Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole really brings back childhood memories. Crispy tater tots are combined with simple ingredients like cheddar cheese soup and more make for a wonderful family-friendly hot dish. Even picky eaters will enjoy this recipe, in fact, it is a great recipe for the entire family.
Cheesy Tater Tot Hamburger Casserole
This easy tater tot casserole really brings back childhood memories. Moreover, adding oatmeal to the meat mixture helps it taste just like meatloaf and makes this dish easy on the budget. It’s an economical way to stretch a couple of pounds of ground beef and frozen Tater tots into a meal that will serve your whole family. It’s also a good dish to bring to potlucks. This tater tot casserole recipe with hamburger meat topped with crispy tots is a total guilty pleasure.
Easy dinners are my favorites, and I’m a big fan of casseroles. Chances are you’ve had a tater tot casserole before and were not really impressed. There are many variations on tater tot casseroles. However, I think this is one of the best tater tot casseroles with beef around! With this recipe, you get layers of wonderful flavors that combine to give you a delicious and easy dinner any evening of the week! This amazing copykat casserole recipe will inevitably become a favorite with the whole family!
Delicious one-pan meal made with simple ingredients
You’ll love this easy tater tot casserole. Keep some frozen tater tots and ground beef as staples in your freezer, and you can pull this meal together in no time. It is also something that you can even make the day before and put in your fridge. All you have to do is pop it in the oven when you get home from work, and you’ll be sitting down to eat in about an hour.
The basics for this layered cheesy tater tot casserole with hamburger meat are ground beef, Cheddar Cheese soup, and, of course, tater tots. Oatmeal and a beaten egg make the ground beef resemble a meatloaf. Some seasonings and some tomato juice are all the extras you need. It really is that simple.
What could be better than flavorful ground beef casserole topped with cheesy tater tots?
Variations – add your own personal touch!
It’s easy to add some veggies to this tater tot casserole with beef. Try green beans or corn. Or use a can of peas and carrots or mixed vegetables. You could also swap out the cheddar cheese soup with some nacho cheese soup for a little extra flair! Here are some ideas!
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped diced onion
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Top with 2 or 3 slices of crumbled crispy bacon just before serving
- You can swap the ground beef for ground turkey if desired
- You can swap the cheddar cheese soup for mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup
Ingredients for Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
- Ground beef – I recommend ground chuck, it is leaner than ground beef
- Tomato juice – you could thin out 4 ounces of tomato sauce with 4 ounces of water
- Oatmeal – instant oats, quick cook oats, or roll oats work.
- Egg
- Onion salt
- Salt and pepper
- Frozen Tater tots
- Cheddar cheese soup or canned soup of your preference
How to Make Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
Mix together tomato soup, oatmeal, egg, and seasonings in a large mixing bowl.
Add ground beef and combine.
Place mixture in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish
Top with tater tots and cheese soup.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Serve and enjoy!
Add toppings for fun!
Want to upgrade this family favorite hearty casserole? You can add a variety of toppings to the top of the tater tots. You could add:
- a dollop of sour cream
- a sprinkling of sliced green onions
What to serve with this easy one-dish meal
Want to serve up a great dinner? You can add a green salad and a vegetable like some green beans, or Brussels sprouts to make a complete meal.
What to do with this easy tater tot casserole recipe, if you have any leftover
This is a great meal to freeze after it is baked, in fact, it is a great freezer meal. You can freeze the casserole dish after it has been baked, you will want to wrap it very tightly with plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn. This will last in your freeze for about 3 months.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container, this will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze leftovers in an airtight container or a vacuum-sealed bag for up to three months.
Love meatloaf? Try these recipes
Best Tater Tot Recipes
Easy Dinner Casserole Recipes
- Basic Chicken Casserole
- King Ranch Chicken Casserole Recipe
- Taco Spaghetti Casserole
- Simple Taco Casserole
- Chicken and Noodles Casserole
- Sausage Casserole
Take a look at more of my budget-friendly recipes and easy casseroles.
Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tomato Juice
- 3/4 cup Oatmeal
- 1 beaten Egg
- 1/4 teaspoon Onion Salt
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
- 28 ounces tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the first six ingredients and mix well in a large mixing bowl.
- Add ground beef and stir to combine mixture.
- Place the ground beef mixture into a 9" by 13" baking pan.
- Top with tater tots and Cheddar cheese soup. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Minnesnowtan
Okay, this is a MN staple and it’s called Tator Tot Hotdish. No tomato juice. No oatmeal. No onion salt. Maybe garlic salt.
Cheese is optional, as is corn in the Hotdish.
Sam
There is 4500-5000 mg. of sodium in this recipe without the salt & onion salt.
Linda McCullough
I think this should have some sauteed garlic and onion .plus omit tomato juice. For maybe a can of French onion soup or something maybe some catsup under tater tots
Stephanie
Linda your version sounds like a great recipe. I would like to give this one a try soon.
krish
I added a little taco seasoning to the meat to give it more flavor and a layer of cheddar cheese under the tater tots and added a little milk to the soup before I poured it over in order to keep it moist and spread more evenly
Lindsbillinger
This was ok….soup was hard to spread around the tater tots…meat didn’t have much flavor. Not sure I would make this again.
Cuddlylilpooches
my kids would love this..gotta try it!And i may add some kind of veggie to the meat and there you go..