← Recipe book

Tater tot hotdish ("joyslop")

Verdict: Epic.

Serves 9 · fills a 3-quart 9x13 · 85 to 100 minutes · Source: our own, adapted from Mom on Timeout's tater tot casserole with The Kitchn's late-cheese method

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 cans (10.5 oz each) condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) cut green beans, drained
  • 8 oz bag shredded sharp cheddar, divided
  • 2 lb bag frozen tater tots
  • Cooking spray

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Brown 1.5 lb ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high, breaking it up, about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
  3. Add the diced onion and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
  4. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and stir until fragrant, 1 minute.
  5. Off the heat, stir in 1.5 tbsp Worcestershire, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Then stir in 2 cans soup, ½ cup sour cream and 2 oz (about ½ cup) of the cheddar until uniform.
  6. Fold in the drained green beans. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish.
  7. Arrange the 2 lb of tots in tight rows across the top, straight from the freezer, touching. One bag packs a full single layer.
  8. Bake 30 minutes, until the tots are turning golden.
  9. Sprinkle the remaining 6 oz cheddar over the tots. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cheese browns at the edges and the filling bubbles.
  10. Rest 10 minutes so the filling sets. Ketchup on the side.

Southwest variant

Same recipe with these changes:

  • Add 2 fresh jalapeños, chopped, ribs in. Sauté them with the onion for 5 minutes.
  • Add 2 tsp Santa Fe chili blend with the garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute so it toasts without scorching. Use 2½ tsp for more punch.
  • Add 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles with the soup and sour cream.
  • Leave out the 1 tsp salt. Taste the finished sauce and add up to 1 tsp only if it needs it.
  • Optional: fold in 1 cup frozen corn with the green beans.
  • Finish with scallions or cilantro, sour cream thinned with lime juice, and hot sauce in place of ketchup.

Notes

  • Stir the soup into the beef. Layered, it leaves a band of unseasoned soup.
  • The cheese goes on late so it browns instead of steaming under the tots.
  • Tots go on frozen, never ahead of time, or they turn soggy.
  • Make-ahead: the beef and sauce mixture keeps 1 to 2 days in the fridge. Add 5 to 10 minutes to the first bake if it goes in cold.
  • For a 6:00 dinner, start at 4:20, or 4:15 for the Southwest variant.
  • One 22.6 oz family-size can of soup replaces the two regular cans.