post. I made the VERY tasty, “simple” dish Monday and I love it. I decided to use mix vegetables instead of green beans, I cooked it a tad longer to cook them well and I just love it. I don’t always leave reviews but I found this so easy to make and taste so good, I just felt you deserved the praise. I decided also besides using mixed vegetables, I used 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. Now knowing spreading the mushroom soup on top of hamburger meat would be challenging, I decided to spray some olive oil onto the bottom of a large silicone spoon. The Cream of mushroom soup was so easy move in put in place. Now being new to all this maybe everyone does this already, but I thought I’d say, hope you didn’t mind. Well thank you again for the recipe, I’ll be making it many times, and plan of sharing it soon with Sunday afternoon with a church group I’m co-leader in. Thank you Trish..
Adam says
Is it possible to lower the heat of the oven a tad and cook it a bit longer if need be? Thanks!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Absolutely!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can but the tater tots won’t get quite as crispy. Maybe pop it under the broiler for a few minutes before serving.
Marie says
I make this a couple times a month. Sometimes, ok most times I make it the night before and put on the potatoes an cheese topping right before I put it in the oven.
Also if I don’t have cream of mushroom soup or cheddar cheese, I use what I have, cream of chicken or whatever. I’ve used Monterey jack, mozzarella what kind of cheese I have. Vegetables are the same. Whatever I have in the fridge goes in, usually leftovers. Last time it was corn, green beans, carrots and a bit of fresh spinach. Darn if it doesn’t always come out really good.
I wish I would have found this recipe a long time ago.
Cynthia says
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I made it into a one pan dish by using an oven-safe frying pan to cook the beef and then added the remainder of the ingredients except for the frozen tater tots and kept it in the fridge until I baked it several hours later. At the end of my day it was so great to just have to add the frozen tater tots and bake!
Diana Garrison says
I have tweaked your recipe to make Mexican Tater Tot Casserole:
Corn or hominy instead of green beans.
Salsa and taco seasoning instead of soup and Worcestershire sauce.
Mexican blend cheeses instead of cheddar.
Really pleased with the results!
Ashley says
This is the best tater tot casserole recipe I’ve come across. Besides adding extra zing zings to your own likings and tastes it’s perfect!
Julie says
This was so easy, and SO GOOD! The adults enjoyed it as much as the kids. Will double the recipe next time
Tam says
I’ve made this a few times. I usually end up adding an extra veggie in the onion/meat layer!
Stephanie says
me too! This time I “riced” some cooked broccoli and stirred it into the meat mixture.
Abby says
Can this be frozen and reheat at a later time?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yes! Just assemble, bake or leave unbaked, wrap with foil and then place in a freezer bag. To bake after freezing, place the frozen tater tot casserole in the fridge to thaw overnight. Bake at 400ºF for 15 – 20 minutes.
You can also bake it from frozen. Remove from freezer, place in a COLD oven and turn to 300°F and bake for 1 hour or until heated through. If you broil it for the last few minutes, the tater tots will get nice and crispy. Hope that helps!
Jill says
I love making casseroles and this one is delicious! Definitely making this again.