My nephew introduced me to this deliciousness...so once you’ve tasted it and also become a tot addict, you can blame him. But in all seriousness - this casserole is an easy way to feed many without any crazy ingredients. In fact, I bet you have most of this stuff in your pantry/freezer/fridge.
This Tater Tot Casserole is perfect for hosting, say, a Super Bowl party! In fact, you could even have some of this ready to go in advance and then toss it in the oven right before game time.
Here are the steps to take you to tot town:
1. Dice one medium onion. When my nephew dices veggies, he does them “rustic” style.
2. While you’re chopping your onions, start browning some ground beef in a non stick pan. Once the onions are chopped, toss them in with the meat and continue cooking until the beef is browned and the onions are translucent. Start preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
3. As the beef and onions get cooked up, mix/whisk together in a large bowl one regular can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, one regular can of condensed cream of chicken soup and one cup of milk. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
4. Spray a glass 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
5. Once the beef and onion is cooked, take it off the stove (and turn off your burner, obvi) and mix it into the soup/milk mixture.
6. After you’ve mixed it up good, dump it into the pan and then top with your Tater Tots! You can do a uniform pattern or just spread them haphazardly like I do. Either way, just make sure it’s a single layer.
7. Bake it for one hour. After that, take it out and sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top (yes, the recipe calls for 1 cup....but using more wouldn't necessarily be a baaaaad thing, ha!) and then bake for an additional15 minutes.
When sprinkling cheese, watch out for "helpers" who suddenly arrive!
8. Take it out and get ready to feast! I'd recommend leaving it sit for about 5 minutes because it is piping hot and it'll let the juices set up a bit more. But if you can't wait that long to dive in, give'er.
Like I said, this casserole is perfect for game day! You can easily cook the beef and onion the day before, put it in the fridge and just mix everything together, throw it in the oven and **BOOM** delicious meal cooking while you watch the game!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes: 9x13 inch casserole dish - enough to feed 8-ish pending hunger status
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion/1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 can of cream of mushroom condensed soup
- 1 can of cream of chicken condensed soup
- 1 cup of milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 package of Tater Tots
- 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (or a mix of cheddar/mozza, etc.)
This is also a great meal to have kids help with - they love sprinkling and stirring and there is plenty of both! Enjoy :-)
