Tater Tot Pizza Casserole

ALCooks's Note:

This tasty casserole is comfort food. The original recipe used a can of mushroom soup instead of the white sauce, but I seldom have canned soup in my pantry, so I improvised. The kids like it plain, but my husband and I like to sprinkle the finished product with crushed red pepper. I'd like to try this with ground turkey, but I just haven't yet.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

Yield: 1.0 2 quart ...

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 pinch garlic powder
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces pizza sauce
• 2 ounces sliced pepperoni
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 16 ounces frozen tater tots

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.
2. Melt butter, stir in flour and garlic powder. When bubbly gradually stir in milk to make a smooth white sauce. Heat until thickened. Add Parmesan cheese and salt to taste. Stir ground beef into white sauce.
3. Spoon beef mixture into sprayed baking dish. Spoon pizza sauce evenly over top. Arrange pepperoni over sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange potato nuggets over cheese. Cover with foil.
4. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes longer or until thoroughly heated.

Reviews

[mMadness97]

I made this a couple of years ago back with this was RZ and it's time to review! This dish is pretty good! It's not that healthy, but a different, tasty, interesting dish. (I'll try and post photos when I get time!)

[Chef #764775]

I am not a huge fan of tator tot hotdish, but I make it for my husband. I decided to try this version and I have to say that we both LOVED it! I will be making this again, for sure :-)

[8-BALL GIRL]

I will admit I was a little skeptic about trying this. I'm not a big tater tot fan. But it was actually quite good. It adds a nice crunch texture to this. My boyfriend loved it and ate over half of the casserole. It's a good way in having the pizza ingredients in a different way. I willl make this again.