Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole with chicken, melty cheese and crispy bacon in a delicious creamy sauce topped with golden tater tots.
This easy recipe from simple ingredients is a hearty casserole sure to become a family favorite.
It’s definitely not diet food but friends, there’s a whole lot of cozy comfort in and under those tater tots.
Seasoned ground chicken, melty cheese and bacon in a creamy sauce topped with crispy tots. You don’t want to miss this one.
Why this recipe works:
Simple make ahead meal.
Perfect for weeknights, game days and if you have kids heading to college – this is a great recipe to take with them.
Basic, budget friendly grocery store ingredients.
WHAT’S IN THIS COWBOY TATER TOT CASSEROLE?
- 1 pound ground chicken, beef or turkey
- ½ medium onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 10.75 ounce can condensed cream of chicken
- 1 ounce package dry ranch dressing mix
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 6 strips bacon cooked to crisp and diced (can use precooked bacon OR packaged bacon pieces).
- 32 ounce bag frozen tater tots
- cooking spray
Tips and FAQ:
- Use different size casserole dishes, just be sure they’re about 2″ deep.
- If you’re cooking the bacon from raw, do that first. Precooked bacon or (real) bacon pieces also work well.
- If your skillet is oven-proof and large enough, skip the casserole dish and make the whole casserole in the skillet instead!
- If you’re adding frozen vegetables such as carrots and peas, allow a few extra minutes baking time.
- Assemble ahead of time then cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temp and bake per instructions.
- I used skim milk but any kind of milk will work well.
- Tater tots can be frozen or thawed.
How to make Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole:
This is an easy casserole recipe that assembles in minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375° then lightly spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat then drizzle in the olive oil and once hot add the ground chicken and onions.
Season with salt and pepper then cook until the meat is browned and the onions tender breaking up the meat as it cooks.
Add minced garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Blend in the the soup, dry ranch mix, sour cream, milk and half of the shredded cheese. Stir well to combine.
Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish and top with tater tots in a single layer until the chicken mixture is covered.
Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes until golden and the tots are crispy.
Add the cooked chopped bacon and the remaining cheese then pop back in the oven for 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Remove from the oven and eat right away.
Best sides with Chicken Tater Tot Casserole:
This tater tot casserole recipe is a complete meal in one pan so you don’t need to add a side dish unless you want to so I’m sharing a few ideas below:
Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks
How to store leftover casserole:
Cool completely then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge up to 3 days.
Subs and variations to this recipe:
- Use ground beef, ground turkey, leftover shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in bite size pieces.
- Add vegetables: spinach, sauteed mushrooms, bell peppers or whole kernel corn.
- Black black beans or kidney beans can be added to the meat mixture.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup can be used instead of Cream of Chicken.
- For a little kick, blend in a can of green chiles.
More popular chicken recipes:
Chicken Piccata – 30 minutes – chicken cutlets in a light, lemony sauce with artichokes.
4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken – perfect for tacos, nachos, salads and more.
Cheesy Breaded Mushroom Chicken – breaded chicken topped in white wine sauce with melty cheese.
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders – bold spicy boneless chicken tenders air fried to perfection.
Enjoy!
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Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole with Chicken
Ingredients
- NOTE: you can cook the bacon from raw, use precooked bacon OR packaged bacon pieces.
- cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken can sub rotisserie, ground beef or ground turkey
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 10.75 ounce can cream of chicken soup
- 1 ounce package dry ranch dressing mix
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk any kind
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded *divided*
- 32 ounce bag frozen tater tots
- 6 strips bacon cooked to crisp
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° then lightly spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat then drizzle in the olive oil and once hot add the ground chicken and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is browned and the onions tender breaking up the meat as it cooks.
- Add minced garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- Blend in the the soup, dry ranch mix, sour cream, milk and half of the shredded cheese. Stir well to combine.
- Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish and top with tater tots in a single layer completely covering the chicken mixture.
- Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes until golden and the tots are crispy.
- Add the cooked chopped bacon and the remaining cheese then pop back in the oven for 3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and serve right away.