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Easy Chili Tater Tot Casserole is a cheesy dish made with chili and crispy tater tots on top! You only need a few ingredients to make this recipe making it great for weeknight dinners. It’s the ULTIMATE comfort food!
What is Tater Tot Casserole?
It’s a casserole topped with tater tots! This type of dish is popular in the Midwest and is sometimes called a hot dish.
There are all kinds of variations, but they usually have a few things in common: they’re made with some sort of meat, cheese, and sauce and topped with tater tots. Once assembled, you bake it until the tots are golden and crispy and the casserole filling is bubbling hot. There are so many ways to make tater tot casserole. I’ve seen them made with cream of mushroom soup, taco seasoning, even pasta sauce.
Making casseroles with chili is one of my favorite ways to make an EASY dinner recipe, like when I make my mom’s Bean Stuff Casserole or my Chili Bubble Bake. But this easy tater tot casserole is always a go-to. Adding extra beef to the chili makes this a much heartier meal and allows it to feed more people, making it perfect for a large family or a potluck.
Ingredients Needed
- Ground Beef: Or you can use ground turkey or chicken
- Onion and Garlic: For flavor – dice the onion small and mince the garlic
- Canned Chili: Use your favorite kind and brand or use leftover turkey chili.
- Cheese: My favorite to use is shredded cheddar cheese
- Tater Tots: The most important part! Use frozen – name brand or generic are fine. You can also use hash browns.
How to Make Chili Tater Tot Casserole
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Break it up as it cooks and, once it starts to brown, add the onions and garlic. Cook them until the onion is soft and the meat is cooked through.
- Drain the fat from the skillet and then transfer the beef mixture to a 9×13” baking dish. Spread the chili over the top in an even layer. Sprinkle the cheese over the chili.
- Arrange the frozen tater tots in a single layer on top of the casserole. Bake the chili casserole at 400°F for about 40 minutes or until the tots are golden brown and hot.
- Serve the hot dish casserole hot from the oven. I like to serve it with sour cream as a topping. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Variations
Not only is this easy tater tot casserole easy, but there are so many ways to switch it up. Here are some swaps you might like to try.
- Instead of chili use leftover gravy for my Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole!
- Taco Tater Tot Casserole: Season the ground beef with taco seasoning and use a Southwest-style chili to give it a taco theme. Add sour cream, sliced green onions, and salsa as a topping to finish it.
- Turkey Chili Cheese Tater Tots Casserole: Swap the beef for ground turkey and use turkey chili for a leaner casserole.
- Cheese Swaps: Any shredded cheese will work in this recipe. Try a Mexican blend or combination of cheddar, pepper jack, and Monterey jack cheese.
- Chili Swaps: Any canned chili or your favorite homemade chili will work! There are so many options – you can make it over and over and never have this cheesy tater tot casserole the same way twice.
FAQ
Make sure they are on top of the casserole and in a single layer. Bake the casserole uncovered – that way, the chili cheese tots will be nice and crispy.
It’s often called a tater tot hot dish.
Any chili you like will work in a hot dish, so feel free to experiment!
Yes, it’s definitely a popular Midwest dish – I think it’s because it gets so cold there, and people love hearty comfort food dishes. Tater tot casserole is definitely that.
You can make it with either!
Yes, just omit the meat and use your favorite canned vegetarian chili.
Chili Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 90/10 or similar
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 15 ounce can chili with beans any flavor or brand
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 32 ounce bag tater tots frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Break up into small chunks and cook until it starts to brown. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the beef is no longer pink and onions are soft. Drain fat.
- Place beef mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish (9×13-inch pan size or similar). Spread chili over the top of the beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Top casserole with a single layer of frozen tater tots.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or unit the tots are golden brown and cooked through. Serve hot with sour cream.
- Store leftovers in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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I could eat this kind of casserole every day and not get sick of it, but my body wouldn’t love it because foods like this give me heartburn. Have you ever dealt with heartburn? I’ve had it since I was a kid, and I know that if I avoid spicy foods or lots of butter (I swear, just looking at sugar cookies gives it to me) or foods with acidity (like grapefruit and tomatoes) it won’t bother me but sometimes I just want to eat a casserole for dinner or a cookie for dessert or have a grapefruit cocktail and not worry about heartburn. It’s hard to avoid all foods that give me heartburn, so I have to treat it instead of just avoiding it. There is no way I’m going through life without enjoying Tater Tot Casserole. What kind of life would that be?! To treat my frequent heartburn, I use Equate Omeprazole Orally Dissolving Tablets (aka Omeprazole ODT). This post was originally sponsored by Mirum in 2018.
This Easy Tater Tot Casserole is a cheesy dish made with chili and crispy tater tots on top! Enjoy!
Where do I add salt and pepper???
I added corn to mine!! 🙂 So good
Just made this, well in the oven now! I’ll update when it’s done! Mmm sounds yummy! I added green pepper.
I make this for my busy family at least twice a month! Its soo good!
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