Tater Tot Casserole
Seasoned ground beef and green beans in a creamy sauce, covered in cheddar and a crispy layer of tater tots. Midwestern magic, country approved.
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
Enter a number of at least ½, in steps of ½.
Original recipe serves 8. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 10.5 oz
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cups frozen green beans, cut
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 32 oz frozen tater tots, 1 bag
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Steps
Step 1: Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
Step 2: Brown the beef with the onion in a big skillet over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes. Drain the grease.
Step 3: Stir in the garlic powder, Worcestershire, soup and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the frozen green beans.
Step 4: Spread the beef mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1.5 cups of the cheese.
Step 5: Line the frozen tater tots up in neat rows over the top, standing them close together. Rows look good, but more importantly, they crisp evenly.
Step 6: Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes, until the tots are golden and crisp and the filling is bubbling.
Step 7: Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the tots and bake 3 more minutes. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
Swaps
- Veggies: Frozen corn or mixed vegetables instead of green beans.
- Soup: Cream of chicken or cheddar cheese soup.
- Meat: Ground turkey or breakfast sausage (great for a brunch version with eggs).
Tips
- Use the highest oven rack position you can for the crispiest tots.
- Don’t cover it. Foil traps steam and the tots go limp.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
Folks up north call this hotdish and have strong opinions about it. Down here we call it “that casserole with the tots on top” and we have strong opinions about seconds.
The secret to a great one is the tots going on frozen, in rows, uncovered. Frozen tots hold their shape while the filling heats up underneath, and leaving it uncovered lets the hot oven air crisp the tops. The creamy beef layer below steams the bottoms of the tots soft, so every bite gets crispy and tender at the same time.
If you’re feeding a crowd on a budget, this is the move. It reheats great, too, assuming any survives.
HAM out.
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