Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole
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Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole layers creamy ground beef with green beans, cheese, and tater tots for an easy family friendly dinner!
![Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole is an easy dinner the whole family will love! Perfect for making ahead and freezing! #freezerfriendlymeal #tatertotcasserole Scoop of tater tot casserole taken out of a casserole dish](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole-3.jpg)
Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole: A Childhood Favorite
Nothing says high class like a casserole topped with tater tots. Am I right?
Table of Contents
When I was 12 years old Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole was my favorite dinner. This should surprise no one. What 12 year old wouldn’t go nuts for this? It’s like eating a cheeseburger, except instead of a bun you get crispy tater tots.
Don’t tell me you aren’t dreaming about a cheeseburger on a tater tot bun now. (Note to self: figure out how to make tater tot buns. Sell them to Red Robin. Make millions of dollars. Move to the beach and spend the remainder of my life reading novels and eating tater tots. End note.)
I was curious to see if this childhood favorite was still as delicious as I remembered it. I went to my most trusted source for the recipe–my mom–but I decided to do a little Internet research to see if there were other versions out there.
Turns out, people have strong feelings about their tater tot casserole. I read more than a few message boards filled with arguments about whether the casserole should have green beans or corn, cheese or French Fried Onions, tater tots on the top or tater tots mixed into the filling.
What did I learn from my research? Don’t mess with someone’s beloved casserole recipe. There will be hell to pay.
![This tater tot casserole with green beans, sour cream, and cheese is a family favorite! Tater Tot Casserole in a glass pie plate](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole.jpg)
Don’t Mess With A Classic
In the end, I decided to stick with the tried and true recipe of my youth with only a few minor changes. I make my tater tot casserole with ground beef, sour cream, mushroom soup, cheese, and green beans. I prefer the casserole to be layered with tater tots on top, because my 31 year old self still believes golden crispy tots are one of life’s greatest pleasure.
This recipe comes together in about 20 minutes and is made with freezer and pantry staples, which is why it was a go-to for my parents and remains a go-to for me today.
![Tater Tot Casserole with ground beef, green beans, cheese, and plenty of crispy tots is the perfect family meal. Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans in a glass pie plate](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole-2.jpg)
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole with Green Beans
- Brown the ground beef or hamburger with a diced yellow onion.
- Once the beef is browned, combine it with the sour cream and cream of mushroom soup. This is the base of the casserole.
- Scatter the green beans over top of the beef mixture. I prefer low sodium canned green beans, but thawed frozen green beans also work.
- Sprinkle the green beans with shredded cheese or top with American cheese slices.
- Top the casserole with tater tots and bake until you’ve got a bubbly, melty, crispy tater tot casserole!
![Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole is a freezer friendly dinner that the whole family will love! #tatertotcasserole #casserolerecipe Tater Tot Casserole with ground beef and green beans](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole-4.jpg)
Tater Tot Casserole Variations
- Tater Tot Casserole with Veggies: Feel free to add more canned or frozen vegetables to the green bean layer or swap them with the veggies of your choice. Be sure to season them so they don’t taste bland!
- Vegetarian Tater Tot Casserole: We’ve made meatless tater tot casserole a few times now with great success. Simply substitute 2 pounds of mushrooms sautéed in butter for the meat layer.
- Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole: In my opinion, all great tater tot casseroles have cheese, but the fun is in experimenting with your favorites. Feel free to try different combinations. Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, Mexican Cheese Blend, and American are all favorites of ours.
- Taco Tater Tot Casserole is perfect when you’re looking for a spicy tater tot casserole!
- Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole is a make ahead friendly tater tot casserole you can serve on busy mornings.
- Chicken Tater Tot Casserole is another great option when you’re not in the mood for beef.
![Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole is always a crowd pleaser! Save this easy freezer friendly meal for a busy weeknight. #tatertotcasserole #casserole Overhead view of tater tot casserole with a fork](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole-5.jpg)
Can I Make Casserole Ahead of Time?
Absolutely! You can brown the beef and layer the casserole several hours or days before you’re ready to bake, but I do leave the tater tots off of the casserole until it’s ready to go in the oven.
Can I Freeze Tater Tot Casserole?
Yes! Tater tot casserole can be frozen fully assembled. I have frozen it in 9×13 inch glass pans, aluminum disposable pans, or in 2 9 inch pie plates. Just be sure to use a tightly fitting lid or saran wrap covered with foil and defrost it in the fridge overnight.
![Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole is a classic family friendly recipe that's easy to make ahead and perfect for freezing! #tatertotcasserole #kidfriendly Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole scoop on a plate](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole-6.jpg)
Casserole for a Crowd (or not)
This recipe can feed a lot of people (I’d say around 12). That said, it’s easy to cut in half if you don’t need to feed a small army. I like to make the full recipe and put it in two 8 inch square or 9 inch round plates then freeze the second one for a later time. It’s the same amount of work for two meals!
More Ground Beef Casserole Recipes
If you can’t get enough ground beef and potatoes, you’re going to want to try this Hamburger Potato Casserole and this quick and easy Hamburger Hashbrown Casserole.
We also love Company Casserole, Johnny Marzetti, and Walking Taco Casserole!
![Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole scoop on a plate](https://neighborfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/green-bean-tater-tot-casserole-6-200x200.jpg)
Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cans low sodium green beans (or 16 oz package frozen green beans)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used a mixture of mild and sharp)
- 1 bag frozen tater tots
Instructions
- In a large skillet brown beef and onions until no pink remains, about 10 minutes. Drain the fat. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place meat mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan or two 8 inch pans or 2 9 inch pie plates.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together cream soup, sour cream, and milk. Pour over hamburger.
- Scatter green beans over top of the soup mixture.
- Scatter shredded cheese over green beans.
- Refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake. Allow frozen casserole to thaw in the fridge overnight before baking. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange tater tots on top of the cheese. If you are taking it straight from the fridge, place the pan in the oven right away so it can warm up with the oven. Bake until mixture is bubbly and the tots are golden brown, about 45 minutes to an hour if coming from the fridge, or 40 minutes if it’s baked while the beef is still warm.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version replace meat with 2 pounds of fresh sliced mushrooms sauteed in 1 Tablespoon butter and 1 Tablespoon olive oil.
Was very tasty, I used a tad too much garlic powder but still delicious. I used the potato crowns instead of the reg tots because I find they cook better and get crispy
i love it, yummy what do you think about trying Moroccan foods like street foods?
How long will this keep in the fridge after making this?
How much cream of soup? Just says one can. 16 oz? 24 oz? Please specify. Thanks.
Sorry about that! You’ll need a 10.5 oz. can.
This is soooo good! Creamy and it’s actually healthy even with hamburger meat. Thank you for the recipe!
Have you done this in a crock pot? If so, what setting & for how long?
I am also curious if that can be done in a crockpot
Unfortunately, the tater tots don’t crisp up in the slow cooker, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
I made this for my family tonight and they loved it. It tastes like the tater tot casserole my gramma used to make. The only thing I did differently is add a few dashes of seasoned salt to dust the tater tots when I took it out of the oven, because I remember my gramma doing that when I was a kid. Otherwise this recipe tastes like my childhood…. Thank you so much!
This one looks healthy and delicious.
I am definitely gonna try this today. Thanks for sharing this lovely piece with us.
Regards,
Great! I hope you love it!
You had me a Tater Tots..But lost me at canned Green Beans & canned soup. First of of all canned beas are disgusting (sorry that is just how I have fedlt since a kid!!!). & canned soup has so much sodium it would blow my Blood Pressure off the roof. So I have decided fresh is best & make your owm soup!!! It is very easy if you know how!! Then proceed with the reci[e!!!.
Sorry for spelling errors. I can barely see! Just want to join along!!????
Courtney, thanks for linking this in to Food on Friday. Cheers