This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Cheesy tater tot casserole is topped with fried onions and filled with cheese. It’s a tasty side dish, great for any dinner or holiday meal.
If you love the crunchy onion top as we do, try French Onion Chicken Casserole and Green Bean Casserole.
A Favorite – Here’s Why1
With the holidays rapidly approaching, I know it’s always a relief to have great dinner and side dish recipes on hand. This cheesy tater tot casserole will be perfect for those get-togethers, and we will tell you why.
- SO DELICIOUS. With a tater tot base, and a cheesy, creamy center, with fried onions on top, these dish is yummy and loved by all.
- SIMPLE. The dish comes together very easily and is prepped in 10 minutes.
- HOLIDAY CLASSIC. This cheesy casserole is great for any meal, but especially great for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If you’re looking for a version of this with meat, check out our Classic Tater Tot Casserole, which has ground beef and veggies.
How to Make IT
This cheesy casserole is quick, easy, and SO cheesy!
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- TATER TOTS. Arrange frozen tater tots in a greased 9x 13-inch casserole dish.
- CREAM CENTER. Combine sour cream, cheese, cream soup, and garlic salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and pour over tater tots.
- ONIONS. Sprinkle onions over the top of the casserole.
- BAKE. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Soup clarification. This recipe calls for using a can of “Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup”. If your grocery store doesn’t carry that combination, use half a can of each or use one can of whichever you prefer (cream of chicken soup OR cream of mushroom soup).
Change it up!
Of course, we love this version, but you can easily change things up. Here are a few ideas:
- Add veggies. carrots, corn, zucchini, broccoli, celery, or cauliflower floret
- Add a layer of protein. cubed ham or cooked ground beef (more details below)
- Topping. scallions or crumbled bacon
- Tater tots come in two main sizes. We used the larger more cylindrical tot shape, but you can use the smaller tater rounds. Either type will work.
serving suggestions
When we make this as a cheesy potato side dish, we serve it with a holiday favorite: Roasted Turkey or Honey Glazed Ham.
We often add a layer of protein, which turns this casserole into a hearty and delicious main dish. In that case, we like to serve it with a
How to add a layer of protein
This cheesy tater tot casserole recipe can easily accommodate a layer of ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
Simply, brown the meat before adding it to the casserole.
- Heat up a large skillet and add ground meat.
- Season with onion powder, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain excess fat.
- Sprinkle the ground beef mixture in an even layer over the tater tots, then add the layer of soup.
storage Tips
- STORE leftover casserole in an airtight container, in the fridge, for 3-4 days.
- FREEZE leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for 1-2 months. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
- Make it ahead of time. Complete steps 2 and 3. Do not add the onions on top, or bake it. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, then again with aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to use, thaw in the fridge, add onions, then bake.
For holidays, we love to make this easy casserole recipe the day before up through step 3, then finish it off right when company comes. It works perfectly and allows for minimal work on a crazy holiday.
Recipe FAQ
I used one can of “Cream of Chicken and Mushroom” soup. If you can’t find a soup with that particular combination you can easily use one can of cream of mushroom or one can of cream of chicken soup.
This easy tater tot casserole recipe is designed to be a side dish. However, you can easily include meat and veggies to turn it into a main entree. (see above for ideas)
For more potato dishes:
Funeral Potatoes
1 hr 5 mins
Twice Baked Potato Casserole
1 hr 5 mins
Mashed Potato Casserole
55 mins
Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole
55 mins
Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (32-ounce) bag frozen crispy tater tots
- 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can Cream of Chicken & Mushroom Soup
- 1 (6-ounce) can French’s Fried Onions
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt (with parsley flakes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Arrange tater tots in a greased 9×13 pan.
- Combine sour cream, cheese, cream of chicken/mushroom soup, and garlic salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and pour over tater tots.
- Sprinkle onions over the top of the casserole and bake for 45-50 minutes. ENJOY!
Video
Notes
- Add veggies. carrots, corn, zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower florets
- Add a layer of protein. cubed ham or cooked ground beef (more details below)
- Toppings. scallions or crumbled bacon
- Tater tots come in two main sizes: we used the larger more cylindrical tot shape., but you can use smaller tater rounds. Either type will work.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Could you make this in a crockpot?
Do I add Both chicken and mushroom soup or either/or
You can buy it as one can & it’s both chicken & mushroom soup 🙂 Hope that helps!
Looks delicious. I just want to make sure I understand the ingredients correctly. Is it one can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of cream of chicken, or do you just pick one?
So there is a type of condensed soup called Cream of Chicken and Mushroom. But if you can’t find that, you could choose one or the other type and it will still taste great!
I haven’t tried this yet but was wondering if it’s something I could serve at Easter Brunch? It sounds different and delicious!
Most definitely!! We love it for the holidays!! Hope it’s a hit!
I’ve been making this dish for probably 20 plus years. It’s still a favorite and I doctor it up a little more. I usually use celery soup and 2 cans of it and some milk and the sour cream. 😋 Yummy Jill
Good but kinda blah and not cheesy enough for us…
Huge hit with my entire family!! So easy too!
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! Turned plain tater tots into a gourmet meal; my whole family loved it!
I tried making this dish for the first time last night, to be prepared for some interesting side dishes for thanksgiving dinner. This was such a hit!! My girls ate it all up! Cant wait to wow other family members at thanksgiving!
I used Garlic Alfredo instead of soup and added 3/4 cup of mushrooms (we like it lol). My judgment told me better but I put the onions on top as instructed and they Burned badly by 30 mins. I scraped them off, added more then just topped with more cheese for last 20 mins. It was great! Thank You!
Thanks for sharing what you did! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This recipe was Sooo good, the family really enjoyed it. The only changes i had made was instead of the mushroom soup i Used Garlic alfredo sauce.
Will make this again. Thank you for the recipe!?
OH, that sounds yum! Thank you for sharing that!
This looks delicious! I am going to try this weekend. Do the tater tots go in frozen or do you bake them first?
Thanks for sharing!
I hope you will 🙂 I keep them frozen until I am ready to use them. I will take them out to thaw a little first then I go ahead with the recipe. Hope that helps!
excellent and quick
Glad you think so!! Thank you!
This is the best Tater TOt casserole i’ve made! thank you!
Definitely a family favorite!
This looks like a perfect side dish that my whole family would enjoy. Creamy and crunchy all together in one – it sounds so delicious! We love those crunchy onions, they are so good on top of casseroles!
Great recipe
Thank you so much!!
I haven’t made this yet, but excited to make it. My question is that there are so many Tater Tot recipes out there and most say to put the tots on the top. Not yours though. I really think that I would like it better with the tots on the bottom, but not sure if they would get crunchy being on the bottom. Does anyone know? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
I wondered the same thing.
I grew up on tater tots. We ate them just by them selves but I have to say this casserole version is much better and tastier! Full of cheese and creaminess its sure to become a family favorite!
My inner child loves me some Tater Tot casserole! Tried this one and it was amazing. I haven’t made it for my kids yet, but I think they’re gonna LOVE it. I wonder if it freezes well? Bcuz this seems easy to double and save for another day when I don’t feel like cooking. Think I’ll try it out…
Oh, my…this was amazing!! I love the taste & the crunch! My kids even liked it! I can’t wait to bring it to our family’s Thanksgiving!
I have to admit I have not actually made this myself (YET) and probably would have skipped over this recipe due to a childhood aversion to my mothers not so good tater tot casserole. BUT I tried this at a friends house and loved it.
hey girl- This is right up my alley! Yummy!
Oh, it’s so good!! Hope you like it, if you try 🙂
TATERTOT CASSEROLE RECIPE
Is it 1 can EACH of Cream of Chicken plus 1 can Cream of Mushroom
Or is it
1 can of either soup ?
Thanks for clarifying
Dottie
They have cans of cream of chicken & mushroom combined. I don’t like cream of mushroom too much, so I like to use this combined one. If you can’t find it, you could use half of each. Hope that helps 🙂 ENJOY!
You have some tasty recipe.
Awe, thank you 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
I’M so glad I found this recipe. We have a large combined family, my sister and I share a home and raise all of our kids together since we are both single Mom’s. the family has 6 tween/teenage boys. I am the primary cook for the house, one night tired of the same old stuff I hit the internet looking for something new to do with dinner using the basic items I already had in my fridge or pantry. I found this recipe, I already had all ingredients at home & all the boys like tatter tots so I figured I would give it a try. This was a huge hit. We had no leftovers and the boys were actually arguing over who had had more. This has become part of our regular menu plan as it is always a hit when it is made. Have you ever tried this as a main meal casserole by adding meat and a veggie?
Wow..6 tween/teen boys!! That’s awesome you have each other! I am so glad everyone loved this & for sure…you could add hamburger or pork..whatever you all like! Thank you!