Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
This Pizza Tater Tot Casserole recipe is a surefire hit with kids and kids at heart. With a tater tot base, topped with all of your family’s favourite pizza flavours, this is a great alternative for pizza night!
The one thing I know for sure is that people love Tater Tot Casseroles, with them being so quick and easy, who could blame them?
I shared a Mexican Tater Tot Casserole several months ago and it’s become one of the most popular posts on my blog to this day.
This Pizza Tater Tot Casserole is just as good or maybe even a little bit better, depending on who you talk to in my family, but the one thing for certain is that it was a huge hit with everyone!
I love easy and quick recipes like this one that I can quickly throw together in a matter of minutes and I take comfort in knowing that my family is going to enjoy it. It’s comfort food which isn’t the healthiest, but it sure hits the spot.
I try to make recipes that my family, including my pickiest eaters, will eat so I can save myself from making four different meals at one time. So annoying!
Ingredients
The ingredients you need are so simple and easy to find and you may even have some of them in your kitchen already. You will need:
- Pizza topping favorites: My personal favorites include ground beef, Italian sausage, bacon, green peppers, mushrooms and onions but the options for what to use are endless.
- Pizza sauce: The canned pizza sauce works perfectly well for a simple and easy recipe, but you are more than welcome to make your own if you have a little more extra time on your hands.
- Italian Seasoning: A blend of Italian herbs to kick the recipe up a notch.
- Bacon: chopped into little pieces for an extra and meatier casserole.
- Garlic: No Italian dish is complete without a little bit of garlic.
- Onion: Perfect for adding a little bit of crunch.
- Cheese: This wouldn’t be a pizza dish without any cheese!
- Tater tots: The star of the show! Use a bag of frozen tater tots. No need to thaw!
How to Make Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
- Step One: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. After heating, add in ground beef, sausage and bacon. Cook for 7 minutes or until the meat is lightly browned or halfway done. Next, add in mushrooms, onions, garlic and green pepper. Cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, or until meat is cooked and veggies are softened. Stir in the pizza sauce.
- Step Two: Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish (my favorite one I like to use is linked below under my “ Helpful items used for my Pizza Tater Tot Casserole” section) with cooking spray. Spread pizza mixture evenly on the bottom. Then cover the mixture completely with Tater Tots.
- Step Three: Bake for 40 minutes or until the tater tots are golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, if you would like. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and top with Italian seasoning. Serve hot.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
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- Casserole dish: If you love casseroles like I do, a nice glass casserole dish is a necessity and it is something everyone needs since it can be used for more things than just casseroles.
- Cheese grater: Even though cheese can be bought pre-grated, I love grating my own cheese since some of my recipes include freshly grated cheese.
- Skillet: You more than likely already have a few of these but this set is my absolute favorite non-stick set. Use for browning ground beef and sausage.
- Measuring cups: Some ingredients can be eyeballed while others can not. A nice set of measuring cups will assure you that the amount of ingredients you are using are correct and will taste delicious.
What to Serve with Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
Although this is a very filling dish on its own, it may need a little extra side of something to fully complete the meal. Some of the other dishes that would pair wonderfully with my Pizza Tater Tot Casserole are a simple side salad or my Tuna Salad or Garlic Bread.
Substitutions and Variations
The possibilities for this are endless because of the amount of “toppings” that can be used. Try these ideas:
- Hawaiian themed with pineapple and ham.
- Veggie delite with cooked broccoli, green peppers, mushrooms and other veggies of your choice.
- Bacon, chicken and ranch themed. Use ranch dressing instead of pizza sauce.
- BBQ Chicken with barbecue sauce in place of the pizza sauce, cooked chicken and onions.
- The Works with allll the toppings like pepperoni, bacon, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and black olives to name a few.
Can I Freeze?
Yes, it can be frozen! I would recommend cooking the base layer of ground beef, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, onions, garlic, green pepper and the pizza sauce the putting in a freezer safe storage container or bag and then when you are ready to eat, add the tater tots and then cheese, pepperoni and Italian Seasoning at the end.
Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tater Tot Casserole Recipes
- Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole
- Tater Tot Casserole – the classic!
- Lasagna Tater Tot Casserole
- Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
- Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole
- Mexican Tater Tot Casserole
You might also like this Pizza Soup, Meat Calzone, Slow Cooker Pizza Pasta, Meatzza Casserole or Pizza Dip.
Do you have any amazing casserole recipes? I’m always looking for more recipes to try! Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, on Facebook at Simply Stacie, and on Pinterest @SimplyStacie and let me know how you liked this and my other recipes!
If you make the recipe, rate it on the recipe card below and tag me on Instagram and use #simplystacie. I like sharing the photos on my Instagram stories!
Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
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Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 8 bacon strips chopped
- 2 mild Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 sweet onion chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 cup white button mushrooms sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cans pizza sauce 8oz/213 ml cans
- 1 package frozen Tater Tots 2lb/800g package
- ¼ cup pepperoni
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef, sausage and bacon. Cook for 7 minutes. Add in mushrooms, onions, garlic and green pepper. Cook an additional 5 to 7 minutes, or until meat is cooked and veggies are softened. Stir in pizza sauce.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread pizza mixture evenly on the bottom. Cover completely with Tater Tots.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with Italian seasoning. Serve hot.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I made this for supper tonight , it was fantastic!! I made exactly as stated, with same cooking time given, and was very happy how it all turned out, family loved it. I will definitely make again!! Next time though I will prep it all the day before.
Really delicious tater tot recipe! I did change the directions a bit, like cooked the bacon first and removed it from the pan, then cooked the ground beef and Italian sausage and then added the vegetables. I had to drain it all after that because even though I had earlier drained some of the bacon fat out of the pan, there was still a bit too much left after sauteeing the veggies. Anyway, we both loved it and I’ll definitely be making it again!
Can you make ahead, freeze than bake?
Yes, you can, but you might need to bake a little longer if baking from frozen.
I want the book.
Do you mean the free e-cookbook? Fill out the form here and it will be emailed: https://sparkling-grass-4702.ck.page/4131106787
My family loved it and said that it was a keeper
Made this the other night. My family loved it, but said it needed more sauce. I will make this again though.
Can’t wait to try this but need clarification on two things.
2 213 ml cans pizza sauce
1 800g package frozen Tater Tops (28 ounces)???
Thanks, Janet
I’m in Canada so our sizing might be different from the USA. It would be two of the small pizza sauces like this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/3-Pack-Gia-Russa-Pizza-Sauce-8-oz-Can/930644673
For the Tater Tots, I would use a bag like this here: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Taters-32-oz/10534213
We had this tonight and I made it into individual baking dishes and it was super yummy!
This looks and sounds scrumptious , thanks for sharing the recipe , i will def be making this sometime soon , my kids would love this 🙂
This will be a big hit at our house! Thank you for sharing with us at the Merry Monday party! We always look forward to your creativity.