This Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans is a hearty, easy family dinner that you can throw together and bake in the oven is just a matter of minutes! Layers of Ground Beef, Green Beans, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Tater Tots and tons of cheese make this a family favorite any night of the week!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
We all need another easy dinner recipe in our repertoire to make when we just need to throw something together on a busy weekday night. This Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans is JUST the thing. These easy casserole recipe is a complete meal all in one dish! It’s got the protein, the veggies and the side (tater tots) in each bite! It’s Comfort Food at it’s best!
And, I’m willing to be you already have most if not all of these ingredients in your kitchen!
It’s also a super forgiving recipe that is just about impossible to mess up. And, you can add and subtract ingredients to your liking. If you look this recipe up online, just about everyone has a different way of making it. No one is wrong, no one is right, it’s all about what sounds good to you and your family.
Keep reading and I’ll be sure to give you some suggestions of how to change this dish up a bit if you’d like!
Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans
Some people, especially from the upper Midwest, call this a “hotdish”. A hotdish is just about any casserole that has a Creamy soup as an ingredient. And we use Cream of Mushroom soup in here! For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what you’ll need to get started.
- GROUND BEEF – We suggest using lean ground beef to make the beef mixture for this recipe. Make sure you drain it well before adding it to the casserole dish.
- ONION – Chopped onion. We used yellow onion, which has a slightly sweeter and more mild flavor than white onion. But you can use either.
- SALT AND PEPPER – To taste.
- GARLIC POWDER – Mix in with the salt and pepper to add some flavor to the ground beef.
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FROZEN GREEN BEANS – One 16 ounce bag. Keep frozen.
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CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP – If you aren’t a big mushroom fan, you can substitute for any “cream of” soup to make your soup mixture. Cream of Chicken, Cream of Celery, etc. Or, if you want this casserole to be SUPER cheese, substitute for one can of Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup.
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MILK – We used 2% but you can lighten up with skim milk or fatten it up with whole milk!
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TATER TOTS – One bag of frozen tater tots was just about perfect to line up the whole casserole dish. We probably had about 5 tots left. Make sure to keep these frozen and put them on the casserole right out of the freezer.
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CHEDDAR CHEESE – For recipes like this, it’s always best to buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself rather than buying the pre-shredded stuff at the store. You can also switch up the cheese to your liking: Provolone, Cheddar Jack, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack. Or mix in some Swiss or Mozzarella!
Can You Make This Recipe Ahead of Time?
Yep! You sure can! You can do all the steps up until you put the tater tots on top. When you are ready to bake it, just throw the frozen tots on top and put it in your oven!
Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans Storage and Freezing
Store leftovers in an Airtight Container in your refrigerator. They should be good for 4-5 days. You can freeze this casserole. Just let it fully cool and wrap it in aluminum foil or freezer wrap. It will be good your freezer for about 3 months.
You can also split this recipe into two smaller 8X8 Casserole dishes. Eat one for dinner now and freeze the other half!
Can You Use Fresh or Canned Green Beans?
Yep! If using canned green beans, just make sure that you drain them first. If using fresh, make sure they are trimmed.
Other Notes, Tips and Variations
- CAN YOU MAKE THIS GLUTEN FREE? – Yes! Easily. Just make sure you look for tater tots and soup that are marked Gluten Free on the label and that makes this recipe fine for gluten free diets.
- WHY IS THE CHEESE ON TOP? – It was a mistake! The cheese should really be below the Tater Tot layer, either on the ground beef or the green beans. We just totally forgot to do it until the end. So we had to sprinkle it on top. Putting the cheese below the tater tots will help them get a little crispier during baking, which results in a better dish. So, don’t make the same mistake we did!
- ADD VEGETABLES – Feel free to add any other veggies that sound good to you: Zucchini, Bell Peppers, Corn, peas, carrots or Mushrooms would be great!
- ADD TACO SEASONING – Instead of adding the salt, pepper and garlic powder, make taco meat. Just follow the directions on the taco packet. Then you can top your casserole with taco fixings like shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and/or salsa.
- USE A LARGE SKILLET – Always use a large skillet for recipes like this so that you have plenty of room to add all your ingredients. We love using this one.
- GROUND CHICKEN – If you want to lighten this recipe up a little bit. Substitute the ground beef for ground chicken or even ground turkey.
We hope you enjoy this Tater Tot Casserole Recipe with Green Beans. Please drop us a line in the comment section to let us know how it turned out. Happy eating!
Items To Help With This Recipe
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY DINNERS? CHECK OUT:
- WALKING TACO CASSEROLE
- BACON CHEESEBURGER TATER TOT CASSEROLE
- CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE
- COWBOY CASSEROLE
- CRISPY CHICKEN HASHBROWN CASSEROLE
- DORITO CASSEROLE
Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 bag 16 oz, frozen cut green beans (keep frozen)
- 1 can 10.5 oz, cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup milk
- 1 bag 32 oz, tater tots (keep frozen)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Add ground beef and onion to a skillet and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until browned. Drain grease.
- Return to pan and add salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix well to evenly season.
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add beef to the bottom of the dish. Top with frozen green beans.
- Whisk together soup and milk and pour on top of beans.
- Add tator tots to the top, lining up in a single layer.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly around the edges. Top with cheese and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Comments & Reviews
Diane Morgan says
What a good idea! First chance I get, I’m getting ingredients and making it. Looks so easy and delishious!!!
Judy says
Big Hit!
Made this for family with kids. Adults & kids loved it! Definitely will make again.
Kathy says
Yep! It’s one of our favorites!