Tater Tot Taco Casserole is going to be your new favorite way to enjoy taco night!
This easy casserole has layers ground beef and veggies topped with Tater Tots & cheese.
Once this Taco Tater Tot Casserole is baked and bubbly we top with with our favorite taco toppings to make this a meal that the entire family loves!
There’s a good reason my kids have dubbed this the BEST Tater Tot Casserole!
This was so easy to make (yay for me) and a HUGE hit with the family… even with little Miss I-don’t-like-melted-cheese-lasagna-casseroles-or-spaghetti. (Double yay for me)!
In fact, she had two helpings!
This cheesy tater tot casserole is made with veggies (like peppers and corn) with a zesty beefy taco inspired sauce and it is super easy to make!
The whole thing is crowned with Tater Tots and baked until they’re golden and crispy on top… adding the sauce and cheese at the very end keeps them from getting soggy as they do with some casseroles!
How Do You Make Tater Tot Casserole?
I’ve been making Tater Tot Casserole for as long as I can remember.
It’s almost like shepherd’s pie in a way with a saucy meaty layer, a potato layer (tater tots in this case) and a bit of cheese all baked until bubbly and hot!
This recipe starts with a layer of seasoned lean beef (I usually use a Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe). I then add in either frozen (or fresh) veggies and sometimes beans. This helps stretch out the meal and is the perfect way to use up any veggies I have in the fridge.
While this is Taco inspired, you can mix in any sauce from mushroom soup to gravy (or in this case, a delicious taco inspired mixture). We’ve even made an awesome Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole and Classic Tater Tot Casserole with mushroom soup.
Allowing the tater tots to cook for a while first (before adding the final toppings/cheese) helps to keep them crisp and delicious!
Are hash browns and tater tots the same thing?
While they’re not technically the same thing, you can certainly use either for this tater tot casserole (or even sub in mashed potatoes if you have them on hand)!
We serve this with a deliciously fresh Cucumber Avocado Salad for a perfect weeknight meal!
As far as we’re concerned, you can’t go wrong with any Mexican inspired dish in my house.
The zesty seasonings in the meat, baked with cheese until bubbly and hot and an array of fresh crisp toppings! Add whatever your toppings you love, we usually do sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes but this is great with jalapenos, avocados and of course more cheese!
More Casserole Recipes You’ll Love
Taco Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ounce taco seasoning 1 packet
- 1 cup enchilada sauce divided
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels thawed
- 1 ½ cups bell pepper red, yellow or green, diced
- 15 ounces canned black beans 1 can, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 16 ounces frozen tater tots
- ⅓ cup salsa
- toppings as desired see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Brown ground beef, onion and garlic over medium high until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in taco seasoning, ½ cup water, ⅔ cup enchilada sauce, corn, bell pepper & beans. Cook until thickened (about 5 minutes).
- Transfer the beef mixture to a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 ½ cups cheese and arrange tater tots on top.
- Bake 30 minutes. Combine salsa and remaining ⅓ cup enchilada sauce. Spread over tater tots and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted & bubbly.
- Serve with desired toppings
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Tex Mex© 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.
Repin this Fantastic Casserole!
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I made this casserole for my family last night and they all had seconds! I love how the tater tots stay crispy. Yum!
Like trying new recipes
There are so many delicious recipes for you to try Marge! Have fun cooking!
Some of these recipes are absolutely amazing!
Thank you so much Jacqueline!!
Love your easy recipes and share them with my brother!!
Thank you Leslie! I am glad you have enjoyed the recipes enough to share!
The only cheese I put on mine is some ontop after the casserole has cooked then I add a little cheese then put back in oven till cheese has melted ..
That sounds like a tasty variation Alice!
This is seriously so good! Thank you for this recipe! Do you happen to know if I could freeze it and then take it to someone and they could just re-warm it in the oven? Would this work? Thanks again for the amazing recipe-definitely the best tater tot casserole I’ve ever had!
Yes, this recipe can be frozen. I would suggest defrosting in the fridge overnight and baking as directed. I’m so glad you loved it Jenni!
This was sooo good. I didn’t put the beans in the dish, I replaced it with cilantro and topped it with sour cream, black olives, tomato and avocado. Yum. I’m definitely making this again. My boyfriend love it.
So glad both you and your boyfriend enjoyed it Reshi! Love your toppings, so yummy!
It’s easy and tastes great…I would recommend to give it a try
I’m so glad you love this casserole Chris. It is so good!
I made this tonight and it was so easy and DELICIOUS!! I used 24 oz of tater tots and cooked them for 10 min before hand to get them a little crispier. I also used 1.5 lb of lean ground beef. I left out the olives but topped it with sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes. It was as pretty as the picture. There were six adults and we had plenty with just a tiny bit of leftovers. I served it with a salad and corn bread.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Mary Ann!
Have you tried using both the green and red enchilada sauce? Do you have a preference?
I have only used the red enchilada sauce. Let us know how you like it if you try a green one April!
This was a recipe that I did not feel the need to tweak one bit, so this review is tried and true. After looking at a few other taco tater tot casserole recipes, I settled on this one, because I liked all of the ingredients, and it just made sense. I was not disappointed! My grandson, who is somewhat picky, loved it, as I did, as well. I will be making this for the other grands as well! Thank u for this awesome recipe, and this grandma is not a fan of tater tots. :)
You’re welcome Iris! I’m glad you hear that your grandchildren enjoyed the casserole, but even more glad to hear that you did!
Sounds like this recipe would be gluten free? Your opinion? I am not gluten-free myself, but frequently cook for others who are. Thanks!
I can’t say for certain because I don’t live a gluten free lifestyle. You’d want to check the ingredients, especially the seasoning mix, enchilada sauce and tater tots to be sure they’re gluten free. Perhaps some other readers may be able to help!
This was delicious! I made it last night with Tater Tots for just me, and then made it tonight for a larger group with hash browns (gluten free). McCormick makes a gluten free taco seasoning and it wasn’t too difficult to find an enchilada sauce that didn’t include gluten. Had several requests for the recipe. Topped it with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and avocado. Yum!
oh, and sour cream!
:)
Thank you for sharing your results! I’m so happy to hear that it worked for you and that you loved it!
This is just awesome! I make it the night before and then bake it whenever we are ready for it.
I am so glad you like the recipe!
Honestly with recipes you find online its a toss up on whether or not you’re going to like them or not.. I can say that this one was not a disappointment!! my family absolutely loved this dish and i will make it many more times in the future!
So glad your family loved it!
Made it for supper for my family of eight and we all loved it! Didn’t have enchilada sauce so i added 2/3c taco sauce & 1/3c salsa. So delicious! Will definitely make again
I am so glad that this recipe was a hit with your family Teresa!
I brought the Mexican Tater tot casserole to a pot luck today. Everyone loved it. Recipe has been shared with everyone there
I’m so glad everyone loved it! Thank you for passing along the recipe!
Loved this recipe and so did our kids who don’t love casseroles. My daughter also doesn’t love melted cheese so we just left her portions without. We made it with 1.5lbs ground beef, and the full package of an almost two pound bag of Tator Tots in a 9×13 pan. We left out the onion, and used red, mild enchilada sauce. Topped it with the suggested fresh ingredients here as well as black olives – will definitely make this again! Thank you.
I am so glad this recipe was a hit with your family!
Wow this is a big hit with my boys! They love this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad your family loved it!
I made it just like recipe. Was great and easy.
So glad you enjoyed it!