This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
This Tater Tot Casserole is made with lean ground beef, mixed veggies, a homemade sauce, and as the name implies, a crunchy layer of tater tots! It is the epitome of comfort food!
Whether you call this casserole a hot dish or tater tot casserole, everyone can agree that this all-in-one meal brings comfort and satisfaction to the whole family--even the picky eaters!
Kristen's Key Tips for this Tater Tot Casserole
- Opt for a Homemade Sauce. This recipe replaces condensed soup with a quick and easy from-scratch sauce that is not only better for you, but MUCH better tasting.
- Use Tater Tots OR Mashed Potatoes. Swap out the tater tots for creamy mashed potatoes to make a dish similar to Shepherd's Pie.
- Cheese is Optional. My family LOVES when I add a layer of gooey, cheddar cheese, but it is optional.
Need more family-favorite dinner ideas? You will love One-Pot Beef Stroganoff, Chopped Steak, and Swedish Meatballs.
Tater Tot Casserole Ingredients
- Ground Meat: Any lean ground meat, such as beef, turkey, or chicken works well for this casserole.
- Onion + Garlic: Help to build layers of flavor.
- Tater Tots: I know tater tots are not the healthiest of ingredients, but they add an irresistible salty crunch to the casserole. I personally love using Alexia Potato Puffs.
- Mixed Vegetables: To keep this casserole super simple, I use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables that contains corn, carrots, peas, and green beans. Feel free to swap out the frozen mixed vegetables for any combination of frozen corn, diced carrots, peas, and diced greens.
- For the Homemade Sauce: Flour, milk, beef broth, and seasonings will form a quick and delicious creamy sauce that is perfect for this casserole.
- Cheese: Use a melty cheese, like shredded Colby Jack or Cheddar cheese.
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Saute Meat. Saute the ground meat with the minced onion until browned, and cooked through. Once browned, add in the garlic and continue to cook for 30-60 seconds to toast.
- Form a Roux. Sprinkle the flour over the browned meat mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Form the Sauce. Slowly whisk in the beef broth and milk until well incorporated. Season with Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder and let simmer until thickened.
- Add Veggies. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir the frozen vegetables into the skillet.
- Layer Casserole. Transfer the beef mixture to a greased baking dish and top with cheese and a single layer of frozen tater tots.
- Bake. Bake until the tater tots are browned and the meat mixture is warmed through.
recipe modifications
- Double the Veggies: Add up to 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables to increase the vegetable content in this casserole.
- Gluten-Free: First ensure your Worcestershire Sauce and Tater Tots are gluten-free. Secondly, replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
- Dairy-Free Instead of adding milk to the homemade sauce, use additional beef broth and omit the addition of cheese. Check to ensure your tater tots are dairy-free as well.
Make-Ahead Instructions
- Prepare and assemble the layers of the casserole in a freezer and oven-safe baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with 2 layers of foil and freeze for up to 1 month.
- When ready to bake the tater tot casserole, remove it from the freezer, remove ONE layer of foil, and bake in a 375-degree Fahrenheit preheated oven for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the tater tots are browned and the casserole has warmed through.
More Favorite Casserole Recipes
If you tried this Tater Tot Casserole Recipe, I would love for you to leave a review and comment below.
Tater Tot Casserole
This hamburger casserole is made with lean ground beef, mixed veggies, and a rich homemade sauce and topped with an irresistible crunchy layer of tater tots. No canned soups here!
Video
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef, or ground turkey or ground chicken
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup low-sodium beef broth
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables corn, carrots, peas, green beans, corn
- 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional
- 16 ounces frozen tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ and grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large, deep skillet, heat the 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil over medium-high heat. Add 2 pounds lean ground beef, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1 medium yellow onion (minced) to the skillet and cook, breaking up the beef into bite-sized pieces, until the beef is cooked through. Add in the 2 cloves garlic (minced) and saute for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour over the beef and onions and stir. Cook for 1 minute, to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in ½ cup low-sodium beef broth and ½ cup whole milk until well incorporated. Stir in 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Continue to cook, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. This should only take a couple of minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables corn into the skillet.
- Transfer the beef mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese evenly over the top of the beef mixture. Arrange 16 ounces frozen tater tots over the mixture in a single layer.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the tater tots are browned and the beef mixture is warmed through.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Equipment
Notes
Beef: I recommend using 90/10 lean ground sirloin. Feel free to use lean ground turkey or ground chicken.
Add Mushrooms: Add up to 1 cup of chopped button or shitake mushrooms to the dish when browning the ground meat.
Milk: Feel free to use any fat percentage of milk desired.
How to Store Leftovers: Cover the casserole with plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To retain the crispy texture of the tater tots, bake the leftovers in an oven-safe casserole dish at 350℉/175℃ for 20-25 minutes, or until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 457kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 35gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 978mgPotassium: 853mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1246IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 176mgIron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @amindfullmom or tag #amindfullmom!
This has definitely become a new favorite in my house! Thank you for sharing, my family cannot wait to have it again!
I love hearing this, Olivia! Thank you for sharing.
Brought this tater tot casserole to a potluck dinner and it was a crowd favorite! So impressive!
I am thrilled to hear everyone enjoyed. Thanks for sharing.
My whole family gobbled this down, even the picky eaters. And I love that it didn't call for canned soup! Thanks for a great dinner to add to our weeknight rotation.
I love hearing your picky family enjoyed this casserole! Thank you for sharing, Samantha!
Yay! Finally something all of my kids actually ate and enjoyed! Thank you!
Fabulous! I love hearing this!
What kind of tater tots did you use for the casserole in the picture?? I've never seen tater tots with that texture before!
These were organic potato puffs from whole foods. I have made this many times with generic "tater" tots with great success.
Made this for later this evening. It’s always so nice to have simple ingredients, that I have on hand.
Kristen, you have never steered me wrong, on delicious recipes. I turn to you first, when looking for Instant Pot inspiration, too.
Many thanks, for all your wonderful cooking tip, tricks, & recipes!
What a huge compliment! Thank you Martha! I love that you have come to trust my recipes as enjoyable.
The recipe looks very interesting and so I gave it 5*. But I Ilve in UK and
I have no idea WOT!!! (spelt incorrectly on purpose) tator tots are. Please explain.
Thanks,
John M (in the UK0
Hi John! Great question. In the UK, Tater Tots are typically referred to as potato crunchies or potato gems.
Thank you Kristen. Have a good weekend.