This Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole puts a creative twist on the classic cheeseburger and combines a juicy meat mixture, gooey cheese, crispy tots, and a ketchup-inspired sauce. It's a family favorite perfect for busy weeknights or when you're craving some homemade comfort food.
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📋 About the Recipe
- No cream of mushroom soup or canned cheese soup. Most traditional tater tot casserole recipes are made with canned soups like condensed cream of mushroom soup, cream of onion soup, or condensed cheese soup, but this cheeseburger twist is made healthier without the processed soups and with just a few simple ingredients.
- Healthier comfort food. This tasty casserole combines the flavors of a classic cheeseburger with leaner proteins and a homemade sauce to make a comforting meal you can feel better about indulging in.
- Easy to feed a crowd. One of the best things about casserole dishes is they're easy meals that can feed a crowd with very little prep work. If you love casserole-style family meals, you can't miss my Salmon Sushi Bake, Ground Turkey Enchiladas, or these Sloppy Joe Sliders.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Tomato sauce - In addition to classic ketchup, a can of tomato sauce adds moisture, flavor, and a saucy consistency to the protein mixture.
- Worcestershire sauce - This savory, tangy condiment adds umami, depth of flavor, and tenderizes the protein of choice. When purchasing a Worcestershire sauce in grocery stores, look for a quality condiment free of unnecessary fillers and preservatives. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce is a staple in my home kitchen.
- Apple cider vinegar - Provides acidity that helps balance the richness in the casserole while complimenting the other flavors.
- Yellow mustard - Mustard is a common condiment on cheeseburgers, adding a tanginess, depth of flavor, and bright kick that lightens up the heavier comfort foods.
- Protein - You'll need 1 pound of ground, lean protein. If your meat is frozen, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Cheddar cheese - A necessity on a classic cheeseburger casserole! Freshly grated cheddar cheese will melt better than pre-shredded cheese.
- Frozen tater tots - Crispy tater tots act as the fries or "crust" in this cheeseburger casserole and they're the perfect, crispy topping here!
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- Ketchup substitutions - Swap the ketchup with a similarly sweet condiment such as BBQ sauce to make a BBQ cheeseburger casserole.
- Sugar substitutions - Replace the light brown sugar with honey or maple syrup as needed.
- Protein options - I used ground turkey, but ground beef or ground chicken are great alternatives. If you choose to use ground beef, I'd recommend using an extra-lean ground beef or plan on draining the excess grease from the skillet before adding the tomato sauce mixture.
- Cheese alterations - Sharp cheddar cheese is the classic option, but switch the flavor up and use shredded Monterey Jack, Colby, provolone, mozzarella cheese, or Pepper Jack for a spicy kick.
- Add bacon - If you're a bacon cheeseburger fan, add your favorite bacon bits to the protein filling or add in chopped Turkey Bacon or Instant Pot Bacon to make a bacon cheeseburger tater tot casserole.
📓 Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Prevent the oven to 425 degrees F and grease an oven safe casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk well to combine.
- Cook the ground turkey and onion. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and heat until warmed through. Add the ground turkey and diced onion and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the ground meat is cooked through and the onion becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the tomato sauce mixture. Stir until well coated, then cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
- Assemble the casserole. Scoop the ground turkey mixture into the greased baking dish and top with cheddar cheese and frozen tater tots.
- Bake. Bake this easy dish for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tater tots are cooked through and golden brown.
- Serve. Serve this hearty casserole while warm with your favorite burger toppings. Chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, dill pickles, diced onions, and an extra sprinkle of cheese are all great options. Enjoy!
❄️ How to Store
To store: Leftover casserole will keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Before covering and storing, allow the casserole to cool to room temperature. This will help prevent condensation from building inside the storage container and will keep the tater tots as crispy as possible.
To freeze: If you'd like to freeze this casserole, my recommendation would be to freeze it before baking. Tater tots do not reheat well.
To do so, follow the recipe as written, preparing the casserole in a freezer-safe container. Then, tightly cover with plastic wrap, followed by a layer or two of aluminum foil. Freeze for 2 to 3 months.
Bake directly from frozen for 60 to 75 minutes, or until cooked through and the tater tots are crispy and golden.
To reheat: Cooked tater tot casserole will reheat best in the microwave or in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. If using the oven, cover with foil and reheat for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through.
🔍 Recipe FAQs
Since this cheeseburger tater tot casserole is quite hearty and flavorful on its own, I'd recommend pairing with a few lighter side dishes such as a Cobb Wedge Salad or healthy vegetable sides like Roasted Green Beans and Carrots, Air Fryer Zucchini, or Green Bean Fries. You could also pair this main dish with a creamy coleslaw or my Smoked Baked Beans for a BBQ twist.
It's unlikely that the filling in this tater tot casserole will be runny or watery. The turkey mixture itself is quite thick and saucy and will only become thicker as it bakes.
With that being said, if you find your tater tot casserole filling could use thickening, it may not have been cooked on the stove long enough.
Continue to cook the filling until it fully coats the meat mixture.
The best way to prevent the tater tots from getting soggy is to keep the tater tots in the freezer until just before topping.
Further, it's important to keep the tater tots in a single layer on top of the casserole. Piling them on top will prevent them from browning properly.
Absolutely! The sauce in this delicious casserole is very mild and suitable for kids. It also combines several flavors that kids love - sweet ketchup, a mild protein, cheddar cheese, and frozen tater tots.
The entire family is guaranteed to love this one!
💭 One More Tip
Make the tater tots extra crispy by broiling the casserole for the last couple of minutes. Keep a close eye on it - the tater tots brown quickly! Also, make sure your baking dish is broil-safe beforehand!
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
- baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey, beef, or chicken (I used ground turkey)
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (about ½ an onion)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or enough to cover the top of the casserole)
- ½ package (16 ounces) frozen tater tots (or enough to cover the top of the casserole)
- For serving: your favorite burger toppings! Tomatoes, shredded lettuce, pickles, and diced onions are all great options
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease an oven-safe baking dish with nonstick spray. (I used a 12-inch x 8-inch oval baking dish, 2 ½-inches deep)
- In a medium bowl, add tomato sauce, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ground turkey (or preferred ground meat) and diced onion. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until meat is cooked through and the onion starts to turn translucent.
- Pour in the tomato sauce mixture. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, stirring to coat the turkey and onion.
- Scoop ground turkey mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with cheddar cheese from edge to edge. Then, arrange frozen tater tots in an even layer on top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tater tots are golden brown. Serve with your favorite burger toppings!
Notes
- If using ground beef instead of ground turkey, drain the excess grease before adding the tomato sauce to the skillet.
- For extra crispy tater tots, you can broil the casserole for the last few minutes of cooking. However, make sure your baking dish is broil-safe!
Nutrition
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