This Slow Cooker Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole is a hearty comfort meal layered with seasoned ground beef, chili-style sauce, crispy tater tots, and melted cheese.
This Slow Cooker Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole is the ultimate comfort-food meal for busy weeknights. It combines seasoned beef in a savory chili-style sauce with fluffy tater tots that soak up all the delicious flavor as they cook.
Finished with melted cheddar and a fresh scallion garnish, it's hearty, filling, and always a crowd-pleaser.
If you loved this tater tot recipe, you'll fall head over heels for this Slow Cooker Cowboy Casserole and my Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast.
Ingredients
- Ground beef: Adds rich, hearty protein and forms the casserole base.
- Onion: Adds sweetness and depth to the beef mixture.
- Chili seasoning: Gives the dish its bold chili-style flavor.
- Garlic: Adds aromatic richness and warmth.
- Diced tomatoes with green chiles: Brings acidity, texture, and a mild kick.
- Tomato sauce: Creates a smooth, rich sauce base.
- Frozen tater tots: The comforting potato layer that cooks up soft and flavorful.
- Cheddar cheese: Melts beautifully for a gooey, cheesy finish.
- Scallions (optional): Adds freshness and a pop of color for serving.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Add the cooked ground beef and diced onion to the slow cooker. Stir in the salt, pepper, chili seasoning, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and half of the cheese until well combined.
- Step 2: Arrange the tater tots evenly over the top in a single layer. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
- Step 3: Sprinkle the remaining cheese over during the last 15 minutes of cooking, and let it melt before serving. Finish with scallions if using and serve warm.
How Long to Cook Tater Tot Casserole
This is the question I get asked most, and the answer depends on which appliance you're using. Here's how the timing works out.
- Slow cooker on low: 4 to 5 hours. This is my preferred setting because the beef and sauce have time to get to know each other and the tots soften into the chili instead of sitting on top of it.
- Slow cooker on high: 2 to 3 hours. Handy when dinner snuck up on you, though the sauce stays a little looser and the tots keep more of their shape.
- Oven at 350F: 45 to 55 minutes covered, then 10 to 15 minutes uncovered to brown the top.
You'll know it's ready when the sauce is bubbling at the edges of the crock pot, and a tot pressed with the back of a spoon gives way easily. If the middle still looks soupy, cook it for another 30 minutes on low with the lid on.
Let it rest for 10 minutes with the lid off before serving. The sauce tightens up, and you get clean scoops instead of a puddle on the plate.
Can You Make Tater Tot Casserole in the Oven?
Yes, and it's the version to reach for when you want a genuinely crisp top. Brown the beef and onion in a skillet, stir in the salt, pepper, chili seasoning, garlic, tomatoes, and tomato sauce along with half the cheese, then spread it into a 9x13 baking dish.
Arrange the tots over the top in a single layer, cover the dish with foil, and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Pull the foil off, scatter the rest of the cheese over, and bake another 10 to 15 minutes until the tots have gone golden and the cheese is bubbling.
How to Keep the Tater Tots From Going Soggy
Soggy tots are the number one complaint with any slow cooker version of this dish, and steam causes it. A covered slow cooker traps moisture, which condenses on the lid and then drips straight back down onto your potatoes. Here's what actually helps.
- Use them straight from the freezer. Never thaw the tots first. Frozen tots hold their structure far longer.
- Keep them in one even layer. Piling them two or three deep means the bottom ones sit in sauce and turn to mush while the top ones stay raw.
- Drain the diced tomatoes properly. That liquid has to go somewhere, and where it goes is into your tots.
- Crack the lid at the end. Setting the lid ajar for the last 20 minutes lets steam escape instead of dripping back down.
- Finish under the broiler. Scoop the casserole into an oven-safe dish, top with the remaining cheese, and broil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Is Tater Tot Casserole Gluten Free?
No, it's not, but it's easy to make it that way.
- Watch the chili seasoning packets. Plenty of seasoning blends use wheat flour as an anti-caking agent or a thickener, and it will not always be obvious from the front of the packet. Read the ingredient statement every time, because manufacturers reformulate without warning. If in doubt, mix your own from chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder and salt.
- Most plain tator tots are naturally gluten free, but seasoned, battered or "crispy" varieties can carry a wheat coating. Check the bag for a gluten free label rather than assuming. These are currently gluten free brands: Ore-Ida, 365 by Whole Foods Market, and Alexia Yukon Gold Potato Puffs.
- Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with green chiles are usually fine, though it is worth a glance at the label if the brand is new to you.
Everything else here, the beef, the onion, the garlic, the cheese and the scallions, is naturally gluten free. Grate your own cheddar from a block and you sidestep the anti-caking agents in pre-shredded bags too, which is worth doing for the melt alone.
Substitutions
- Use turkey instead of beef.
- Pepper Jack cheese can replace cheddar for spice.
- Add canned beans for extra protein.
Variations
- Make it spicy: Add jalapenos for heat.
- Add Beans: Add any of your favorite canned beans. Be sure to drain them well first.
- Creamy version: Stir in sour cream before serving for creaminess.
- Brighten up: Top with green onions.
- Add Some Crunch: Top with crushed fritos for extra yummy crunchies.
Equipment
A slow cooker or crockpot is the main piece of equipment needed for this recipe. You'll also need a pan for browning the beef beforehand and a spoon for mixing and serving.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until piping hot throughout.
This recipe can also be frozen for up to 2 months, though the tater tots may soften slightly after thawing.
Make Ahead, Freeze and Feed a Crowd
This is a genuinely good make-ahead dinner, with one rule: assemble the beef and sauce ahead, but hold the tots until cooking day.
- The night before: brown the beef with the onion, stir in the seasonings, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce and half the cheese, then cool it and refrigerate in a sealed container. In the morning, tip it into the crock, top with frozen tots and switch it on.
- To freeze the base: the cooked beef and sauce freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before it goes in the slow cooker.
- To freeze leftovers: portion the finished casserole into airtight containers for up to 2 months. The tots soften on thawing, so reheat in the oven at 375F rather than the microwave to bring back some texture.
- For a crowd: the recipe doubles well in a 8 quart slow cooker. Add an extra hour on low and stir the base before the tots go on so the middle heats evenly. Do not double it in a 6 quart crock, there just is not room for the tots to spread out.
What to Serve With Tater Tot Casserole
This is a rich, heavy dish, so what it really wants alongside it is something sharp and fresh. I almost always put out something green and something acidic.
- A simple green salad with a vinegary dressing, which cuts through the cheese better than anything else.
- Steamed or roasted broccoli, an easy way to get a vegetable on the plate without competing for flavor.
- Quick pickled red onions or sliced jalapenos on the side, so everyone can brighten their own portion.
- Sour cream, chopped scallions and diced avocado in little bowls, chili-bar style. My family likes the toppings the best.
- Corn on the cob in summer, or a tray of roasted green beans in winter.
Top tip
For the best cheesy finish, use freshly grated cheddar as it melts more smoothly than pre-shredded cheese.
FAQ
Yes: You can brown the beef and mix the sauce ingredients the night before, then refrigerate and assemble in the slow cooker the next day for easy meal prep.
Four to five hours on low, or two to three hours on high. Low is better if you have the time because the sauce thickens properly and the tots soften into it.
Yes, please do. Raw ground beef added straight to the crock releases a lot of grease and water, and you end up with a greasy, thin sauce. Browning and draining takes ten minutes and it's the difference between a good casserole and a disappointing one.
You should. Frozen is exactly what you want here. Thawed tots break down into mush in a wet slow cooker.
Usually one of three things: the diced tomatoes were not drained, the beef was not drained after browning, or it needs a 10 minute rest with the lid off before serving. That rest does a lot of work.
Yes, and it's a good swap. Turkey is leaner so the sauce comes out lighter. Season it a little more generously, since it does not bring the same richness as beef.
Up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in the oven if you want any texture back in the tots.
Absolutely. A drained can of black beans or kidney beans stirred into the base makes it stretch further and leans the whole thing more towards chili, which nobody has ever complained about.
If this one goes down well, my cowboy casserole is the creamy version with corn instead of chili, and my big mac casserole turns the whole thing into a burger night.
Related
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Slow Cooker Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef browned and drained
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 1 ounce packet chili seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 10.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 28-ounce bag frozen tater tots
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- Scallions for garnish optional
Instructions
- To the slow cooker add the ground beef and onion.
- Stir in salt, pepper, chili seasoning, garlic, diced tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce and half cup of cheese.
- Spread tater tots evenly over the top.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
- Sprinkle cheese over the top during the last 15 minutes until melted.
Equipment
Notes
Let casserole rest 10 minutes before serving to thicken.
Use freshly shredded cheese for better melt.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutritional information provided is an estimate. For specific dietary needs or concerns, we recommend consulting a nutrition calculator or a qualified expert.
Karen Kelly
Karen Kelly is a nationally syndicated food and travel writer, founder of Seasonal Cravings, and co-founder of The Roam Report. She develops approachable seasonal recipes and covers travel and lifestyle trends. Her work has appeared in numerous media outlets, including Yahoo, Taste of Home, Apple News, NBC, FOX, and other national and regional publications.
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