Tater Tot Hotdish
By Cecelia JenkinsPublished on August 13, 2017
Time
1¾ hours
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Be sure to buy cylinder-shaped frozen tater tots (not crispy crowns or coins). Do not thaw the tots or the vegetables; they go into the hotdish frozen. Serve with ketchup.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine 1½ pounds ground beef, 1 pound thinly sliced white mushrooms, 1 chopped onion, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon minced thyme, 1½ teaspoons salt, and 1½ teaspoons pepper in Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat until nearly all liquid has evaporated, 25 to 28 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat with spoon.
- Stir in 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour until fully incorporated and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1½ cups milk and 1½ cups chicken broth and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in 1½ cups (3 ounces) grated Parmesan. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
- Sprinkle 1 cup frozen peas and 1 cup frozen corn evenly over beef mixture. Lightly arrange a 2-pound bag frozen tater tots in even layer over top, but do not press into mixture (you may have extra tater tots). Bake until tater tots are deep golden brown and filling is bubbling, 35 to 38 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- At end of step 2, let beef mixture cool completely, then cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To serve, bake beef mixture, covered, until hot in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove foil, stir beef mixture, sprinkle with peas and corn, arrange tater tots on top, and bake as directed in step 3.
to make ahead
Time
1¾ hoursYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Hotdish (one word) is to Minnesotans what a casserole is to the rest of the country. But Minnesotans do casseroles differently—they top theirs with tater tots. To create an authentic but improved version, we cooked ground beef, mushrooms, and onion together in a Dutch oven to extract water and create flavorful browning. We skipped the typical cream of mushroom soup (to bind everything together) and made our own sauce by sprinkling flour over the meat and vegetables, adding chicken broth and milk, and simmering the mixture until it was thickened. We found that it was important to bake our casserole in a shallow 13 by 9-inch baking dish to keep the tots from sinking into the filling. This placement also allowed them to brown nicely.
Before You Begin
Be sure to buy cylinder-shaped frozen tater tots (not crispy crowns or coins). Do not thaw the tots or the vegetables; they go into the hotdish frozen. Serve with ketchup.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine 1½ pounds ground beef, 1 pound thinly sliced white mushrooms, 1 chopped onion, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon minced thyme, 1½ teaspoons salt, and 1½ teaspoons pepper in Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat until nearly all liquid has evaporated, 25 to 28 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat with spoon.
- Stir in 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour until fully incorporated and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1½ cups milk and 1½ cups chicken broth and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in 1½ cups (3 ounces) grated Parmesan. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
- Sprinkle 1 cup frozen peas and 1 cup frozen corn evenly over beef mixture. Lightly arrange a 2-pound bag frozen tater tots in even layer over top, but do not press into mixture (you may have extra tater tots). Bake until tater tots are deep golden brown and filling is bubbling, 35 to 38 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- At end of step 2, let beef mixture cool completely, then cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To serve, bake beef mixture, covered, until hot in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove foil, stir beef mixture, sprinkle with peas and corn, arrange tater tots on top, and bake as directed in step 3.
to make ahead
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