Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole
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An absolute crowd-pleaser! Loaded with ground beef, cheese and everyone’s fave: TATER TOTS! Made in the crockpot! EASY!!!
My birthday has been extended for the week.
It involved this beef and broccoli ramen stir fry on my actual birthday.
Then it was this sheet pan shrimp broil during the week.
And today.
Well, today, I get a double load of this cheesy Mexican tater tot casserole.
For breakfast.
At 7:52 in the morning.
But don’t worry.
I did a bottom layer of tater tots as well as a top layer.
Because.
I mean, it’s really the only way to do it properly, no?
Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought
- 1 4.5-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
- 1 10-ounce can mild enchilada sauce
- 1 16-ounce package frozen tater tots
- ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat and remove from heat.
- Stir in black beans, corn, salsa, green chiles, taco seasoning and enchilada sauce.
- Lightly coat the inside of a 4-qt slow cooker with nonstick spray.
- Spread half of the tater tots onto the bottom of the slow cooker; top with ground beef mixture and remaining tater tots. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours. Add cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
- Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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At 3 hours is was fully cooked, but the top tots were soggy. So I transferred it to a 200º oven for the final hour. Then turned the oven to broil to brown the tots, added the cheese, and let the cheese melt under the broiler.
I made this for the weekly slow cooker meal I do for Sabbath after church. It was one that was on the shortlist for quite a while, and the stars fell into alignment. With one that was bubbling for over 12 hours while I was sleeping and attending church, by the time I was home it was good and ready.
My housemate had already tucked into a portion, and was impressed. So much so, he went back for seconds. I am a big spice fiend, so anything that is this rich and spicy will automatically warm up in the opinion. As per normal. I tested the capacity of the pan with cooking the mince mixture; this had two portions of mince meat, two shucked corn cobs, and all the other trimmings. There was thankfully enough space in the crock pot.
My backlog of recipes is only getting more extensive with these discoveries.
Made this today and while the taste is great, I find it very dry. Did anyone else find this? Not sure where i went wrong. Maybe I used too many tots? I also added green pepper and mushrooms instead of chiles. And I did 3 layers of tots and threw some cheese in the middle layer.
What about on high heat for the slow cooker?
Everyone at church loved it!!!
Now it’s in the rotation – thanks Chungah
Used hot seasoning and enchilada sauce (we like it with more kick). Everyone loved it. Definitely a do over.
Question***
Has anyone tried this recipe in an oven instead of slow cooker?
This was tasty but like some others said it would be even better with crispier tots. I made it without any meat and can’t say I missed it. My one question is the 16 0z tatertot ingredient – normal frozen tots come in 32 oz bag and that’s what I used. Would have been SUPER soupy with half the tots.
I used a bag of 20 oz sweet potato tots. I’ve only bought tots once in 25 years as a mom so no clue on sizing. I figured the 20 oz was being generous with my crew. I may do cubed potatoes next time to avoid the processed factor but thought I’d follow the recipe as-is first time.
If you have a ceramic crockpot dish, you can pull that out and put it in the oven with lid off to get crispy tater tots on top. Just a suggestion.
Such a good recipe!
I doubled the beans and used 1/2 lb ground beef instead because I don’t eat that much meat. Instead of tater tots as a layer on the bottom, I put the tots on top only. Forgot the salsa but it came out great!! My little brother came over to help me with something at the house so I had him try it and he said it was really tasty!!! I think the one thing I would change would be maybe cooking the tots before so they stay crispy. But otherwise, definitely keeping this recipe!
Thank you so much!!
I’ve made this recipe many times and am never disappointed. It’s so good. I do use a can of Bush’s (want to say its fiesta flavor) beans that has black beans, corn and spices. Have not been able to get it because of the pandemic. Hardly any head available here. Its super simple and my kids love it. Great the next day warmed on a tortilla with salsa and more cheese.
I’ve made tachos. Which are delish but this is easier . One pot no fuss no mess. It will now be one of my go to meals. Highly recommend.
My kids are typically pretty picky eaters, unfortunately!! But they loved this dish as did I! So much goodness in this, thanks to whoever submitted this outstanding recipe!!!
Also, my tots were not too mushy – actually just perfect. I had a bigger crockpot so I used more tots and started them frozen, plus added a touch more cheese. Hope that helps anyone!! And I used fresh ingredients and really good local beef.
Just made this last night, tastes great! My only issue is that the tater tots came out soggy and mushy. Would you recommend maybe putting them in the oven or air fryer before putting them in the slow cooker?
another thing to try is putting a sheet of paper towel in between the pot and the lid while it’s cooking. This helps prevent the condensation from the lid to drip onto the tator tots. Tried this method with a different recipe that called for biscuits – it really did the trick to keep them from getting soggy!
How many calories?
Question: the recipe says it serves 8 how large are the portion sizes?
I have a question.
I am obsessed with my Inatant Pot.
Can I use the “slow cooker” setting on it to make this?
I wouldn’t recommend EVER using the slow cook setting on IP. Just use your crock pot. Or layer in a 9*13 and bake in the oven.
It was really good, I made it tonight. I have a question though.. we have a lot of leftovers can we freeze them?
TIA
my tater tots get mushy is there anyway to make them more crispy?
You can try to bake this instead. 🙂
if I bake this, how long should I cook it and at what temp?
You can bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. 🙂
Loved this recipe, reminds me of a childhood meal I used to have called a tater tot hot plate back home in Minnesota!
That sounds delicious!
While this isn’t the type of meal I’d make for dinner, I can’t wait to make this for the Super Bowl!!
Delicious! I’ve made this twice now! A big hit! Thanks for the great recipe! Saskatchewan Canada
Both times ive made this it came out great. I used ground turkey. I have never seen a bag of 16 oz tator tots in the store. Both times they were 36 oz. So I used the whole bag. 16 oz isnt enough but that could becuase my slow cooker is 6 quarts i believe.
This was hands down one of the best recipes I’ve tried. I was a little worried because it’s a little untraditional compared to “Grandma’s hotdish”, and the salsa I used was a little spicier than I had meant to get, but it was great! Between 4 people we had no left overs & everyone left full. Really awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing!
What if I prep in the morning, put in fridge then plug in at lunchtime? Will the tots get all mushy?
Yes, that may be a possibility!
Would this work in the instant pot?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications. Sorry, Susan!
Is it possible to brown the meat in a pan ahead of time, freeze, the defrost it when I’m going to use it in the crockpot?
I actually haven’t tried this process just yet but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Take a bow, for Tuesday has officially been renamed “Tater Taco Tot Tuesday.”
Can you cock the beef in the crockpot instead of before hand?
You certainly can but you will not get the flavor development/benefits that browning meat provides.
My tator tots got very mushy, maybe it would be better to bake them and then add them. My husband ate his serving with chips for some crunch.
I was thinking browning them first would be a good idea but then why use the crockpot, you know? Was it still good even though mushy?
Will this work for a 5-qt crock pot or do I need to change the amount of each ingredient? I don’t need more because I’m only actually feeding 3 with this but I didn’t know what I would need to do for it to turn out right with a little bit bigger of a crock pot.
Yes, you may need to reduce cooking time as needed.
I made this using corn tortillas instead of hashbrowns and in the oven instead of the crockpot. I layered it like a lasagna in a 9 X 11 pan. First layer was 6 corn tortillas, then the meat mixture, then cheese and repeat. Baked it in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes. It was great!
I assume I don’t cook the tots? Leave frozen? Sorry, single man learning the ropes.
Yes!
Absolutely delicious! I just got a crock pot and really haven’t spent much time EVER cooking. This is simply delicious and easy easy easy. I topped with sour cream. Thank you!
I’m trying this tonight! My girlfriend from Iowa showed me how to do tater tot casserole in the oven and I really don’t have an oven to speak of. She’s been homesick lately, so I wanted to cheer her up by making her something that reminded of home. Thank you for posting this up!
Tried it and it’s delicious! Made it for my family and everyone loved it.Will be making again.
Sounds very good and I like crock pot cooking.
Oh my kids will love this! So fun!
This sounds amazing! I love this idea, I need to try it!
I live alone but don’t mind cooking for leftovers or company. My mom bought me a 7 quart slow cooker which I am now reading online may be too large though I dont want to go out and buy another one. I never used one to cook and am confused about recipes and cooking times when they are based on a smaller quart size. What do I need to do in order to ensure that I can make a recipe with no issues in my 7 quart pot? Do I simply need to adjust the time it takes to cook? Is is completely advised against to make a 4 quart recipe in a 7 quart pot? Help if you can! thanks 🙂
Yes, the cooking time will have to be reduced as needed. Hope that helps!
I made this tonight for dinner. My oven quit after 15 yrs so slow cooker meals have been a Godsend. This recipe is AWESOME and one I will keep in my recipe box for many years to come. Thank you for posting it.
This looks amazing! My grandparents are in love with this recipe. Do you happen to have a calorie/macro count per serving? Great recipes, thank you so much!
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
Do you have advice for ingredient increases if using a 6qt crockpot? Two growing boys and a works-with-his-hands-all-day hubby to feed here… 🙂
You can multiply the recipe by 1.5.
Could I make this ahead, freeze, for a couple of days?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This is in the crockpot right now! Unfortunately I’m a half a lb of meat short due to budget and used chili beans instead of black because that’s what I had on hand. It looks great! Can’t wait to dig in!
Thanks for the recipe! So far none of your recipes have disappointed!
Oh my god. That looks so good, I can’t stand it. Funny, I come to your site from time to time for what I think are healthy-isa recipe ideas and today I find this. It’s sunday, I’m sold. I’m making this tonight.
If I don’t want to wait to cook it in a slow cooker, how long in the oven do you suggest and temperature?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot advise specific oven temp and time. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Oven: 350 degrees
Time: 30-45 minutes or until heated through as the hamburger is already cooked.
Thank you!
Is there any reason you couldn’t just bake this, too?
Yes, you certainly can.
Great recipe, I hope I will also tasty and beautiful as in your photo
What are your thoughts on using ground chicken instead?
Great idea!
I used ground turkey-amazing!!! And I even forgot to add the black beans!
We love plain tots, adding ingredients is golden. As always, thank you so much for all your amazing dishes.
Making this right now! I added my homemade taco seasoning mix to ground bison instead of beef to put my own spin on it. Hoping it’s a hit with the fam
Wow I have never had a tater tot before, but it looks soooo tasty!! Great to serve to kids (:
Everything about this site is a winner. Thank you over and over again.
beautiful!
Sounds like a yummy dinner! Can’t wait to fix it.
This looks AMAZING!!!!! I need to try this!
OMG I cant wait to make this!!!!!! I KNOW my kids are gonna love this!!
Hi Butters!!!