Tater Tot Hotdish is a quick and easy comfort food staple recipe all over the Midwest! This hotdish is full of meat, veggies, soup, cheese, and topped with tater tots for a super satisfying meal! Try my Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole for a hearty meal to start your day.
Tater Tot Hotdish
Lots of folks are confused by the name, Tater Tot Hotdish, but you may recognize this as Tater Tot Casserole! We just call it hotdish here in Minnesota. Tater tot hotdish, or any “hotdish” recipe for that matter, is a simple casserole with a few main components. Typically in these casserole recipes, you will find meat, potatoes, or some other kind of starch, along with a combination of vegetables, cheese, and canned soup. You can feed a crowd with a 9×13-inch pan of this hotdish. Or, you can easily get two meals from one casserole. I also have a Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole, a twist on the classic, you may want to try!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Meat: I prefer ground beef in a tater-tot casserole. However, you could also make this with ground turkey or ground chicken.
Vegetables: I have found that canned or frozen vegetables both work perfectly in this casserole. I typically use canned green beans and corn, because those are my family’s favorites. Feel free to use broccoli, peas, carrots, or the vegetables you prefer!
Cheese: Although I used shredded cheddar cheese in this hot dish, you could definitely try this dish with other kinds of cheese. Monterey Jack, Colby, Gruyere, or a taco blend cheese would all be delicious varieties to try.
Can I Make Tater Tot Hotdish Ahead of Time?
Yes! It is easy to freeze Tater Tot Casserole, which makes this a wonderful make-ahead meal. Follow all of the instructions up to the point of baking it. Instead of baking the casserole after you have the tater tots layered on top, simply cover the casserole with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, making sure to label and date the casserole. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
When you are ready to bake the casserole, let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake it following the original baking instructions. And, don’t forget to add the extra shredded cheese during the last five minutes of baking time!
Storing Tater Tot Hotdish
Tater tot hotdish can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. To store, follow these steps:
- Allow the hotdish to cool to room temperature
- Transfer the hotdish to an airtight container or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Label the container with the date and contents.
- Store in the refrigerator.
- When ready to eat, you can reheat the hotdish in the oven, covered, at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave, covered, on high for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through.
More Casseroles
Tater Tot Hotdish
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen tater tots
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ white onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ cup (77 g) sour cream
- 1 can (10 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom or chicken soup
- 1 can (15.25 ounces) corn, drained
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) green beans, drained
- 2 cups (226 g) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef along with the onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce until the beef is no longer pink. Draine grease if necessary.
- In a large bowl, mix together the beef mixture with the sour cream, both cans of soup, corn, green beans, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.
- Spread the beef and soup mixture into the prepared pan. Top with an even layer of tater tots and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until tater tots are brown and the casserole is bubbling.
- Top the hotdish with the remaining cup of shredded cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted. Serve.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I am a bakeries my favorite cooking site.I think if she had a recipe for paper I would try it.
Yum! This works great for a church fellowship. I’ve made a similar dish we called “Cowboy Casserole”. Thank you for sharing the recipe =)
This reminds me of my childhood–too many dishes like this to count! But as always, every one was delicious and creamy. I love the idea of topping it with tater tots!
Do you drain the can of corn and green beans before you add them. Or do you add them with their liquid?
Great question… you drain them first. Will fix the recipe.
I made this today and everyone loved it!!
I’m making this for supper tonight. As soon as I put it in the oven I realized I didn’t put any vegetables in it. I printed the recipe to follow in the kitchen and it doesn’t mention the veggies. Maybe you could adjust the recipe for people like me that forgot the blogged instructions?
My grandkids love this. Would this be okay to freeze before cooking?
Yes!
I can’t we tater tot hotdish
My Son is age 20 & loves this dish! He visits me every other weekend & when the temperature outside is chilly, he asks me if he can prepare this easy recipe! It’s very easy to prepare & we oftain have the ingredients on hand! We like the canned carrots, green beans & sweet corn!
Looks good! Do you have to add cheddar cheese soup or can you substitute it with something else?
You can use crean of muabroom or cream of chicjen or both 🙂