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
An absolute crowd-pleaser! Loaded with ground beef, cheese and everyone’s fave: TATER TOTS! Made in the crockpot! EASY!!!
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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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.