Your family is going to devour this yummy Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole! Stuffed with ground beef, cheese and corn then topped with crispy tots and more cheese. The whole family will love this, even your most picky eaters! It's a perfect weeknight dinner.
If you love this easy recipe you'll love this cheesy beef noodle casserole as well!
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This easy casserole recipe is so simple! Made with everyday ingredients you have on hand, it's pure comfort food! This hearty meal takes just minutes to make, it's a delicious dinner and perfect for weeknight meals as well. You can even make and freeze it!
🗒️ Ingredients
You'll only need a handful of simple ingredients for the cowboy casserole recipe, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- frozen tater tots - diced hash brown potatoes would work just as well.
- ground beef - you can certainly substitute ground turkey, chicken or ground pork.
- cream of mushroom soup - cream of chicken or celery would work! I'm also really tempted to try cheddar cheese soup, yum!
- montreal steak seasoning - make your own or store-bought, either will work!
- shredded cheese - the recipe calls for Colby, but cheddar, Colby Jack or even mozzarella would be delicious.
- cream style corn - using cream style eliminates the need for milk. If you don't have cream style substitute with canned corn (drained) or frozen corn - you'll need about 1 ½ cups. Plus ½ cup of heavy cream.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions just scroll down to the bottom!
- Preheat the oven, spray the casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Cook beef over medium-high heat, add the onions and seasoning. Sauté until the onions are soft.
- Add the cream of mushroom soup and corn, simmer to combine.
- Pour the ground beef mixture into prepared 9x13 casserole dish.
- Top with cheese reserving about half for the top.
- Spread the tater tots on top in one even layer. Top with remaining cheese and bake the cowboy casserole until hot and bubbly - enjoy!
🔪 Equipment
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- 9 x 13-inch baking dish - this one has great handles, making it easy to handle when hot.
- wood spoons for cooking - this set is great as it includes a spoon, scraper and slotted spoon.
- 12" cast iron skillet - I have several and use them all the time!
🙋♀️ FAQ's
Nope, not at all! You add them frozen to the casserole dish.
Substitute with cream of celery, asparagus or cream of chicken soup.
Yes, Cowboy Casserole makes a great freezer meal! Prepare the casserole as per instructions, but do not bake. Seal well and freeze. Remove from the freezer the night before and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Bake for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
👍 Tips
- Use a 9x13 casserole dish, you'll want it to be at least 2 inches deep.
- You can lighten up this casserole by substituting ground chicken or turkey. In addition the condensed mushroom soup can be substituted with cream of celery or chicken.
- If you prefer super crispy tater tots - baked them first and add them to the casserole fully baked about halfway through cooking.
Place the casserole under the broiler for 3-5 minutes for the top to get toasty and golden brown. Watch it closely, so it doesn't burn.
📓 Variations
- Make this classic tater tot casserole Tex-Mex by adding a can of chopped green chiles, Rotel tomatoes and black beans!
- Mixing in a can of drained green beans and sweet corn makes this a complete one pan meal.
- Make it even heartier by adding a can of kidney beans or pinto beans!
Serving suggestions
I made a big batch of pan fried vegetables to serve as a side with the Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole, it's the best combination! A bright fresh garden salad and homemade cloverleaf rolls would be amazing as well.
Related recipes
I have more great casseroles on the blog your picky kids will love!
- Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole - big meaty flavor AND tater tots, yum!
- Unstuffed Pepper Casserole has all the flavor of stuffed pepper, with none of the fussy prep work. We love this recipe!
- A real favorite is this recipe for Rotel Chicken Spaghetti - it's creamy and cheese, filling & delicious!
- Frito Pie is the best walking taco recipe around. Kids big and small love this meal!
- Creamy Beef Noodle Casserole is another family favorite. It's cheesy and delicious and my buddy's granddaughter ate two heaping servings - kid tested and approved!
I hope you give this a try soon, I think you'll enjoy it as much as we do!
Recipe
Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 32 oz. Tater Tots frozen
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 15.5 ounce cream corn
- 10.75 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 2 cups colby jack cheese
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray an 9x13 with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground beef. Drain the fat and add the diced onion and steak seasoning. Saute for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the condensed soup and cream corn. Simmer for 2-4 minutes to combine the flavors.
- Pour the creamy mushroom sauce, meat mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with half the cheese. Spread the potatoes in a single layer over the top, sprinkle the top of the tater tots with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Optional: Broil the casserole for 3-5 minutes. The top will turn golden brown and crispy. Just watch it closely so it doesn't burn.
