Who doesn’t love a hot and crispy plate of oven-fried tater tots? Besides dipping these potato-based snacks in ketchup for a late afternoon snack, there’s actually a multitude of creative ways you can use frozen tater tots to build your next meal. Besides adding them to your waffle maker or using them to make alternative nachos, tater tots can also serve as a central component in your next vegetarian casserole. Sure enough, you don’t need ground beef to make a delicious tater tot casserole.
Believe it or not, all you need to make a basic hot dish with tater tots is butter, sauteed veggies, creamy condensed soup, and shredded cheese. Yet what is it about condensed soup that makes it the perfect ingredient for your next meat-free casserole? This concentrated soup is extra flavorful since most of the included water has been removed in the cooking process. Whether you’re using cream of mushroom or cream of celery, when mixed with a colorful assortment of veggies, tater tots, and cheese, you’re left with a simple casserole that has ample amounts of flavor and texture.
Use varied amounts of onion, celery, and carrots and feel free to include your favorite blend of spices. For a meal that’s sure to please, mix the cooked veggies and soup together and then cover the top of the dish in cheese and frozen tots before baking. Alternatively, for a casserole with a more potato-heavy consistency, mix tater tots directly into the filling itself.
More ways to make meat-free tater tot casserole
While tater tot casserole is one of many foods that can be upgraded with a can of soup, you can also make this shareable meal without this easy-to-use ingredient. For starters, use tater tots to dress up your go-to recipe for vegetarian chili. Use a variety of beans such as black, kidney, and pinto. You can also swap the meat in traditional chili with sweet potatoes for an easy vegetarian upgrade.
Once your chili is prepared, add it to a casserole dish and cover the top in shredded cheese and tater tots. Feel free to use cheddar or a varied Mexican blend that includes Monterey Jack and asadero cheeses. Then, get creative with fresh toppings such as cool sour cream, fresh green onions, and sliced tomatoes.
If you’d rather use these convenient bite-sized potatoes for the first meal of the day, you can also make a vegetarian breakfast-inspired casserole with scrambled eggs or tofu, veggies, and cheese. If using eggs, add your veggies and tater tots to the base of an oven-safe baking dish. Then simply pour over a combined mixture of raw eggs, spices, and a small amount of sour cream.
If using tofu, shred or crumble extra-firm tofu, add your favorite seasonings with a bit of cooking oil, and add the seasoned mixture to a lined sheet pan with veggies, cheese, and tater tots. Serve breakfast-inspired veggie-friendly tater tot casserole with hot sauce, ketchup, or sour cream.
