This simple comfort food starts with a flavorful and meaty, made-from-scratch sauce. Topped with crispy tater tots and shredded cheese, then baked to perfection. It’s an easy, hearty dinner that everyone loves.
For more easy dinners, try our One Pot Queso Chicken and Rice or our Ground Beef Tacos.
Why Our Recipe
- Ready in under an hour, perfect for busy weeknights.
- Loaded with meat, veggies, crispy tots, and all the melty cheese.
- No canned cream of anything here! Our quick and easy sauce is homemade.
Don’t knock the tater tots! While tater tots might remind you of your younger years, there’s nothing childish about this meal. It’s hearty, comforting, and packed with flavor. Plus, I love the hidden veggies—it’s so delicious and creamy that kids won’t even notice they’re in there! This easy comfort food casserole is perfect for busy weeknights and potlucks. Plus, it’s the perfect easy-to-transport meal if you find yourself needing to make dinner for a neighbor or friend.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Beef: Go for lean ground beef (85/15 or 93/7) to minimize excess grease. You can also substitute with ground turkey, pork, or chicken.
- Onion: We used a white onion, but yellow onions work well too.
- Flour: This is the thickening agent for the sauce. Cornstarch can also be used in half the amount so for this recipe, you’d use 1/4 cup of cornstarch.
- Beef Broth: Use low-sodium broth to better control the flavor.
- Milk: Use whole, 2%, 1%, skim, or even milk alternatives. Whatever you’ve got on hand.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Can substitute with soy sauce with a splash of vinegar.
- Corn Kernels: Canned corn works perfectly, just be sure to drain the liquid. You can also use frozen.
- Green Beans: Canned green beans work great. You can use cut or French-style green beans. Frozen works too!
- Tater Tots: Found in the frozen aisle near the French fries.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: We recommend freshly shredded cheddar cheese as it melts better than pre-shredded, which contains additives.
Homemade Sauce
Casseroles are meant to be easy, but they often contain a can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup. It’s convenient, but here at The Stay At Home Chef, we like to feed our families whole foods wherever possible.
Plus, homemade sauces are easy! It’s really just a matter of mixing butter with flour and adding a liquid. You already have to brown the ground beef for this recipe. That means that making a homemade sauce instead of using cream of chicken soup adds less than 5 minutes to your cooking time.
Make Ahead
This tater tot casserole is already incredibly easy to assemble right before baking, but you can easily make this ahead of time. Simply prepare the dish, but skip the baking part. Instead, cover it up nice and tight with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then pop it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
When it’s time to bake, pull it out and let it hang at room temperature for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. Then bake as directed, adding an extra 5–10 minutes to make sure it’s hot and cooked all the way through.
Make it A Freezer Meal
Make this meal ahead of time and freeze it for future use! Assemble the casserole but don’t bake it yet. Wrap the dish tightly in two layers of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil to keep it fresh and prevent freezer burn. Be sure to label it with the date and baking instructions—it’ll stay good for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, bake as directed, adding 10–15 extra minutes to ensure it’s fully heated through.
Pro tip: Freeze in smaller portions for convenient, individual meals. Simply reheat in the microwave or oven whenever hunger strikes!
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freeze leftover portions in a freezer-safe container or covered entirely with 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil for up to 3 months.
Reheat portions in the microwave on high in 30-second increments or in the oven at 350°F until heated through, about 20 minutes.
Pretty much how I make my tater tots casserole. I never have put Worcestershire sauce in mine so I’ll have to try that. I’ll make this one. I don’t feel there is enough potatoes for the rest so I always wash and cook about 4 large potatoes with peelings and mash them with butter, salt , pepper and roasted garlic. That is the bottom layer. My husband loves it.
Great idea on the mashed potato layer!
Sound almost like my hillbilly casserole that I make. I got it from a mother that had a senior party because my son said he loved it so much. He likes it made with my homemade garlic bread. I’m gonna make it this weekend so I’ll be back for sure.
Good morning, I made this last night and the family scarfed it down. Even my 3 & 4 year old grandsons! I used ground lamb and sweet potato tots and it was a big hit! Thank you for all the great recipes you continue to provide! Excellent!
Mike