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!
After the success of my Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole I decided to ditch the canned soup and make a simple from scratch sauce for the traditional version. The result? A Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole to beat all others. My daughter requests this on a weekly basis and this is one dish that I can feel good about feeding my family. I’ve added veggies to the sauce to make it a complete meal. This is also great for making ahead and dropping off for friends or family in need of hot meal.
I never even knew that tater tot casserole existed until a friend told me about it and how her kids go crazy over it. It’s the perfect throw together on a busy night dinner that the whole family will love.
Making a creamy sauce is so super 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.
How to make homemade creamy sauce for tater tot casserole…
After browning the ground beef you’ll add some flour and let it cook for a bit. Then add some chicken broth and let it simmer and thicken. Finally, to make it creamy, you’ll add a touch of heavy cream. Any mixed veggies you like are a great addition and for the seasoning you can pick any seasoning blend you like that goes will with beef and veggies.
What’s the best slow cooker to use for this casserole?
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.
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!
- 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
- 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
I cooked this on high for 3.5 hours in my 5 quart oval slow cooker
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I was a little nervous about how this was going to turn out. I put it all into a all in one cooker and it was amazing! The tots were even crispy. I give it a 5 star rating!
Tater tot casserole is a big deal in my house. I will definitely need to try this version. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t want to freeze this s meal. So what are the instructions for fix and serve immediately, or do you have to freeze???
you can just make half and instead of putting it into the freezer bag go ahead and follow the cooking instructions. Or make the whole recipe, cook half and freeze half for later!
This recipe works great for our family, and it has great results in our slow cooker! Everything nicely cooked and not watery. Last time I didn’t have any tater tots, so I used potato croquette things. I’m currently making a double batch to restock our freezer. Great easy meal!
I’m so glad you and your family enjoy it!!
My wife and eight-year-old son did not like this at all. I think it was the almost rice-like consistency of the tots. They didn’t seem to cook as well as in the oven. We had to trash the leftovers…
I’ve still got a bag of the meat-mixture left and am contemplating what to do with that without waste… Reheat on stove and serve over biscuits? Maybe reheat the meat on the stove and cook the tots in the oven? Maybe some sort of meat pie?
You could easily heat the mixture then layer on the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with tots and cheese and cook in oven at 375 for 20 – 30 minutes or until tots are crispy and cheese is melted.
How many bags of meat do you use?
Of the frozen meat mixture? You will use one bag for each recipe along with one bag of tater tots. And you will still have one left for another meal later!
Is the over all meal suppose to be dry or runny? The crock pot has been on high for about 4 hours and the tater tots are only brown around the edges of the crockpot. Also the sauce is still bubbling through the tots. Is that the consistency I want?
Sorry, I didn’t catch your comment until now! Hopefully it turned out okay! The tater tots won’t be as crispy as the oven and your sauce will for sure be nice and thick and bubbly. Did you do some tots on bottom and some on top? How did it end up turning out?
Have you ever subbed the tots with hashbrowns?! I have all ingredients except the tots but have Hashbrowns!! Looks awesome!! Do u have more freezer meals to share?? Thank you!!
I haven’t tried it yet but it does kind of sound good! Let me know if you give it a go how it turns out! 🙂
oh, and check out this post for some more freezer meal ideas… http://slowcookergourmet.net/2014/08/18/back-to-school-freezer-friendly-crockpot-meals/
Step 8 says to thaw overnight in the freezer..Should that not be thaw in the refrigerator? I am looking forward to getting this into my freezer and crockpot for a fast dinner on one of those hectic
days when we have dance or gymnastics class.
yes, you’re right! Fixed it, thanks for the catch! 🙂
Looks good enough to try the mailing list.