Quick and Easy Tater Tot Casserole

Sounds yummy.

Many have been concerned that this recipe uses raw hamburger. The hamburger seems not to be done after cooking the amount of time according to the recipe. this is due to the hamburger being cooked anaerobically (without air.) This leaves the hamburger looking pink, but it is fully cooked. If you check the temperature and it is between 170 to 180 degrees, it’s done. I add dried onion and garlic to the soup mixture. I also reverse the soup and the tater tots layers. We the tots to be browned and crunchy. I adjust when to add the tots so they don’t burn. See the tater tot cooking time.

Casseroles cooked using raw hamburg? There are a lot of recipes like that out there. At the very least, the hamburg should be super lean and the casserole should be tightly covered during most of the bake time. Safer to cook first and pour off fat. I did make this, but I used 85% lean hamburg, precooked it first and poured off the fat. Also added some chopped onion and garlic to the hamburg mixture. Was good, but I didn’t make it exactly as written. This is supposed to be a quick dump and go recipe, but it doesn’t work as written with raw meat, for safety reasons. Just my opinion.

i added velveeta cheese sliced up from block added french fried onions to top it was a hit at my home.

real fast and good!

I used frozen hash browns. It was great.

This was great but I followed reviewer’s suggestions about cooking meat ahead and adding onions. I also used cream of chicken soup instead of celery and added a blip of dijon mustard, ketchup and worcheshire to the sauce. I used ground turkey and then cauliflower/broccoli tots for the topping. It came out good but kind of salty so I will look for ways to cut that down in the next meal. This did please two teen boys and their dad so for that I am grateful. It’s hard to find a single dish that will make all of them happy. Me, I’m eating a salad, lol.

I usually don’t make changes to a recipe when I make it, but felt the need to do so with this one. I browned the burger with 1/2 onion and a large clove of garlic. I then mixed the soups and milk with the burger. Not sure what was meant by a can of milk, so I used a can of evaporated milk. I put this mixture in bottom of casserole dish, then topped with an 8 ounce package of cheddar cheese. I layered the frozen bag of tater tots on top. Baked for one hour. The cheese is what made the casserole. Without it, this would of lacked flavor. Leftovers are good but tots get a bit mushy.

Made as directed added about a cup of shredded cheese before baking, then sprinkled crispy fried onions halfway through the bake time. Was tasty but too goopy. Next time will use just one can of soup and half can of milk.

So great, family loved it. Cook meat first, I added onion and garlic and soup (used cream of chicken instead of cerlery) together. Topped with cheese and then tater tots. When almost done I added more cheese on top of tots. Served with sour cream. Yum!

No changes. I found it a little bland , Maybe I will add a little more Taco sauce and some salt and pepper

I gave it 5 stars because I think it’s a great dish and anytime I have made it everyone loved it. I was making this long before it was posted to this site. Most of the reviews are several years old and I don’t know if and when people check the reviews. I just had some comments to make. Any recipe that you try should always be adaptable for your family. The ingredients in this recipe are just that and you should always season to your familys tastes. It only calls for a pinch of garlic powder. This makes a lot for no more seasoning than a little garlic powder and salt and pepper. I have gotten used to using onion and garlic powder since my husband doesn’t like onion. I have to slip it in anytime I can and if he can’t see it he doesn’t know it’s there. I have always cooked the meat before combining the ingredients. I also usually use more than one pound of ground meat since you are putting it in a 9X13 dish that isn’t a lot of meat. It is much better if you season the meat but not with salt. I noticed someone commented on saltiness and I had that problem and learned to use the low sodium soups and WATCH the cheese because that adds salt also. You may want to try different kinds of cheese if you have a problem with saltiness. When I put it together I put the cooked, seasoned meat on the bottom and top that with some frozen mixed vegetables cover that with the soups mixed with the milk and sprinkle some cheese over the soup. Add the tater tots on top and I usual

My Family loves it!!

I followed the recipe, no changes. It was too greasy since the ground beef cooks in the mix.

My family enjoyed this casserole, I added onions to the ground beef and topped it with cheddar cheese.

Hmm….after reading several different recipes for this dish I’m beginning to wonder if the trailer park where my momma done raised me up was located in a parallel universe because we always added the meat to the pan raw (after combining it with dry french onion soup mix). In fact that’s how I still make it. It always forms this wonderful/frightening solid sheet of more or less boiled meat that serves as a sturdy foundation for the more wobbly parts of the dish. And at 375 F I’ve never had a problem with the meat not getting cooked in under an hour. I know that any foodie would become apoplectic at the idea of not browning meat, but hey, it’s a freaking casserole!

An easy dish to make, and I followed suggestions from top remarks. Kids loved it and will make again.

I used ground chicken and a can of condensed cream of cheddar soup and a can of cream of mushroom. That’s what I had on hand so it’s what I used. Came out very yummy. I added my own roasted garlic seasoning to the meat and I cooked it before putting it in the pan and adding the tater tots to it . I also a couple of handfuls of sharp cheddar cheese to the mix of meat and soups.

I liked it , I didn’t make any changes . I would make it again.

Really satisfying comfort food dinner! Couple of changes…didn’t have the two cans of soup as I thought I did, so in addition to the one can of cream of chicken soup I had on hand, I improvised and added a can of cream corn. Actually, it gave the dish a nice added flavor! Also, I accidentally put the tots on before the cheese, but it worked out great anyway. Will definitely make again!

I made two 9×13 casseroles with the changes to the recipe. This was an excellent base recipe. We love veggies and did not want to have to serve any sides with this. So I ended up using the following: 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb ground turkey (both lean). Cooked and drained. I added the following veggies finely chopped, and sauteed (may look like a lot but veggies cook down quite a bit): 1 1/2 lb fresh spinach, 2 bunches green onions, 16 oz broccoli slaw, 16 oz fresh cauliflower, 2 green bell peppers, parsley, cilantro. Mixed meat and veggies together seasoned with cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, pepper, tiny bit of salt *even using the healthy request lower sodium soups it does have a lot of soduim already; as do the tots. For the soupy mixture I used 2 cans of cream of mushroom, 1 can cream of celery and 3 cups milk, added handful of cheese. Layered bottom with sparse amount of tots, put meat/veggie mixure, poured some of the soupy mixture; covered with 2nd layer of sparse amount of tots, then put rest of soupy mixture on top. Baked at 375 for 40 minutes; added handful of cheese to the top, baked another 10 minutes. The tots end up soaking up the soupy mixture, as did the meat/veggies. I did not have enough of the cream of whatever cans to follow the recipe exactly, that’s why I increased the amount of milk. Also had to be sparse on the tots since I only had one bag. So incredibly delicious.