I wanted to share a family favorite with you all. I think of this as a comfort food because we ate it so often growing up, but with my background in nutrition, I’ve lightened up the fat and increased the fiber in this healthier version of my dad’s Tater Tot Casserole.
This was one of my favorite meal since I was a kiddo, and I think I learned to cook the original version when I was about 11 years old – or whenever it is that you’re old enough to be unsupervised in the kitchen.
Our OG recipe was made with Italian pork sausage, the creamy soups, and the tots. Pretty basic & straightforward. No frills. As most of my meals involve a strategy to include more veggies, I of course did the same thing to this comforting dish to have all the deliciousness without all the fat and a few added extras. That being said, this is a healthier version of a classic comfort food 😉)
So, to start the tater tot casserole, you will want to preheat the oven to 400 degrees, spray a 9×13″ cooking dish with cooking spray (set aside), and begin cooking the ground meat. I prefer to use a ground turkey sausage, so I have to do less seasoning, but you could totally use a plain ground meat if you were looking to reduce nitrates or sodium, and season to your preference.
While the turkey is cooking, chop your veggies. I like to chop these in varying shapes so it’s not totally uniform. Onions square, matchstick peppers & pie shaped zucchini. I know, I’m a weirdo. But food is all about eating with your eyes, right? Colors, shapes…. ok, ok. I digress.
Once the turkey is cooked and any remaining liquid has been drained, add the pepper & onion, and cook for about 3 minutes until the onions and peppers begin to soften and become slightly translucent. At this point, add the zucchini (and mushrooms), and cook for 2-3 minutes more until the mushrooms & zucchini are only slightly cooked.
Now, I have a protester of mushrooms in my house – but I LOVE them in this dish! So, after the veggies are softened and mixed with the ground turkey, I sautee a few mushrooms just for me, and only put them on half of the casserole.
Once you’ve got all of your veggies cooked, spoon them into the pre-greased casserole dish that you set aside earlier.
Here’s the less healthy part of this recipe – the “cream of” soups. I prefer to use a mushroom and a celery, but you can really use any kind of your choosing. You will then proceed to dollop the creamed soups on top of the meat/veggie mixture until evenly covered. Spread it around like you’re frosting a cake.
After this step, simply place the tater tots on top of the cream soup and it’s ready to put in the oven! Full disclosure, I accidentally bought a smaller bag of tots than I generally do, so you can go heavy on the tots or not. I prefer more potato though!
Cook the casserole for 35 minutes or until the tots are beginning to brown. At this point, remove the casserole from the oven and top with some shredded cheddar cheese. You can go as light or as heavy as you like here – just remember that the more cheese you add, the less ‘light’ the dish will be. 😉 I go heavy or go home…. (This is also how I differentiate the side with the mushrooms. More mushrooms = more cheese…. in my household anyway!) Cook for about 5 more mintues or until the cheese is melted.
Once cooled, dish it up and enjoy! Full disclosure, I was so hungry after making this, I didn’t even garnish it – whoops!
Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
- 9×13" casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 4 oz chopped mushroom
- 1 14 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 14 oz can cream of celery soup
- 1 frozen bag tater tots (32 oz)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray the edges of a 9×13" casserole dish with cooking spray to prevent sticking
- Begin by browning ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. No pink should be remaining. Drain off any remaining liquid & discard.
- Add the chopped onion, sliced bell pepper, chopped mushroom, and chopped celery and continue to cook until onion becomes translucent.
- Once cooked, add to the bottom of a 9×13" casserole dish and spread evenly across the bottom of the dish.
- Spread cans of soup evenly across the top of the meat & vegetable mixture, and cover completely.
- Top with tater tots placed in the soup in an even layer, and cook for 35 minutes in the 400 degree oven.
- Once the tots have browned, remove the dish, sprinkle the 1 cup cheddar cheese mixture over the top and put back into the oven until the cheese is melted, about 5-10 more minutes.
- Allow to cool, and enjoy!
Notes
Give it a shot and let me know what you think! Do you have a family recipe for tater tot casserole? (Or do you even call it that?!)