Slow Cooker Taco Tater Tot Casserole
A couple of years ago I was apparently living in a cave and had never even heard of tater tot casserole until a friend told me about it. Sounded pretty simple and soon my family was hooked. I mean, it’s kid friendly (what kid won’t eat tater tots?!) plus even as grown-ups we all kinda still love the stuff even if we don’t really want to admit it. But I guess that’s the other cool thing about it is that you can make it in so many ways that it will appeal to just about anyone’s tastes. And you know me. I can never leave well enough along and I’m now I’m my third version. Tater tots for breakfast, anyone?
I think we all have them. You know, those go to style recipes that we maybe modify just a little but, really, anytime we are in a pinch to get dinner done we go back to our basic comfort zone. For me, it’s usually what I call “taco stuff”. Sometimes it’s tacos or it could be taco salad or burritos. Either way, it’s the same basic ingredients that I know I can throw together quickly and get people fed. Not glamorous, but sometimes it’s not meant to be.
This recipe kind of comes together as a combo of those things my family loves and things I can get on the table quickly. It’s essentially a taco meat style recipe doctored up with a few more ingredients and topped off with tater tots. And did you notice? No packages of taco seasoning!! This is cooked up with loads of tomatoes, salsa, corn, peppers, onions…. you get the picture. Lots of fresh taste and that is what will take your family taco night to a whole new level.
What are your go to family meals? Will this soon be making an appearance in the rotation?
Slow Cooker Taco Tater Tot Casserole
SaveIngredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and diced
- 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed (1 can)
- 14.5 ounces fire roasted tomatoes, drained (1 can)
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 4 oz whipped cream cheese
- 2 pounds tater tots
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 8 oz shredded mild cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat add beef, onion, garlic and jalapeño
- Break up beef as it cooks and stir as needed to brown evenly and cook veggies
- Once ground beef is fully cooked and veggies are softened you can spoon off any excess grease
- Add black beans, tomatoes, corn and cream cheese and stir to combine well
- Heat through for 3-5 minutes
- Spray slow cooker well with nonstick canola oil spray
- Add half of tater tots on bottom then top with ground beef mixture
- Top with remaining tots, drizzle with salsa and cover with cheese
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 or until tater tots are hot and slightly crispy on edges and cheese is fully melted
Nutrition
If using a casserole style slow cooker
add all filling on bottom and all tots on top then covered with salsa and cheese
Tater tot casserole is a great dish to make up ahead of time and save time on a busy day!!
Want more tater tot casserole?
Try these tater tot casseroles in your slow cooker too!!
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Make-Ahead and Freeze Tater Tot Casserole
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We made this for a Super Bowl party (2023). We found it lacked flavor and we would definitely leave out the fire roasted tomatoes (made it a little watery and tasted like stewed tomatoes).
Can you leave out meat and make this vegetarian?
Absolutely!
So, I made this, and it’s one of my new faves! I doubled the recipe – and wound up with a GINORMOUS amount of casserole. Luckily, it freezes brilliantly, so I portioned it out and ate on it for two weeks. Thanks!
Can I have recipe I would love to make it
Hi Darlene! You can find the recipe right at the bottom of the post (above the comments) and you can either Pin it for later or print it 🙂
Look great and I’ve got some guys who would google that in minutes
Are the tots supposed to be put in frozen? Seems like mine aren’t getting crispy
Yes, and while they will cook through, as noted they won’t get as crispy as if you cook in the oven. One of the tradeoffs for the convenience of the slow cooker.
Hi Jennifer, This Slow Cooker Taco Tater Tot Casserole looks delicious and can’t wait to try. I do have a question. Can this be made in a regular (oval) slow cooker? And if so, do you do it the same as the casserole style slow cooker. Thanks for any help you can give me. 🙂 Have a wonderful and blessed day.
It doesn’t matter the shape of the slow cooker, just the size. If your slow cooker is too small, just pare down the amount of ingredients. The beauty of this recipe is you really don’t have to measure anything to come out tasty.
This comment, from Connie Rosario, is not accurate. To enjoy this recipe it is important, IMO, to measure the ingredients. Otherwise, you may discover that you have a wet mess that is not as tasty as you would have had with the tomatoes, cheese, pepper, etc. in the proper proportions. Summary- do measure out the ingredients as suggested, cook the recipe as suggested, and then eat it. Then, adjust to your liking by adding less tomato, more pepper, more cheese, and maybe even other stuff, like bacon! Why? Because everything tastes better with bacon! Happy New Year, everybody!
Hi there, just curious on what kind of salsa do you use? We love tater tot casserole, looking forward to trying this one. Thanks!
I prefer a less chunky restaurant style that’s not too spicy. The Walmart brand is actually one of my favorites!
Going to try this vegetarian style, using Trader Joe’s soy chorizo sausage.
Good idea!! Let me know how it turns out!
A lot of the recipes on here, including this one, call for ‘1 can’. I have no idea what that means in terms of the size of can or amount of that particular ingredient. Can you tell me or update the recipe to be a little more user friendly? Thanks.
15oz can of black beans and 14.5oz can of tomatoes
Wonderful! Thank you very much 🙂