The Best Tater Tot Casserole – NO Condensed Soup

This tater tot casserole is a family favorite Midwest comfort food that’s layered with tender veggies and ground beef in a creamy gravy topped with melted cheese and tater tots. It’s loaded with real ingredients – which means NO CONDENSED SOUP – and it’s made all in one pot so it can go from the stove to the oven, right to your dinner table!

 

You Will Love This

• If you grew up eating tater tot hotdish you are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this version without condensed soup. If you did not grow up eating tater tot hotdish, then your taste buds are in for a real treat! This version tastes better than the traditional recipe because it’s made with real ingredients!
• The best part is that it all cooks together in one pan. It goes right from the stove, to the oven, to the dinner table! This is the exact pan that I use for this recipe (and a million other recipes on the blog!). It’s truly a workhorse pan in my kitchen and it’s perfect for all kinds of delicious casserole dinners.
• If you loved this tater tot casserole recipe, be sure to check out my:
  • Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
  • 25 Minute Walking Taco Casserole
  • Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
  • Baked Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Ground Beef – I like to use 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef for this tater tot hotdish. No need to drain the grease off the meat after its cooked – it will be used to saute the onion and garlic. You could sub ground turkey for the ground beef in this easy casserole recipe.
• Onion & Garlic – If you don’t have fresh onion and garlic on hand, you can sub with 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Dried Herbs – I like to use a mixture of dried oregano and dried thyme in this casserole. You could sub with Italian seasoning if you’d like.
• Butter – Always use unsalted butter so you can adjust the sodium levels yourself!
• Flour – Stick with all-purpose flour for the best flavor and texture.
• Beef Stock – I prefer the concentrated flavor of beef stock for this dish, however, beef broth would work too.
• Worcestershire – Feel free to add an extra teaspoon or two if you’re a Worcestershire lover like me 🙂 You could sub with soy sauce or tamari as well.
• Heavy Cream – The heavy cream is what creates the thick, rich gravy that usually comes from condensed soup. Half and half or whole milk could be used in a pinch, but they are going to make the gravy much thinner.
• Mixed Veggies – Frozen mixed veggies are a super easy way to cut through the richness of this dish. I like the mixture of peas, green beans, corn, and carrots. Feel free to use whatever you like best.
• Cheddar Cheese – I like to use mild cheddar but sharp cheddar would work as well. Feel free to use your favorite melty cheese for this tater tot hotdish.
• Tater Tots – The tots are what *make* this casserole! They go on the casserole frozen and then cook up perfectly tender and slightly crisp on top. Some brands call them potato puffs. You can sub them with potato crowns (kind of like round, flat tater tots) as well.

Instructions

Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumbling it with a spatula as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to remove beef from the pan and set aside.

Without wiping out the pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, thyme, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Add butter to the pan and stir until it melts.

Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir to combine.

Cook for another minute or so, stirring frequently.

Slowly stir in beef stock and Worcestershire until well combined, deglazing the bottom of the pan and scraping all the yummy bits off. Then stir in heavy cream.

Mix until well combined. Heat for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally, until it JUST comes to a simmer.

Add frozen veggies, cooked ground beef, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper to the pan and stir to combine.

Cook for about a minute.

Spread shredded cheddar cheese in an even layer over the veggie and beef mixture.

Then add tater tots in a single layer.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until the tater tots are crispy and the casserole is warmed through and bubbling around the edges. Broil for a couple minutes if desired to get the tater tots a little extra crispy on top. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped chives and parsley and enjoy!

Tips

• You might end up with leftover extra tater tots depending on what size baking dish you use. When I use my favorite large sauté pan, I ended up with maybe 20 or so leftover tater tots. The leftovers can either be frozen or baked on a sheet pan and enjoyed separately. Alternately, you can just pile all the tater tots on top of each other creating a double layer of tots. Depending on what type of casserole dish you use, you might just have room for all the tots on top!
• The tater tots in this casserole come out tender on the bottom and crispy on the top. If you prefer a super crisp tater tot all the way around, I recommend that you bake them on a baking sheet separately and then add them to the casserole after it’s baked in the oven. If you are baking the tots separately, you’ll only need to bake the casserole for about 20-30 minutes or until it’s warmed through and the frozen veggies are tender.
• When you make the gravy mixture and add the beef and veggies, don’t worry if the mixture looks a bit soupy or thin. As the casserole cooks in the oven the gravy is going to thicken and beautifully coat every bite.
• Season moderately and season often! Because the ingredient list for this casserole is short and sweet, it’s important to add an adequate amount of salt and pepper throughout the cooking process. This will go a long way in boosting the overall flavor of the hotdish.
• If you don’t have a large saute pan that can go from the stove to the oven, you can cook the beef, gravy, and veggie mixture on the stove and then transfer it to a 9×13 baking dish that’s sprayed with cooking spray. Then top it with the taters and bake!

Frozen Veggies vs. Canned

• Stick with frozen veggies not only for convenience but also for the best flavor and texture! They cook up perfectly tender right in the beef gravy.
• I find that canned veggies in tater tot hotdish end up getting a bit mushy and overcooked.

Is it casserole or hotdish?

• Growing up in Wisconsin, in our house this dish was always called tater tot hotdish. However, we also ate a lot of casseroles growing up so I can see why there might be some confusion! In our house hotdish *always* meant tater tot hotdish, but casserole could mean chicken and rice casserole, green bean casserole, or cheesy corn casserole!
• Casserole oftentimes refers to more of a side dish, while hotdish is often referring to the main dish.
• Casserole can also refer to a specific type of dish. A casserole pan (like the one I used in this recipe) is typically a dish that can go from the oven to the dinner table. A casserole pan might be made from glass or ceramic, but I prefer an enameled cast-iron casserole pan because it can go from the stovetop to the oven, to the dinner table. I find it to be the most versatile of all the casserole dishes.
• We could spend all day debating the nuances of hotdish vs. casserole but as a born and raised Midwesterner, I am happy to let you call it whatever you’d like.

No Condensed Soup

• While I grew up eating tater tot hotdish made with cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup and it was delicious, we all know that I love to try to recreate my childhood favorites without the use of condensed soup.
• I find that the flavor and texture of creamy condensed soup can be recreated with a few simple ingredients that you most likely have on hand already!
• I like to use butter, flour, broth or stock, and heavy cream along with garlic and herbs to recreate that signature creamy soup texture and flavor, without ever opening a can!

No Mushrooms or Cheese?

• The tater tot hotdish that I grew up eating did not have sliced mushrooms. Cream of mushroom soup may have been used from time to time but large pieces of mushroom were not. Many recipes call for the addition of sliced mushrooms but I prefer to skip them in this dish as I feel that they take away slightly from the rest of the flavors. If you’re a big mushroom fan, feel free to add 8 oz. or so of sliced baby Bella or cremini mushrooms when you saute the onion.
• Cheese was not a traditional ingredient in my mom’s tater tot hotdish or my grandma’s, however, as a true Wisconsinite, I can attest that everything is better with cheese! And in this tater tot casserole, I love the way the cheese creates another layer of flavor between the casserole filling and the tater tots. It’s totally up to you though – cheese or no cheese – it’s still going to be delicious!

FAQ

Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: This tater tot hotdish is one of my favorite meals because I can prep it over the weekend and then pop it in the fridge until we are ready to eat. Just follow the recipe instructions, but before topping the casserole with cheese and tater tots, cover it and place it in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to eat stir in a couple pinches of salt and pepper, add the cheese and tater tots, and bake. Plan to add 10 minutes or more to the cooking time to account for the cold temperature.
• Freezing: If you’re planning to freeze this, make it according to recipe instructions but stop just before adding the cheese and tater tots. Wrap the casserole with plastic wrap or foil and seal it in an airtight container, like a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Stir in a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Add cheese and tater tots and bake, planning to add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
• Reheating: Reheat leftovers in a 350-degree oven until warmed through. You could also heat leftovers in the microwave for 30-60 seconds at a time until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!

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