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.
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Can you add a forward to email? I don’t have a printer that has WiFi.
I’m not a fan of tater tots. Can I make this recipe using sliced potatoes?
Can you freeze uneaten portions ,just two of us and hate to waste.
Do you use frozen or thawed tator tots?
Are the tater tots frozen or thawed when you place them on the top?
Looking for nutrition facts on tater tot casserole please and thank you.
I would bake the tator tots so they can be brown and crunchy then put them on top
What are tater tots can I get them in the UK. Is there something I can use as an alternative. Margaret
You could probably use shredded potatoes, just crisp then up in the oven, also use the shredded potatoes to make your own tater tots by adding an egg, maybe a little seasoned flour and shape them into balls, give them a little squish down to sort of flatten them a bit, heck you could make squares if you want. Just bake or fry in some oil. Hope this helps, good luck.
Great easy meal! I’m thinking about making this but using sausage and mushrooms for a breakfast hotdish. Any thoughts on this?
Sure, sounds good!
I do make a breakfast casserole using tator tots, breakfast sausage, 2 eggs, cheese and a pkt of sausage gravy. It’s very good
I made this tonight and will put this in me recipe file. YOMMO !!!!!
Do you have a carb count for a serving and what is a serving size, my 6 yr old granddaughter was just dagnosed with type 1 insulin dependent diabetetes and are new at counting carbs for her. It looks delishes and I think she would love this! I would appreciate the counts if you could possibly give me an idea, Thank you in advance for you help.