Frozen Tater Tots Are The Perfect Addition To Any Casserole

Tater tots, a food some may associate with elementary school cafeterias, rode the wave of trendy comfort foods to become surprisingly popular in the mid-teens. Or perhaps not so surprisingly, at least in the Midwest, where a tater tot hot dish is de rigueur for the kinds of get-togethers that tend to be held in church basements. For those who don't speak Midwestern, "hot dish" translates to "casserole," and casseroles may be the best way to use up a bag of frozen tater tots (here's how we ranked a baker's dozen brands).

A basic casserole consists at its core of three elements: a main ingredient (usually meat or vegetable), a sauce, and a starch. Tater tots can easily be plugged into that last role. The best part is, you don't even need to thaw them, much less cook them, as they'll do both while the casserole's in the oven. (You could always fry them first if you want some extra crunch, though.) Some tater tot casseroles call for putting the potatoes on top or placing them on the bottom, while others may involve multiple layers of taters. Any way you choose to use them, tater tots add bulk to the dish and are great for soaking up all the flavorful sauce.

If you're looking for a great tater tot casserole recipe, you need look no further than our own easy tater tot casserole. Here the tots go on the top, while ground beef serves as the protein. The sauce is made from a can of cheddar cheese soup mixed with sour cream, shredded cheese, and bacon bits. There's even an onion, so you can say you ate your vegetables. 

Our sloppy joe and taters casserole is a variant of that tots-on-top theme, with a sweet and tangy tomato sauce taking the place of the cheese sauce. Our chili cheese tater tot casserole is similar to the sloppy joe one, only the sauce is mildly spicy instead of sweet, and a can of kidney beans is added to the mix. We also have a buffalo chicken and taters casserole made with jarred Alfredo sauce — once again, the tots are on top.

If you feel like free-styling, though, you can take a different recipe such as our cheesy bratwurst casserole or spicy chicken casserole and swap out the boiled potatoes or rice for tater tots. In the latter case, you'll leave out the chicken broth since this ingredient is meant to be absorbed by raw rice, but would just make the tater tots soggy. You could also take a lasagna recipe (try this one) and replace the noodles with tater tots — if totchos can be a thing, why not totagna?