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Taco Tater Tot Casserole is an easy casserole recipe with seasoned ground beef, sour cream, corn and cheese topped with crispy tater tots. Your whole family will love this easy dinner recipe. Perfect for taco night!

baked taco tater tot casserole with cheese and cilantro in casserole dish

If you’re wondering what to make for dinner tonight with ground hamburger meat, this delicious taco tater tot casserole recipe is for you. It’s a family favorite around here!

It’s different from the usual ground beef recipes, and it’s also very kid friendly and super easy to make.

Mexican tater tot casserole is basically your favorite hot dish with kicked-up flavor and lots of melted cheese. If you like ground beef tacos or Mexican food as much as we do, you’re going to love this tater tot taco casserole!

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients for this Mexican tater tot casserole recipe. They should be easy to locate in your grocery store.

  • Lean ground beef
  • Taco seasoning — a packet of taco seasoning or homemade taco seasoning mix
  • Corn — a small can of corn, or shoe peg corn or Mexican corn
  • Sour cream — adds creaminess and flavor
  • Salsa — chunky salsa
  • Cheese — shredded Mexican blend cheese or grated cheddar cheese
  • Tater tots — in the frozen food section
  • Water or beef broth — for the taco meat
  • Your favorite taco toppings

How to Make Taco Tater Tot Casserole

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees f. Then, brown the ground beef in a large skillet on medium heat to medium-high heat.

Drain the grease, if needed. Then, stir in taco seasoning and water or beef broth. I use my recipe for homemade taco seasoning, but you can use a packet if you have one.

Then, stir in a little sour cream, and you’re ready to layer the casserole.

ground beef with taco seasoning in skillet

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or casserole dish with non stick cooking spray.

Then, start with the taco meat mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Spread some Mexican blend cheese over the meat, then add a layer of corn.

taco meat in baking dish with cheese and salsa on top

Top this with some chunky salsa or green chiles if you have some. Sometimes, I use a can of diced green chilies and tomatoes (Rotel).

Then, add your frozen tater tots in a single layer and a little bit more cheese.

tater tots over mexican blend shredded cheese in a baking dish

Cook Time

Bake the casserole for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. For extra crispy tater tots, set the oven to broil for about 5 minutes after baking.

baked hot dish with taco meat and tater tots on the table

What to Serve with Mexican Tater Tot Casserole

This is pretty much a one dish meal. But, you can serve the casserole with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, black olives, green onions and guac if you want. A simple side salad works well, too!

How to Store, Make Ahead and Freeze

If you want to make the taco tater tot casserole ahead of time and freeze for Taco Tuesday or later, just follow the same steps. Use a dish that goes from freezer to oven.

Instead of baking it right away, cover and wrap it up well with foil. When you’re ready to use the dish, just pop it into the oven and bake!

Store leftover taco casserole in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap once it has cooled down.

close up of taco tater tot casserole with cheese

Recipe Variations

This is a very versatile dish that you can easily customize to suit your family’s tastes. You can add black beans or refried beans, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers — pretty much whatever you want!

Use your favorite cheese, like Monterey Jack cheese or Colby Jack cheese instead of the Mexican blend or cheddar.

Like my Lighter Tater Tot Casserole, this easy taco tater tot casserole recipe doesn’t use a can of cream of anything soup, but you can add cream of chicken soup, cheese soup or fiesta nacho cheese soup instead of sour cream. Red enchilada sauce will also work!

If you have a pressure cooker, cook taco meat in your Instant Pot instead of the stove.

Sub ground turkey or ground chicken or cooked chicken – rotisserie chicken – in place of hamburger meat.

Mexican tater tot casserole cut in baking dish
5 from 12 votes

Taco Tater Tot Casserole

By: Dee
Taco Tater Tot Casserole combines seasoned ground beef, corn, salsa and cheese for an easy Mexican style hot dish dinner the family will love!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients  

  • 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
  • taco seasoning homemade or a packet
  • ½ cup low sodium beef broth
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 11 ounce can shoe peg corn
  • 3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese divided
  • ¼ cup chunky salsa add more if you want
  • 16 ounces frozen tater tots or enough to cover the dish
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Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  • Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat until no longer pink, and add taco seasoning as it cooks. If not using lean beef, drain the fat, then season the meat.
  • Stir in beef broth, and cook until bubbling. If mixture seems too dry, add a little more broth
  • Remove from heat, stir in the sour cream, and transfer to a greased baking dish
  • Top with 2 cups of cheese, then add corn and salsa, and top with tater tots and remaining cheese
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until heated throughout and bubbly. Broil for 5 minutes at the end, if desired, and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving

Notes

Can use regular corn, Mexi corn or fiesta corn if you can’t find shoe peg.
Use Colby Jack or cheddar cheese if you don’t have Mexican blend.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 555mg, Potassium: 461mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 293IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 246mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Like this? Leave a comment below!

I hope you enjoy this delicious ground beef casserole as much as we do. If you do try this tater taco hot dish, please leave a star rating and/or comment.

For more easy recipes and casserole recipes try my Pierogi Casserole, Crack Chicken Casserole, Dorito Casserole and more main dish recipes.

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taco tater tot casserole with cilantro in a baking dish

Tater taco casserole recipe first published in 2020 and updated in 2023.

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Recipe Rating




15 Comments

  1. Tiffany says:

    This was great for the kids! They even helped me make it. They loved placing all of the tots in a pattern! Yummy!5 stars

  2. James says:

    Made this last night. The kids loved dressing it up with the extras like you would on a taco. A new family favorite!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thank you so much, James! I’m glad your family liked it!

  3. Sara Welch says:

    Going to try this for dinner tonight; my kids love tater tots and this looks too good to pass up!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      I hope they like it, Sara. My kids definitely approved!

  4. Allyson Zea says:

    This is a totally Yum from me! I can’t wait to try it!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks a bunch, Allyson! I hope you like it!

  5. Beth says:

    Yummy! This was so delicious and tasty! My family loved it! I will definitely be making this again!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      I’m so happy to hear this, Beth! Thanks!

  6. Patricia @ Grab a Plate says:

    I colleague made this once years ago for a pot-luck at work. I have always been obsessed with it! Glad to have this recipe! It’s such a good dish!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks, Patricia! It would be so good for potlucks!

  7. Toni Dash says:

    This is really good!! Everyone at my house enjoyed this!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thank you so much, Toni! I’m glad everyone liked it!

  8. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says:

    This Taco Tater Tot Casserole is seriously making me hungry!5 stars

  9. Amanda says:

    This is my kind of dish, I love everything about this!