A one-pot vegan Tater Tot Casserole with a creamy, savory filling of veggies and vegan sausage covered by a golden, crispy layer of tater tots. A fun and easy recipe that can also be gluten-free and soy-free.
This vegan Tater Tot Casserole is guaranteed to thrill the child inside you but it’ll appeal just as much to the adult you are.
Let’s deal with the kid inside you first. This dish is basically a thick, delicious pool of creamy, savory veggies and bits of vegan sausage, topped by a crunchy, golden layer of tater tots. It just makes you want to pick up a fork and start stuffing your face until eternity. And if you actually have one of those little monsters around, you’ll find that it’s never been so easy to stuff that picky little tummy with this many veggies while getting told, “You’re the best cook in the whole world, mom (or dad)!”
All that praise for a recipe with mushrooms? Genius.
And now for the adult. You know this is a one-pot dish because you read that right up there in the header, so you’re already going, easy cleanup! But there’s more. It’s a pretty easy dish to put together too. Almost all the ingredients come from the freezer so there’s minimal prep. The tiny amount of chopping and cooking that’s required takes no more than 15-20 minutes, tops. After that it’s the oven that does all the work for you while you relax and get a manicure. Or a pedicure.
Or, if you’re not overly obsessed with the state of your digits, a nap.
You could read a book too. Or watch TV.
Point is, this is a breeze: easy prep, easy cooking, easy cleanup.
If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can certainly use any other oven-safe skillet, or make the creamy filling in a skillet, pour it into a baking dish, and then top with tater tots before baking.
Tater tot casseroles enjoy a high degree of popularity in the upper Midwest, and especially in Minnesota, where a tater tot casserole recipe, known as hotdish, is something of a food staple. The story goes that the frugality of hotdish, and the fact that it combined starch, vegetable, and protein, secured its place as a popular family recipe during the Great Depression. I can totally see why. There are no exotic, expensive ingredients here, and although one couldn’t — and probably shouldn’t — argue that tater tots are healthy, the recipe in totality is pretty nutritious with 377 calories per serving and 13 grams of protein from the vegan sausage.
And here’s the best part for the cook, which I saved for the last, or probably not because you’ve already seen the photos. This is one gorgeous dish, and everyone will be rather impressed when you carry it to the dinner table and put it down. Be sure to do it with a tiny flourish. And no, you won’t get pronounced a genius by the James Beard Foundation, but you will certainly see lots of happy faces and hear many satisfied burps, and in the end isn’t that even better?
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More delicious vegan casserole recipes:
Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Potato Casserole
Savory Spinach-Potato Cobbler
Vegan Zucchini Breakfast Strata
Vegan Hash Brown Casserole
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Vegan Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
One-Pot Vegan Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (smashed and minced)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 14 oz vegan Italian sausage (Tofurky, or the vegan Morningstar version or Beyond Meat are all fine)
- 1 cup mushrooms (finely chopped, crimini or button or portobello are all fine)
- 16 oz frozen veggies (I used a mix of green beans, wax beans and carrots. You can choose your own, including corn, green peas, and green peppers)
- 1 tsp sage (or thyme)
- 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (sub rice flour if glutenfree)
- 2 cups almond milk (or any nondairy milk, unsweetened)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 4 cups (approx) tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat the oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the garlic and onions, season with salt and ground black pepper, and cook over medium heat until soft but not brown.
- Add the sausage and stir for a couple of minutes until it starts to brown.
- Add the mushrooms and stir well. Saute for a few minutes until the mushrooms start to soften, then add the sage or thyme and the flour and mix well. Cook, stirring, for another couple of minutes.
- Add the frozen veggies, mix, and then add the nondairy milk. Stir frequently until the mixture just comes to a boil. Add more salt and pepper as needed. Turn off the heat.
- Arrange the frozen tater tots on top of the veggies. You can make a simple but appealing design, like I did, by arranging the tots in concentric circles.
- Place the skillet in the oven and bake 55 minutes or until the tater tots are golden-brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
I love this recipe and my picky kids love it as well, so it is a winner. I have made it many times in my household. The only problem is that I need to stick to a low fat vegan diet (have Type 2 diabetes) and this is about 40% calories from fat. I was trying to think of ways to lower the fat without sacrificing too much taste. There is no way to get around the fact that fat is taste enhancing and probably what drives the kids preferring this over my lower fat recipes. The main sources of fat in this recipe are the almond milk and tater tots, so I was wondering if anyone had tried substituting shredded hashbrowns for the tater tots. They have no fat, so would probably significantly reduce the fat from calories in the recipe closer to my goal of 10% or less. Any other suggestions are welcome! Thanks, Swann
I made this and it was yummy! I would add – it’s even more yummy if you broil the casserole for the last 10 minutes. That ensures the tater tots are extra crispy!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
I’m a gluten free vegan and this is absolutely perfect.
My husband and I will be enjoying this for dinner tonight.
We’ve had this twice now, the first time with the Beyond Italian Sausage and this time with the Beyond Brats. Delicious both times! And a huge thank you for an easy recipe that’s written simply. My husband gets frustrated with recipes and he said it was straightforward and easy to follow. Really enjoying your recipes!
Hello! What does the flour do in this recipe? My daughter has a metabolic disorder requiring a low protein diet (meaning vegan, nut-, bean-, seed- and grain-free, among other things, such as no pasta or rice or their by-products). I’m asking to determine if I even need the flour or if I should try to find a substitute with some of her medical food for the work the flour is doing in this recipe. Thanks for making these family-friendly vegan recipes. Great inspo!
Hi Rebecca, the flour thickens the sauce so it’s not too runny. Can you use tapioca flour, which has very little protein?
I only have a 10 inch cast iron pan. Is that going to be big enough?
It’ll be tight — adjust the ingredients down to about three fourths using the servings slider.
Looks yummy! The description mentions cashews (I assume for the creamy sauce) but they are not in the recipe. Error? Thank you so much!!
Sorry, that would be if you make your own cashew milk, but I’ve just been using almond milk recently. Updated that.
How would i add vegan cheese to this vegan tater tot casserole please ?
As soon as you turn off the heat after the veggie have cooked and before you top the casserole with tater tots. Mix the cheese into the veggies, then proceed with the tater tots.
Awesome! My whole (picky) family loved this! Thank you so much!
I do not have a large cast iron skillet so what size pan would would be equivalent to the skillet, a 9×9 or a 9×13?
I do not have a large cast iron skillet so what size pan would be equivalent to the skillet, a 9×9 or a 9c13?