This Midwestern Casserole Is a Favorite for a Reason

Tater Tot hotdish, and hotdishes in general, are extremely popular in my home state of Minnesota. You would be hard pressed to find someone who grew up in the state (or the Upper Midwest in general) that doesn’t have strong memories of their family’s or church’s or neighbor’s hotdish.

For me, the story is different. While I grew up in a very Minnesotan household with both of my grandparents who were born and raised in the state, my calorie-conscious grandmother had a heavy influence on our dinners. Suffice it to say, casseroles were rarely on the menu—they were reserved for holidays, if at all.

I very clearly remember my first taste of Tater Tot hotdish. I was in college, sitting at the dining table in the shared living room of my first on-campus apartment, staring at my roommates as they spooned big portions of the steaming casserole onto their plates before dousing with ungodly amounts of ketchup and digging in.

What Is Hotdish?

A hotdish, also spelled hot dish, is a casserole that was invented in the Upper Midwest as a simple, economical way to feed a lot of people at events like potlucks and family reunions. Made up of four components—a starch, meat, canned or frozen vegetable, and canned, condensed soup—they were especially popular during the Great Depression as a one-dish wonder that was filling and crowd-pleasing.

Tater Tot hotdish is one of the most well-known types of hotdish, especially in Minnesota. While the ingredients that people put into their Tater Tot hotdish can vary, the classic recipes use ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen Tater Tots.

Easy Hotdish Variations

I’ve learned a lot of things since my first taste of Tater Tot hotdish, first being that Minnesotans take their hotdish very seriously. Second, that Tater Tot hotdish is nothing if not a perfect candidate for variation. You can make it fit your tastes in a lot of different ways:

• Top the whole thing with shredded cheese before baking
• Swap frozen Tater Tots for another frozen potato product, like french fries, potato smileys, or hashbrowns
• Switch up the meat and use ground chicken, pork, lamb, venison, turkey, or a mix. Or use plant-based ground beef if you’re vegetarian
• Add par-cooked rice or wild rice
• Exchange cream of mushroom soup for cream of chicken, celery, or even tomato soup (as per the very first written known recipe, from a 1930 church cookbook out of Mankato, Minnesota)
• Add some of your favorite spices to the ground beef, from chili flakes to dried oregano, garlic powder to ground cumin
  

How To Make Tater Tot Hotdish Ahead

Hotdish is a great make-ahead casserole to have on hand for a busy weeknight or bring to a friend or family member who might need a little bit of extra love and care. To make it ahead, prepare the hotdish all the way through layering the frozen tater tots over the top. Let cool completely to room temperature before covering tightly with plastic wrap and storing in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To cook from the fridge, follow the instructions below, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the cook time to make sure everything is heated through.

To cook from the freezer, let sit on the counter while the oven preheats, remove the plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake at 350°F for about an hour. Uncover, increase the oven to 400°F, and bake for another 25 minutes, or until the tater tots are golden brown and the casserole is completely heated through.

More Midwestern Casseroles

• Walking Taco Casserole
• Cheesy Funeral Potatoes
• Wild Rice Stuffing
• Johnny Marzetti Casserole
  

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Cook the ground beef and onions:

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Once melted, add the ground beef and onions, season with salt and pepper, and use a spatula to break up the meat. Continue to cook until there’s no longer any pink meat visible, about 8 minutes.

Layer the hotdish:

Use a slotted spoon to layer about half of the beef into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish, draining each spoonful and discarding the excess liquid. Add half of the vegetables over the top of the beef, seasoning with more salt and pepper as desired, then pour one can of soup over the top, spreading it as evenly as possible. 

Layer in the remaining beef and vegetables, season again, then top with the remaining can of soup, spreading it as evenly as possible once more. Individually place the frozen Tater Tots in a single layer over the top of the final soup layer in straight rows and columns to cover the entire surface.

Bake and serve:

Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven and bake until the Tater Tots are well browned and the hotdish is bubbling up around the sides of the tots, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving with ketchup, if desired.

Let leftovers come to room temperature before tightly covering or transferring to an airtight container and storing in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered in the microwave for a few minutes until hot all the way through, or covered in a preheated 350°F oven for about 15 minutes.

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