Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole

This Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole is such a comforting, easy dinner idea! Crispy tater tots top this beef and vegetable casserole with gravy! 

You can use jarred gravy for this recipe or our 5 Minute Homemade Gravy, no drippings needed!

Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole is a beef casserole recipe topped with crispy tater tots

A Comforting, Easy Casserole Recipe

If there’s one thing we know how to do it’s comfort food. There’s not much more I can think of that says comfort to me than meat and potatoes. I’ve always been a meat and potatoes guy and I always will.

Not to say that there aren’t other comfort food recipes to love besides meat and potatoes. In fact I made a whole list here of my favorite comfort food dinner recipes, so you can go check that out when you have a chance.

So a crispy tater tot casserole recipe with a beef filling…bubbling with brown gravy? That’s my jam. Super easy to make, kids and adults will love it, and it makes enough for leftovers.

Really, this Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole might just be the most perfect dinner recipe ever.

Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole has a tater tot crust and a beef filling to make an easy dinner casserole

Also Known as…Tater Tot Hotdish!

If you grew up in the Midwest, you might call this dinner recipe a Tater Tot Hotdish instead of a casserole recipe. They really are exactly the same thing, it just depends on where you’re from.

Essentially, a tater tot hotdish is a filling of beef or chicken, usually mixed with vegetables and topped with frozen tater tots, just like we have here. You get the combination of the hearty, sometimes creamy filling combined with a crispy tater tot topping.

Can You Make This Casserole Recipe Ahead Of Time?

Yep! All you need to do is make the ground beef filling, pour it into a casserole dish, cover it with a layer of tater tots and get it in your refrigerator. Take the casserole out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking, then just cook following the directions below.

Because this beef casserole is so easy to make and can be made ahead, it’s perfect for busy nights at home or taking to a friend’s house for a potluck party or a dinner gift.

Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole recipe is an easy beef casserole with gravy and tater tots

How Do You Make A Tater Tot Casserole?

You really just need to cook up the beef filling which only takes about 15 minutes. Next, stir it together with a couple of jars of store bought gravy and you’re almost done. OR you can make our 5 minute, homemade beef gravy if you don’t have a jar of brown gravy!

Couldn’t be easier than that. My teenager can even do it, and he loves it so much that he will make it for himself. You know, a late night snack if you will. That’s life in our house.

Layering the tater tots on top of the beef filling will probably take the most time for this casserole recipe, but it’s going to be SO worth it. The tater tots get crispy on top of the beef filling, bubbling over with gravy…

Get your casserole in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes until the tater tots are golden brown and that beef filling is bubbling up with gravy. Depending on the frozen tater tots that you are using, you might need a few more or a few less minutes in the oven to get the tots crispy and brown.

Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole is a comfort food dinner recipe with beef and a tater tot crust

Now call the kids over if they aren’t standing there hovering already…because they are going to want this dinner more than they know.

Just to let you know how good this dinner casserole is, my little guy still doesn’t like peas. He eats plenty of other vegetables and a salad with dinner every night but peas are a hard no for him.

Unless it’s in this Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole because it’s so good he can’t be bothered to stop and pick them out of there!

Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole is a tater tot casserole with ground beef

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Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole is a comfort food dinner recipe with beef and a tater tot crust

Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x

This Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole is such a comforting, easy dinner idea! Crispy tater tots top this beef and vegetable casserole with gravy!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 (12 ounce) jars of beef gravy
  • 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 (28 ounce) bag tater tots

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Brown the onions with the garlic for 5 minutes, stirring often until softened.
  4. Add the beef to the skillet, breaking up with a spoon and cooking until no pink remains, about 7-8 minutes.
  5. Drain any grease from the skillet then add the salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine.
  6. Pour in the gravy and stir into the beef mixture.
  7. Bring the beef to a simmer then add the frozen peas and carrots. Stir to combine with the filling and to defrost slightly.
  8. Pour the filling into a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.
  9. Add the frozen tater tots on top of the beef filling, arranging in a single layer.
  10. Bake for 35 minutes until the tater tots are golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: oven/stove top
  • Cuisine: American

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4 Responses
  1. Michelle

    I totally make this but I use bbq like sloppy joe type sauce and top with tots and cheese. We call it trucker pie. Like shepherds pie… but not quite as organic! I thought you might enjoy the name. Keep writing great recipes! Yours are some of my favorites to try.






    1. Dan

      I do love the name! Thanks so much for sharing that. If you have an approximate recipe that you follow, maybe we can make it here for the site! And thank you so much for following along here, we really appreciate the feedback:)

  2. Tom

    Just okay. Judging against other recipes I’ve used and tried this one is not as good in my opinion. I won’t be using this recipe again.






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