Sound the alarm: Tater Tot Casserole (or Hotdish as my neighbors to the north in Minnesota like to call it!) has been officially updated – make that UPGRADEDÂ – to skillet meal status! Oh yes, what you see here is saucy, seasoned ground beef and vegetables topped with the king of the frozen foods aisle – tater tots of course – and everything is simmered then oven-crisped in just one skillet. Comfort food does not get easier than Skillet Tater Tot Casserole!
Tater Tot Casserole is a Midwest classic. Eating it is like getting a big hug from your Mom. Satisfying and comforting. Plus, like the time I shared my Mom’s Maid Rite recipe, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a whole bunch of you who have never even heard of it before! You’re welcome. Go forth and spread the good word.
What’s Inside?
Tater Tot Casserole usually calls for condensed soup mixed with ground beef and frozen vegetables which are piled into a casserole dish then topped with tater tots and baked. I’m ditching canned soup because it’s usually not gluten-free plus it’s full of unnecessary ingredients. PLUS my homemade version tastes way better.
I’ve also updated the classic to be cooked then baked in just one skillet. From browning the ground beef, to making the flavorful sauce, to crisping up the tots in the oven, all you need is an oven-safe skillet. I use this 10-1/4″ cast iron skillet from Le Creuset – it’s my all-time favorite all-purpose skillet and will literally outlive me.
Skillet Tater Tot Casserole is a meat and potatoes dish that’ll stick to your ribs but since it’s made with mostly homemade ingredients you can feel good about feeding it to your whole family. We scrape the skillet clean anytime I make it for dinner!
How to Make This Recipe
First thing’s first – pretend this is the orange, oven-safe cast iron skillet that you’re going to see in the rest of the pictures. The one time I made this dish with the intent to photograph the steps I was doing approximately 49 other things, including peeling hummus-slathered turkey off the kitchen floor courtesy of Lincoln letting know he was done with dinner. Good times!
Start by browning ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper then drain and set aside.
Next, melt butter in the skillet over medium heat then add sliced mushrooms and chopped shallot. Saute until the mushrooms are slightly tender, 3-5 minutes, then add minced garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Sprinkle in gluten-free or all-purpose flour (dish will not be GF if using AP flour) then whisk while cooking for 1 more minute.
Now slowly stream in chicken or beef broth and milk (I use skim or unsweetened almond milk) while whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
Add gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using traditional soy sauce), ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, plus smoked paprika then turn the heat up slightly to bring the mixture to a bubble. Turn the heat back down to medium then simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened. Resist the urge to let the sauce reduce down too much as it will reduce in the oven. It will feel watery but trust me – it’s just right!
Stir the ground beef back into the sauce then remove the skillet from the heat and layer frozen tater tots on top. The precise amount will depend on how deep and wide your skillet is. You’ll want at least a 10″ skillet, but I also tried it in our big 12″ cast iron and it worked great too. Like I said, since the sauce is thin the tots will sink down a little bit but it’s fine!
NOTE: If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet you could pour the mixture into a baking dish at this point, top with the tots, and then bake.
Pop the skillet into the oven then bake according to the time/temp indicated on the bag of tater tots. Let the dish sit and cool for about 5 minutes before serving up hot. This dish will be a smash hit with the whole family – the kids (and kids at heart) will adore the crispy tater tots, while the rich and flavor-packed sauce is unbelievably satisfying. Enjoy, enjoy!
More Cozy Skillet Dinners
- Cheesy Chicken Burrito Skillet
- Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
- Cheesy Gnocchi Florentine
- Beef & Veggie Enchilada Skillet
- Homemade Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper
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Skillet Tater Tot Casserole (No Condensed Soup!)
Description
Skillet Tater Tot Casserole is an updated childhood classic made in one skillet and without condensed soup! This gluten free dinner recipe is always a smash hit.
Ingredients
- 1lb ground beef
- salt and pepper
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free or all-purpose flour (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
- 1-1/2 cups chicken or beef broth
- 1 cup milk (I use skim)
- 2 Tablespoons gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2lb bag tater tots
Directions
- Preheat oven according to tater tot bag instructions. Brown ground beef in a very large, oven-proof skillet (at least 10" - cast iron works great) seasoning with salt and pepper over medium-high heat. Drain then set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium, melt butter in skillet, and then add mushrooms and shallots. Season with salt and pepper then saute until mushrooms start to soften, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic then saute for 1 more minute. Sprinkle in flour then whisk to combine and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stream in chicken broth and milk a splash at a time, whisking to avoid lumps. Add tamari/soy sauce, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and smoked paprika, turn heat up slightly to bring mixture to a bubble, then turn heat back down to medium and simmer until just slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat then stir in ground beef and arrange tater tots on top. Place skillet on top of a baking sheet (or place one on the rack below) then bake according to tater tot bag instructions. Let sit and thicken for 5 minutes before serving.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Anna K 04.15.2020
This was delicious. I followed the recipe but omitted the mushrooms since my husband doesn’t like them. The whole family loved it. We will definitely be making this on a regular basis.
Camille 04.01.2020
I grew up in MN and was raised by a mom who grew up in MN. Guess what? We never had tater tot casserole (hotdish). I always thought it sounded gross and that my frugal parents found tater tots an overpriced frivolous grocery purchase. I don’t think I even had a tater tot until I was an adult.I actually asked my mom today if she ever made it. No. We both tried it for the first time as adults. The first time I had it was at our church when I worked there and coordinated with our head cook at the local school to purchase this for a church dinner. I could not believe that I liked it – almost loved it. To me her recipe was basic but correct (IMHO). Rice, beef, mixed veggies in sauce with tater tots. No cheese. I try to be healthier – kind of funny when using a processed tater tot :) , So I’ve always made my own sauce and used quinoa for the grain. Your recipe very much appealed to me because it has a more involved sauce with the smoked paprika (a fav of mine!), shallots and Worcestershire sauce. I made it slightly modified but was most interested in the sauce which I made as called for except no mushrooms. I used a bag of frozen mixed veggies, quinoa, beef, shallots, garlic mixed in the sauce with the hamburger. Divided it into 2 square baking dishes – one for now, one probably for next week. Perfect! The only problem is I have to police the scooping because if I don’t there seems to be no control over trying to swipe as many tater tots as possible!
Kristin 03.24.2020
Just made this and it was amazing! Will definitely be on repeat for those days when I need comfort food!
Betsy 02.09.2020
Can I use almond flour or tapioca starch as a thickener?
Jane Sprague 02.06.2020
My favorite grown-up version of childhood favorite.
Kristin 02.06.2020
YES. #nevergrowup Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating, Jane!
Crista 02.06.2020
The whole family loved this!
Kristin 02.06.2020
I’m so happy tp hear that, Crista! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Jessica 02.06.2020
Amazing! The homemade sauce is incredible. I could eat it on its own, and I am already dreaming up other recipes to use the sauce in!!
Kristin 02.06.2020
So happy to hear that, Jessica! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Martha 11.16.2019
Can I substitute ground turkey for the beef?
Jill 10.02.2019
This was awesome! I wasn’t expecting to love it so much but I shouldn’t be surprised since ALL of your skillet recipes have been amazing and easy so far!
Kayla 07.17.2019
I’m making this to take to a family who just welcomed a baby. I’m going to do all the stove top stuff and then put it in a disposable pan and add the tater tots and the deliver and she will bake it when they are ready to eat. Will it be an issue that the tater tots will thaw out before she bakes it? Suggestions? Thanks!
Kristin 07.17.2019
I think it should be ok!
NDGirl 02.15.2019
This is my favorite Tater Tot Casserole EVER! The last time I made it I only had one pound of tater tots, but it didn’t matter. The dish was delicious and no one knew the difference. We’re hosting a Tater Tot contest at our home in March and I KNOW this will be the winner! I’ll totally give all credit to Iowa Girl!
Kristin 02.19.2019
Yesss!! So glad to hear it! I made this dish just last night! :)
Susan 12.06.2018
I’ve been wanting to make this for a while. I don’t know how I managed how to grow up in the Midwest and never once had a tater tot casserole, but this was GOOD! I threw in a handful of chopped spinach and put a light layer of Italian blend shredded cheese under the tots. Delish.
Mary 10.10.2018
OMG! This recipe is amazing and I will definitely make it again. The paprika is the perfect touch. I used ground turkey and leftover McD hashbrowns. The sauce is so good and can have many variations. Thanks for sharing it.
DeeAnn 09.14.2018
Hi Kristin,
I just made this recipe last night and my husband and I absolutely loved it! I especially liked it because it doesn’t have any condensed soup in it. I did add some frozen organic peas and corn and topped it with cheddar cheese. I will be making this again. Thank you for the recipe.
Kate Leavitt 09.11.2018
What options would you recommend if I want to substitute the milk?
Nancy 09.11.2018
Kristin, I just saw that Carnation has just come out with almond milk, next to the evaporated milk and lactose free milk in the baking aisle. Might be worth a try?
Bill 07.29.2018
Why do I need to use gluten free flour, and Soy Sauce? I didn’t use them and everything tasted just fine! I think if you are gluten intolerant, you would automatically make this accommodation. Just wondering if it would have tasted any different.
Kristin 07.31.2018
It wouldn’t have tasted any different with those particular swaps, you are right! People who need to eat gluten-free would know to make the adjustment, but many times people who are cooking for someone who is GF wouldn’t.
Dawn Klein 06.05.2018
Yummy! My husband loved it! We had grilled asparagus along with it, since it is early June. The fresh corn we added was also delicious. We don’t have a 10” skillet, so we baked it in a casserole dish. It was fine.
Dawn Klein 06.05.2018
This is happening right now. Can’t wait to eat it! We added some fresh corn. We added it with the shallots. It’s June.
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