Ready to ditch the canned soup and make a simple, easy and delicious Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole from scratch? We make this at least once a month at my house!
Tater tot casseroles are the perfect throw-together dinners for busy nights.
This Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole beats all others–hands down! It’s healthier than most because it leaves out the processed soups (that contain ingredients you can’t pronounce–yuck!) and adds lots of veggies to make it a complete meal.
Ditch the canned soup and make a simple from-scratch sauce. (Psst! It’s simpler than you think!) Making a creamy sauce is so easy you will wonder why you haven’t been doing it this way all along. By the time you find the can opener and remember how to use it you can have this sauce simmering away.
Who doesn’t receive a meal sign-up request at least once a month? Newlyweds, new babies, loss of a love one, potlucks… I’ve even gotten requests to help feed teachers during those long school conference days. This casserole is a great option for making ahead and dropping off to feed friends, family, and those in need.
After you try this recipe, give my Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole a taste! It’s great for meal prep, too!
Ingredients You’ll Need…
- ground beef
- flour
- chicken broth
- herb and garlic seasoning
- salt
- heavy cream
- mixed veggies
- tater tots
- shredded cheese
How To Make Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole:
- In a large skillet brown ground beef over medium high heat until fully cooked and no pink remains and drain any fat
- Add flour and stir to coat beef evenly
- Slowly add broth while continuing to stir to ensure no lumps from the flour
- Add seasonings, bring mixture up to slow boil, then reduce to simmer
- Let simmer 5-7 minutes until broth thickens to coat the spoon
- Stir in the cream and continue to simmer for another 3-5 minutes to let everything thicken to the consistency of cream soup
- Add veggies and stir to combine evenly
- Spray slow cooker with cooking spray
- Add meat mixture
- Top with tater tots and cheese
- Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours
Pro Tips:
This turned out perfectly when I made it in my 5-qt oval slow cooker! You can use any slow cooker you have, provided it’s at least 3 quarts. An oval sized slow cooker or a casserole slow cooker are best. I used my mini casserole slow cooker and it was perfect.
You may have to stack the tater tots depending on how much space you have. If you have a multi cooker you can make this all in one pot.
Any mixed veggies you like are a great addition and for the seasoning I prefer using frozen veggies for convenience but you could use some fresh veggies as well, as long as they don’t have a lot of water content. Change up your mixed veggie combinations to add some variety.
Use any seasoning blend you like that goes will with beef and veggies.
**Tater tots will not be as crispy as if you had made them in the oven.**
Freezer Meal
- follow all recipe steps through #7
- Let cool then place in zippered freezer bag
- smooth to lay flat and place in freezer
- can freeze up to 3 months
- thaw before cooking and continue with step #8
Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons herb and garlic seasoning (or favorite seasoning blend)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups frozen mixed veggies
- 24 ounces frozen tater tots
- 8 oz shredded cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet brown ground beef over medium high heat until fully cooked and no pink remains and drain any fat
- Add flour and stir to coat all beef evenly with flour
- Slowly add broth while continuing to stir to ensure no lumps form from flour
- Add seasonings and bring mixture up to a slow boil and then reduce to a simmer
- Let simmer for about 5-7 minutes until broth thickens to coat the spoon
- Stir in the cream and continue to simmer for another 3-5 minutes to let everything thicken to the texture of cream soup
- Add veggies and stir to combine evenly
- Spray slow cooker with nonstick spray
- Add meat mixture
- Top with tater tots and cheese
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8
Notes
- If using fresh veggies, be mindful of the water content
- 5 qt oval slow cooker works best
Nutrition
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Do you thaw the tater tots or use them frozen?
frozen
This may be a dumb question but can we stir the mixture in the crock pot or just leave the tater tots and cheese on the time the whole cooking time?
Top**
I would suggest not stirring them as they will get very mushy.
Love the new serving calculator you have when I print!! Helps so much!!
yay!
Do you think I could possibly cook the tater tots in the oven until they were pretty crispy and then add them to the top just finished cooking I plan on making this meal today so hopefully you will see this
Yes! If you have the time you could do that toward the end and then leave enough time for the cheese to melt! Enjoy!