This tater tot casserole is a family favorite that comes together quickly. It’s made with seasoned beef, veggies, a creamy sauce, and lots of cheese under a crispy tater tot topping.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Creamy, cheesy, and comforting with crispy golden tots on top.
- Skill Level: It’s a family favorite that uses easy ingredients in one cozy casserole.
- Prep Note: Assemble a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Swaps: Use ground chicken or turkey instead of beef, and replace the cream of mushroom soup for any ‘cream of’ soup in the pantry!
Ingredient Tips
- Tater Tots: Use any brand of frozen tater tots or frozen potato puffs; any shape will work.
- Beef: I prefer to use lean ground beef but you can replace it with ground chicken or ground turkey.
- Soup: Condensed cream of mushroom soup is the base of the sauce for this recipe and makes prep super fast. Replace it with any condensed cream soup, like cream of celery or chicken. You can also replace it with homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup.
- Vegetables: Use a frozen vegetable medley or replace it with cooked leftover veggies.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar delivers the best flavor, but shredded mozzarella, Monterey Jack, or a Mexican blend work, too.
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole
- Cook ground beef and onion, drain any fat.
- Mix the vegetables, soup, milk, seasonings, beef, and some cheese (full recipe below).
- Spread the mixture in a casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese.
- Arrange tater tots on top and bake.
Storing and Reheating
Leftover tater tot casserole tastes even better the next day. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheat portions in the microwave. Wrap up leftovers in a tortilla for a hearty (and portable!) school or workday lunch.
More Creative Casseroles
Did you enjoy this Tater Tot Casserole Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 1 (28 to 30 ounce) bag frozen tater tots
- 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
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.
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
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Yum…thank you
Glad you liked it, thanks for leaving a comment Teresa!
I’m gonna put hot sausage in my attempt. I’m not really sure what veggies would pair best with spicy sausage?
Sounds delicious Rex! I love bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, and onion with hot sausage. Let us know how it goes!
I feel its a better dish if its assembled with the tots on the bottom of the baking dish… the amount of moisture in the recipe will make a big difference in the quality and taste of the finished product..
Even with chopping fresh veggies this recipe was in the oven in 15 minutes! So easy to prepare and everyone loved it! SWP Employee
delicious! yummy and easy. have you ever frozen this? looking for make ahead meals and we love this!
Hi Emily, we have frozen the leftovers with great results.
Can I use hashbrowns instead of tater tots? It’s not avalaible in my country…
While I haven’t tried it, I can’t see any reason it wouldn’t work!
I added mushrooms and next time would also throw in some garlic. Broiled the last couple of minutes to crisp up the tots. A bit shallow in a 9×13 pan, might try it in a 9×9 dish next time for some density.
So good! I made this for supper tonight, it was quick easy and so delicious. We are just two people so I put it into two 8×8 Pyrex. I have to take a lunch every day, so I can’t wait to heat up leftovers and put them into my thermos for lunch.
So good! My husband told me 3 times already today how much he loved this casserole! Every recipe I have made from this site has turned out amazing! I get so many compliments when I make these recipe’s! Thanks Holly!
This turned out so well! I split the recipe in half in 8×8 foil pans so I could give half to my mom. I skipped the veggies in mine because I’m not a fan of mixed vegetables and didn’t have time to substitute. Anyway, it was declicious.
This sounds very good. Making it tomorrow
Decadently delicious, and super easy to put together. My grocery store has fresh chopped veggies which made it even more convenient. Yum! A winner of a pure comfort meal!
That’s a great shortcut tip Julie! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
This recipe is a favorite in our house! We added some shredded cheese ontop towards the end of baking because you can never go wrong with more cheese. Thanks for the delicious recipe! SWP Employee
That sounds delicious Samantha! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
More recipes please! Thank you, so good!
So glad you’ve loved the recipes Anna! You can sign up for our newsletter here or or scroll down to the bottom of any post and you will see a signup box.
Delicious – the best tater tot casserole recipe that I have found!
Thank you!
So glad to hear you loved it, Connie!
I just made your Tater tots casserole and my 3 yr Great Granddaughter loved it! And she is a very picky eater as her mom only fixes her junk food, frozen pizzas and such! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes! Plan to try several more too
So happy to hear she enjoyed it, Carolyn!
Excellent recipe. Very tasty!
Thanks, Jim! Glad you enjoyed it.
I always add a couple of cans of mushroom stems and pieces
Sounds delicious Jim, thanks for sharing!
We use cream of chicken soup, corn and French green beans. We add the cheese before the tots. We like them crispy.
Yum, thanks for sharing Kathy!
It specifies “one bag tater tots”. Bags of tater tots come in a variety of sizes. Is it one pound, two pounds, five pounds?
I look forward to making this!
We used a 16 oz bag for this recipe, hope this helped!
Single layer. My OCD has me line them up