Easy Tater Tot Casserole

Tater tot casserole is a classic quick & easy weeknight dinner recipe. Layered browned ground beef with veggies, canned condensed soup, and cheese, and topped with tater tots is a cheesy family favorite recipe.

It’s good to have a few “go-to” recipes that can be a quick and easy weeknight dinner idea.

Tater tot casserole is one of those recipes for me. With simple layers of common ingredients from your freezer and pantry, you can have it put together and in the oven in just a short time.

It’s also super customizable – allowing you to use what frozen or canned vegetables you have on hand.

It was one of my Mom’s recipes that was a favorite of mine – and now my kids love it, too! Scroll to the bottom of this post for a handy printable recipe.

How to Make Easy Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients you’ll need for this dinner idea with tater tots:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup diced onion, optional
• 1/2 cup diced red pepper, optional
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 package tator tots

Directions for this easy tater tot casserole recipe

• Step 1: Brown ground beef with onion and pepper and drain off excess juice. Salt and pepper liberally while browning.
• Step 2: Transfer the browned ground beef mixture to the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
• Step 3: Using a spatula, spread the mushroom soup over the browned beef.
• Step 4:Sprinkle frozen corn over the soup and press down gently.
• Step 5: Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the hamburger corn mixture.
• Step 6: Layer on the tator tots and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Step 7: Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until it is bubbling around the edges and hot in the middle. To get nice and golden brown, place on the top rack and turn oven to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes.

Other variations of this beef tater tot casserole

• Use canned corn or green beans (drained) instead of frozen corn.
• My mom usually made this with frozen peas. It was yummy, too!
• Some people mix together the browned beef, veggies, and soup in a bowl before transferring it all to the casserole dish.
• Don’t have cream of mushroom soup? No problem. Cream of chicken soup or cheddar cheese soup can be substituted for the mushroom soup.
• Expecting guests? This is a great make ahead meal that you can assemble and freeze. Then, when you need to make dinner you just pull it out of the freezer and put it in the oven! (Baking it from frozen will require extra baking time.)

What do you serve with tater tot casserole?

We like to top our tator tot casserole (or tator tot hotdish- as my mom used to call it!) with ketchup.  At the home where I grew up, my mom often served this with jello salad! That’s just not as common as it once was, is it?

I serve it with a green salad and dinner buns with butter.

And, if you want dessert? I’d highly recommend something like this rhubarb crisp. We recently had tator tot casserole with strawberry crisp for dessert – and it was a great combination!

Other Easy Ground Beef Recipes:

• Upsidedown Cheeseburgers
• Easy Meatloaf Recipe
• Taco Soup
• Make Ahead Lasagna
• Hamburger Steak in the Oven

For more recipes and ideas for your home:

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