Cowboy Casserole Recipe (Tater Tot Casserole) - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

Cowboy Casserole is a delicious and simple to make tater tot casserole packed with ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, and corn. This cowboy hotdish will quickly become a family favorite!

Tater tot casseroles with ground beef are such an easy dinner option! Just like my classic Tater Tot Casserole, and Chicken Tater Tot Casserole, Cowboy Casserole comes together quickly, with simple ingredients, into a meal that kids and adults both love.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Inexpensive Ground Beef: We all love cooking delicious dinners with ground beef. It’s an easy and inexpensive protein that kids love. This recipe is definitely budget friendly.
2. No Canned Soup: We are using sour cream to give this tater tot casserole with ground beef a creamy texture, no condensed soup required.
3. All-in-one Meal: One casserole pan has protein, carbs, and veggies all in one dish. This means less dishes to do, and no side dishes required.
4. Make Ahead Option: This casserole can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer, making weeknight dinners a breeze.

Why is it called Cowboy Casserole?

I’m always interested in why we call recipes what we call them! In this case, I can’t really find any definitive answers. There are hundreds – maybe thousands – of similar recipes out there, each with their own tweaks and ingredients.

Sometimes this is called a grieving cowboy casserole, likely due to its popularity at funerals, and as an easy dish to bring to a family experiencing loss. If you are in the Midwest, particularly in Minnesota, a casserole topped with tater tots is called a “hotdish”.

Anywhere else, we might just call this a tater tot casserole, but what gives this recipe the title of Cowboy is its ingredients. Tomatoes, beef, and corn are decidedly tex-mex, and that’s good enough for me!

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my Cowboy Soup Recipe next.

Ingredients in Cowboy Casserole

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Ground Beef: Tater tot ground beef casserole calls for an 80 or 85% lean ground beef. I think there’s more flavor this way. We’ll be draining off any excess beef fat.
• Onion and Garlic: These fresh aromatics add flavor to the meat and give the whole dish a home cooked magic.
• Canned Tomatoes: One standard can of diced tomatoes, including the liquid, goes in, adding moisture, flavor, and acidity.
• Corn: The easiest thing to do is to use frozen corn in this tater tot casserole. Let it thaw on the counter before adding it in.
• Sour Cream: To get a creamy, tangy base layer, sour cream is the best choice. It pairs perfectly with tomatoes and beef.
• Cheddar Cheese: Some goes inside the casserole, and more goes on top. Freshly shredded cheddar is preferred.
• Tater Tots: Frozen tater tots are the beautiful top layer of this casserole.

How to Make Cowboy Casserole

1. Preheat: Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) while you cook the filling for the casserole.

1. Brown Ground Beef: In a dutch oven or skillet, heat olive oil and cook the ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until it’s no longer pink. Drain fat if needed, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook Vegetables: Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until it’s translucent. Add the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds.
3. Finish filling: Add tomatoes, corn, sour cream, and one cup of cheddar. Cook until the cheese has melted and everything is well incorporated. Remove from heat.

1. Assemble: Pour the creamy mixture into the casserole dish, top with the remaining cheese, and then arrange the tater tots on top. I like to put them in nice neat rows, but you can arrange them however you like.
2. Bake: Place the casserole into the oven and bake until the tater tots are browned and the filling is heated through.
3. Serve: Garnish with fresh parsley to serve.

Recipe Success Tips

This recipe is almost fool-proof! Follow the instructions and you will most certainly end up with a delicious cowboy casserole. I just have a couple of helpful tips to share:

• Don’t let the tots thaw: Thawed tater tots tend to fall apart into piles of shredded potatoes. Keep your tots in the freezer until you’re ready to add them to your casserole.
• Be careful not to burn the garlic: After adding the minced garlic to the hot pan, make sure you’re ready to add in the tomatoes right away. Cooking it for any longer than 30 seconds will risk burning the garlic.
• Make it an actual one pan meal: It won’t be quite as pretty, but you can skip the casserole dish, and make this directly in the pan that you cook the filling in (as long as the skillet is oven safe) Make sure the skillet or dutch oven is large enough to resemble the size and volume of a 9×13 baking dish. A 15 inch cast iron skillet, well-seasoned to prevent sticking, should work perfectly.

Cowboy Casserole Variations

You can make this hamburger casserole with tater tots exactly as written, and it’s going to be delicious – But putting your own spin on this dish is easy as well:

• Swap the Meat. Any ground meat will work in this casserole, including beef, turkey, chicken, pork, or a ground meat vegan alternative. Cooked, chopped cooked chicken or turkey leftovers would work too.
• Add More Cheese. Nobody’s going to stop you. Add cheese into the filling, on top of the filling, and then add more on top of the tater tots if you like!
• Vary or add to the Vegetables. Chopped bell pepper or a small amount of jalapeño pepper would be delicious cooked in with the meat for some extra spice. Any sort of frozen or blanched veggies can be added too. Try carrots, peas, or broccoli.
• Try Beans. Use cooked black or pinto beans in place of some of the meat if you like.
• Skip the Tater Tots. Go nuts and use a different type of frozen potato! Steak fries or curly fries will crisp up nicely on top of this casserole. You could even try using frozen cauliflower tots to save on carbs.

What to Serve with Cowboy Casserole

This casserole really doesn’t require any side dishes! It has all of the necessary food groups included, so it’s a meal on its own. That said, you can serve it with sides, particularly if you have a hungry dinner crew.

For Dinner: Try serving a simple tossed green salad and another easy vegetable, like my Air Fryer Cauliflower to really fill everyone up and add extra nutritional value.

Taking this to a potluck? Bring another potluck favorite casserole as well. People always love Walking Taco Casserole, and Velveeta Mac and Cheese.

For Dessert: Make a scrumptious Peach Pie or my Easy Banana Cake.

Recipe FAQs

I hope you’ve found a new simple dish to add to your dinner plans this season. This casserole is truly one that my family raves about!