Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
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Craving comfort food that’s both easy and delicious? This hamburger tater tot casserole recipe transforms simple ingredients into a hearty, crowd-pleasing meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights. With layers of seasoned ground beef, melty cheese, and crispy tots, it’s guaranteed to become a family favorite!
We will guide you through the simple steps to make this casserole. You will have no questions and will know exactly what’s for dinner when you finish reading this post. We also share plenty of variations to make it your own. Save this post or print out the recipe so you don’t lose it!
What Your Family Will Love About This Casserole
Your entire family is going to love the cheesy goodness and enticing flavor of this hamburger casserole. It’s ready and on the table in less than an hour, but can be prepared the day before and baked in the oven on the day you want to eat it. Cheese, and potatoes, and hamburger — all of your kids favorite.
Ingredients for this Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
All of the ingredients are listed on the recipe, but I wanted to share a couple of important notes here.
Ground Beef. We are recommending 93/7 ground beef because 1) it’s better for you and 2) you will have less grease. You can use whatever you have, just be sure to drain off as much of the excess grease as you can to keep the finished dish from being greasy.
Shredded Cheddar Cheese. For this recipe, you could use a blend of Colby jack, Mexican cheese, or any variation of cheddar will work. The most important thing is to make sure it’s a variety of cheese that will melt.
Tater Tots. Frozen tater tots are what you need! No need to thaw them first. If you want to reduce the amount of carbs in the dish, you can use tater tot crowns and still make a lovely casserole.
Dairy. We use full-fat cheese and sour cream in this recipe. It adds a rich flavor. You can use any variety. It may impact the flavor but it will still turn out just fine.
How To Make Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
Please note, that the printable recipe card has the full list of ingredients, quantities, complete instructions, and nutritional information. The following is a quick overview of the recipe.
Brown the ground beef with the peppers, onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in a large skillet. Drain off any excess grease.
Add the butter and flour to the pan and stir to make a roux.
Add the milk and cook until it thickens.
Stir in half the cheese and sour cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Press the mixture into your casserole dish and top it with tater tots. Kids love to help with the tater tots and will guarantee that they’ll eat their dinner.
Bake. Switch to broil after 25 minutes. Top with remaining cheese for the last five minutes.
Hostess Tips – Subsitutions and Variations
The ground beef works really well in this recipe. However, you can substitute with ground sausage making it perfect for brunch.
Change up the seasoning by adding chili seasonings, taco seasonings, or creole seasoning for a unique twist. In each case you change the dish enough to make it different from the last time, but keep the same yumminess for your family.
Bring the heat by adding hot peppers instead of green pepper or adding ancho chili powder with the other spices.
How to Serve Tater Tot Casserole
While this is amazing as a main dish, you might want to add some side dishes to it as well. A bright and crunchy green salad will work perfectly. Fruit cocktail salad or sliced fresh tomatoes would all go nicely. This cherry quick bread would be great with this tatertot casserole too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my tater tot casserole soggy?
Follow the instructions for baking the casserole. It needs to be baked for 25 minutes and then set to broil to crisp up the tater tots. Once they are crisp, then the final layer of cheese is added. If you do not bake it for long enough or switch it to broil it will be soggy. Make sure it is bubbly before you switch it to broil, and the cheese is golden brown before you pull it out.
How long do I cook tater tot casserole?
The cheesy center should be hot and bubbly and the tater tots with cheese on top should be crispy and golden brown. It’s 25 minutes baking, then 5 minutes on broil, then a few minutes with the cheese on top. That’s it.
Can this be made ahead of time?
It is best served hot and fresh, so it’s not a great dish to fully bake ahead of time. You can make the ground beef mixture ahead of time though, so that’s easy to pull off on the day you need it. You can also freeze the casserole unbaked to bake at a later date.
How To Reheat & Store Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
Best way to store
Keep leftover casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Baked casserole can be frozen in individual servings or an entire casserole dish and reheated later.
Can I freeze this casserole?
Yes. You can freeze it once it is assembled and unbaked or freeze it after it is fully baked and reheat it in the oven later until hot and bubbly. Make sure to keep it in an airtight container. I like using disposable foil pans so I don’t tie up my baking dishes by putting them in my freezer. Top the pan with plastic wrap and then foil to make it airtight.
If you are cooking for a small group, make the full recipe but put it into two smaller baking dishes. Freeze half of it (unbaked) in a disposable casserole dish. You can save it for later. Bake the other half and enjoy it for dinner! When you are ready to serve it again, bake the frozen version. Add fifteen to twenty extra minutes if needed. You can also thaw it overnight in the fridge before baking.
How to reheat tater tot casserole?
For individual servings use the microwave, a skillet, an air fryer, or the oven. For a full casserole or large portions, use the oven for best results. Cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 165ºF.
If you enjoyed our Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole Recipe, I think you’ll enjoy these too!
We have another recipe that uses tater tots which I think you will love: Spicy Chili Con Carne. Other great casserole options include a Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole made in the crockpot, this Corned Beef Breakfast Casserole, and even a pizza casserole!
I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.
Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 93% lean
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp coarse kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1½ cup milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 lb frozen tater tots 2-pound bag
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- In a saute pan add the ground beef, peppers, onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Over medium heat cook for 6-8 minutes.
- To the saute pan add the butter and flour. Mix for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the milk to the saute pan. Mix for 2-3 minutes or until thick.
- Add 1 cup cheese and the sour cream to the saute pan. Mix until smooth
- Taste to see if more salt and pepper is needed.
- Transfer the meat and cheese mixture to a 9×13 baking dish.
- Add the tater tots to the baking dish. You will have tater tots left over.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Broil on high or 500 °F for 5 minutes.
- Top with the remainder of the cheese.
- Broil for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is slightly brown.
- Top with parsley.
Notes
- This tater tot casserole is loaded with fresh bell peppers, onion, and garlic that is sauteed with ground beef. The layers of ground beef, cheese, and tater tots make for a great dinner. If you need an easy dinner this is a great one with little cleanup.
- Ingredients needed; ground beef, bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic cloves, seasonings, butter, flour, milk, sour cream, cheddar cheese, tater tots, and parsley.
- You can make this the day before and cook it before serving.
- This is a great dish for your next potluck.
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
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