Easy Beefy Tater Tot Casserole will make you feel all sorts of COZY on a chilly dark night.
Why is Easy Beefy Tater Tot Casserole the book-inspired recipe for The Place Where They Buried Your Heart?
Main character Jessie lives in Chicago, the heart of the Midwest. To me, that means the heart of…casserole country. And other things, of course. But, definitely casseroles.
Casseroles – and all-in-one or one-pot meal – are dishes that are passed around by neighbors and friends during times of hardship and trauma.
Jessie gets a lot of casseroles in The Place Where They Buried Your Heart. I knew it had to be my book-inspired recipe for this novel.
What’s a tater tot casserole, a.k.a, “hot dish”?
When searching for a great casserole recipe, I looked to the Midwest queen of cassseroles herself for inspiration: Molly Yeh.
Molly’s the one who taught me about tater tot casseroles, also known as the “hot dish”.
A hot dish/tater tot casserole is similar to cottage pie and pot pie. There’s a hearty meat and veggie filled made on the stovetop, then the filling is topped with mashed potatoes or a sheet of pastry before being baked in the oven.
However, the topping on a hot dish is made with — you guessed it — frozen tater tots.
While I’m all for cooking with fresh, homemade ingredients, there’s a time and place for cooking shortcuts. Like, on any given weeknight after a long day of work. Especially now that it’s getting dark earlier and I want to be in PJ’s by 5:30pm.
Topping this beef casserole with a pre-packaged ingredient means making dinner that night is a little bit easier. Meaning I’m eating and relaxing that much quicker.
I try not to eat too many ultra-processed foods, but I made an exception for this Beefy Tater Tot Casserole. This brand of tots seemed a little healthier than, say, Ore-Ida, so I went with that one.
What I love about Tater Tot Casserole
I’m surprised I loved this Easy Beefy Tater Tot Casserole as much as I did. I’ve never been of huge fan of tater tots. But for some reason, in this hot dish, they are amazing.
The crunchy layer of tots bakes up golden brown and crispy in the oven. Plus, it soaks up all the delicious brown gravy in the casserole filing.
Yeah, the bottom of the tots get a little soggy once you pull the casserole out of the oven. But! #worthit.
Although my mom never made anything like Beefy Tater Tot Casserole when I was growing up, this dish feels super nostalgic to me. (Which is also perfect for the 90s nostalgia in The Place Where They Buried Your Heart.)
Many childhood dinners consisted of a meat, veggie, and frozen French fries. As soon as my dad came home from work, my mom would pull the fries from the oven and we’d all sit down to a homecooked meal.
The smell of the tots on this beef casserole reminds me of cold winter nights when I knew a warm, cozy meal was just around the corner.
What do you serve with Beefy Tater Tot Casserole?
Serve up this tasty casserole with a side of Autumn Farro Salad or Mixed Berry Spinach Salad, or with a bowl of Apple Butternut Squash Soup.
Cozy and comforting desserts that will go well with this meal are Victoria Sponge Cake, Totally Different Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cinnamon Roll Cake, or Parkin Cake.
Easy Beefy Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 3/4 lb frozen tater tots
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Chop pepper and onion. Set aside.
- Chop parsley, dill, and thyme. Set aside.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Place an oven-safe skillet (or cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and pepper, and cook until the vegetables start to soften, 4-5 minutes.
- Crumble the ground beef into the skillet and stir with the veggies. Cook until the beef is browned through, about 5 minutes.
- Stir the paprika, salt, and ground pepper into the skillet.
- Sift the flour into the skillet and stir into the beef and veggies. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then stir the broth and cream into the skillet.
- Bring the casserole filling to a simmer and cook until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley, dill, and thyme, along with the mustard.
- Stir in the corn and peas. Taste the casserole mixture and add any additional salt and pepper, to taste.
- Turn off the stove and remove the skillet from the heat.
- Arrange the tater tots in a single layer over the top of the casserole mixture, making sure that the top is completely covered.
- Bake the Beefy Tater Tot Casserole at 425F until the tater tots are browned and crispy, and the casserole is bubbling, about 20-30 minutes.
- Remove Beefy Tater Tot Casserole from the oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.
As a Minnesotan, I highly appreciate this recipe. I grew up eating tater tot hot dish! Unfortunately the last time I tried making it, my daughter didn’t approve. That was quite a while ago though so I should give it another go! I really like the fact that your recipe doesn’t use canned cream of whatever soup <3 and lots of different spices. The traditional recipe is a bit bland in my opinion!
Hi, Joli! Yes, Minnesotans know all about the hot dishes. 🙂 I hope you like this version that I came up with. You could always add cream to it if you wanted. I saw a few recipes online that used cream, but I decided not to this time (mainly because I didn’t have any cream in the house and was too lazy to go to the store, haha).