Tater Tot Casserole is the ultimate comfort food, combining a creamy, savory filling with golden, crispy tots for an easy, family-friendly meal. It comes together with simple ingredients and plenty of hearty flavor, making it perfect for busy weeknights.
I love to serve it with a simple green salad, and homemade garlic bread to soak up every bit of the sauce!
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Tater Tot Casserole
- Flavor: Creamy, savory beef and vegetable filling with melted cheddar and a crisp tater tot topping.
- Why Make It: This all-in-one casserole is hearty, budget-friendly, easy to customize, and perfect for feeding a family or making ahead.
- Make Ahead: Assemble the casserole, leaving off the tater tots, up to a day in advance. Then top with frozen tater tots just before baking.
Cook Time: 1 Hr (15 Min Prep!) Serving: 6 Cook Method: Skillet and Oven
Ingredient Notes
- Tater Tots: Use regular frozen tater tots, keeping them frozen until you’re ready to bake. Swap for potato crowns or mini tots.
- Ground Beef: Use lean ground beef and drain it well after cooking. Ground turkey or chicken can be substituted for a leaner option.
- Mixed Vegetables: Use a frozen mixture with peas, carrots, corn, and green beans. Thaw and drain them first, or cook fresh vegetables until just tender.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup: Use condensed cream of mushroom soup straight from the can. Replace with condensed cream of chicken soup, celery soup, or cheddar soup to change up the flavor.
- Oregano and Parsley: These herbs add a light, savory flavor to the casserole. Both can be replaced with an Italian seasoning blend.
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole
- Brown the ground beef and the onion.
- Combine the filling ingredients (full recipe below).
- Sprinkle with more cheese and top with tater tots. Then bake until golden brown.
Storing Tater Tot Casserole
- Refrigerate: Cool leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Freeze the assembled casserole (minus the tater tots) before baking, or freeze cooked leftovers for up to 4 months.
- Baking From Frozen: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then add freshly shredded cheese and top with tater tots before baking according to the recipe instructions.
More Comfort Food Casseroles
Did you enjoy this Tater Tot Casserole Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables thawed, or fresh diced vegetables
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 (28 to 30 ounce) bag frozen tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and onion until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- In a medium bowl, mix the thawed vegetables, soup, milk, seasonings, beef mixture, and ½ cup shredded cheese.
- Spread the beef mixture into a 3QT or 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Top with tater tots and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the tots are golden brown.
Video
Notes
- Frozen vegetables should be thawed first. Any variation or mixture of vegetables can be added.
- Canned mushroom soup can be substituted with other “cream of” soups, gravy, or even a can of gravy or tomato soup.
- Any size casserole dish can be used for this recipe. A deeper dish may need a little bit of extra cooking time.
- This casserole can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated. If chilled from the fridge, it will require extra baking time.
- Leftovers will keep for 4 days in the refrigerator and 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner, Entree
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Another meal of tator tot casserole! It’s just a perfect, easy dinner. I forgot to get cream of soup, so instead I used a can of tomato soup. It was great, although it needed a dash of Worcestershire to round out the flavor.
My family loved this casserole! I put two cups of sharp cheddar in the whole mix rather than dividing it. Also I made it the day before so all that needed to be done to cook it was put it in the oven. Baked for an hour. This is a keeper!
This Tator tat casserole is verrry good.
This is super easy to make and tastes good! I followed your recipe exactly, as I have never made this before. I will be making it again with no changes. Thank you, Holly.
Holly has the best and easiest recipes. I also like how they are broken down step by step.
I don’t like cooking but I have to, so my family also says thank you.
Thank you for your kind words Barb, this made my day!
this was awesome! My mom used to make tater tot casserole back in the day 50 years ago, but this seems to be an upgrade.
I’ve never made any form until tonight. It was awesome, I will make it again. I did add the 1/2 cup sour cream. Again, it was…Awesome!!