Bacon and potatoes, who knew? :-) Try throwing in a bag of thawed and drained mixed veggies. Yum...oh, and meat is required as are tater tots at my house! :-)

I like to add Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup and a can of Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies to the browned hamburger and onion, pour over the tater tots and cover with more tater tots. Then I serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded lettuce and crushed Doritos Late Night chips. Yummy !!!

This is wonderful.. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time thanks... I've used this recipe before and added crumbled corn flakes on top (mixed with a little butter,)...O.K.. O.K... Don't laugh too much... it does add a little crunch that we like.. as a matter of fact, my son now serves it with CK crumbs at his resturant and it's a hit.

I bookmarked this just for the comments :) You really cannot mess this recipe up with anything you use. Layer it, throw it in a dish in any order and bake. My son was hooked on making tater tot pizza for years too. Pizza crust, sauce, tater tots and lots of cheese. Taters rule!

I understand this is a "TATER TOT" Casserole. I thought it sounded interesting and tried it. I ended up being a little bit disappointed. In MY OPINION, a recipe in which you use hash browns, real onions and actually mix the potatoes with the other ingredients is a little more work but far superior in taste. I would suggest THAT to someone who is looking for a tasty idea.

After reading all these comments I think I am going to try it to see just how good it is.

Thanks for the laughs! I will have to try one or 2 of these versions for tater tot casserole and smile with each fork full!

ODE TO THE TOT!
To tot or not to tot, that is the question!
Is it better with burger, beans or peas?
or to have your laughing on your knees,
I must run out to the grocery store,
I am out out tots and I must buy more!
You have made me laugh, and made me cry,
I shall have to ponder the tot- do I fry?
A cook is a cook when they alter and change,
How human of us to have a smart brain!
Thank you all for your thoughts and addition,
Now I must return to my wonderful kitchen.
The timer went beep and off I do go,
Happy toting to all and to all a great dough..
Happy Cooking from Canada!

I leave out the cheese soup and add 1 cup blue cheese crumbles, diced tomatoes and 1 lb of cooked bacon, chopped. AWESOME sidedish with a kick.

Nicole, I think you should tell your husband to bake the casserole as directed, then pour some veggie oil over the entire thing. You'll still get all that oil without the bother of frying first. (heh, heh) Really, do you have to have meat in everything? This would be excellent as a side dish or as a "meatless" dinner, say with a nice salad. I don't have to try it to know it must be delicious! How could you go wrong with those ingredients?!

Add TACO meat!!!! So delish! But yes... you can't screw up white trash meals! It is too much of a staple meal to not get creative!!!

Never had this or Tuna casserole growing up, but love both now. I use groung turkey for the meat with cream of chicken soup.

Actually, I've served this as a shepherds pie recipe to my residents and they liked the change. Very tasty and unique. Instead of topping sheperds pie with mashed potato I used Tater Tots.

How funny! I was looking for a recipe to make for my husband's birthday meal. Apparently they had this a lot growing up. I guess I'll have to ask his mom for her version of it so I make the right one!

I have made Tator Tot Casserole for years, it is my family's favorite dish! We agree that it is better WITH OUT the hamburger meat. I use it for a side dish. There is a difference also with the soups... Cream of Mushroom tastes alot better than adding celery or chicken soup.