Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole is sloppy joes turned into a one-dish dinner: browned ground beef simmered with corn, onion, red bell pepper and sloppy joe sauce, layered with cheddar and a full layer of frozen tater tots, then baked hot until the tots are crispy and golden. It serves 6 and takes 35 minutes.
How to make it: Brown and drain the beef, add the vegetables for a few minutes, then stir in the sloppy joe sauce and smoked paprika and simmer for 5 minutes. Spread it in a greased dish, top with half the cheddar, the frozen tater tots and the rest of the cheese, and bake at 450°F for 20 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- Kid-friendly: sloppy joe flavor with a crunchy tater tot top.
- Thirty-five minutes: 15 minutes of prep and 20 in a hot oven.
- No pre-cooking the tots: they go on straight from the freezer.
- Easy to change: use homemade sauce, add cream cheese, or make it spicy.
Ingredient Notes
Lean ground beef: One pound, browned and drained well.
Vegetables: A quarter cup of chopped onion, one chopped red bell pepper and a 14-ounce can of corn, rinsed and drained.
Sloppy joe sauce: Twenty-four ounces of canned sauce, plus a teaspoon of smoked paprika for extra flavor. Prefer homemade sauce? See the variations.
Cheddar: Two cups, shredded, split into a layer under the tots and a layer on top.
Frozen tater tots: A 32-ounce bag. You may not need every tot to cover the dish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 14 ounces canned corn, rinsed and drained
- 24 ounces sloppy joe sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- 32 ounces frozen tater tots
How to Make Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Brown the beef. Cook the ground beef in a skillet until browned (160°F), breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain the excess fat.
3. Add the vegetables. Add the corn, onion and red bell pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the sauce. Stir in the sloppy joe sauce and smoked paprika, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.
5. Layer. Spread the beef mixture in the baking dish. Top with half the cheese, then the frozen tater tots, then the rest of the cheese.
6. Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, until the tater tots are crispy and golden and the center reaches 165°F. Serve warm.
Do You Cook the Tater Tots First? How to Keep Them Crispy
No. The tater tots go on the casserole straight from the freezer; there’s no need to bake them first. What matters is how they go on and how hot the oven is.
Keep them frozen. Leave the bag in the freezer until the beef is in the dish. Tots that thaw tend to steam rather than crisp. If they are stuck together, let them sit a minute or two so you can separate them, then work quickly.
One layer. Arrange the tots in a single layer, close together, so every one cooks evenly and gets crispy. You’ll likely have a few left in the bag.
Cheese underneath. Half the cheddar goes on the beef before the tots; cheese under the tot layer helps keep the topping crispy. The rest melts over the top.
A hot oven. At 450°F the tots brown in about 20 minutes. For extra crunch, switch to the broiler for the last 3 to 5 minutes and watch it closely so the cheese doesn’t burn.
Drain the beef. Even lean beef releases fat. Draining it after browning keeps the sauce from turning oily under the tots.
Tips for Success
What size pan should I use?
A 9×13-inch baking dish, greased. A 12-inch oven-safe skillet works too.
Can I use crispy crowns instead of tater tots?
Yes. The round crispy crown potatoes get even crispier on top. Bake them the same way until golden.
Can I make it spicy?
Yes. Stir red pepper flakes, chopped jalapeños or a dash of hot sauce into the sloppy joe mixture.
Variations
- Homemade sloppy joe sauce: soften 1 small onion and 1 green bell pepper with the beef for about 5 minutes, adding 3 minced garlic cloves at the end. Stir in 15 ounces of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and simmer 5 minutes. Top with 1 cup of cheddar and 16 ounces of tater tots, bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, then add the last cup of cheese for 5 minutes more.
- Creamy: stir 4 tablespoons of cream cheese into the sauce before it goes in the dish.
- One-skillet: brown the beef with onion, salt, pepper, onion powder and paprika in an oven-safe skillet, stir in garlic, Worcestershire, tomato sauce, 1/4 cup of ketchup, mustard and 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce, top with Colby Jack and crispy crowns, and bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes.
- Other meats and vegetables: use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef, and sauté mushrooms or zucchini with the pepper and onion.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Thaw frozen casserole in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat it in the oven until hot and bubbly and 165°F in the center.
What to Serve With It
It is a full dinner in one dish. For sloppy joes on a bun, try slow cooker Amish beef sloppy joes or Philly cheese steak sloppy joes. For more tater tot casseroles, there’s chicken bacon ranch tater tot casserole and breakfast casserole with tater tots and sausage, and for more beef and potatoes, hobo casserole and meat and potato casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you cook the tater tots before putting them in tater tot casserole?
No. Put them on frozen, in a single layer, and bake the casserole in a hot oven until they are crispy and golden.
Can I use homemade sloppy joe sauce?
Yes. The homemade sauce variation above uses tomato sauce, Worcestershire, mustard and brown sugar and bakes at 375°F.
Can I freeze sloppy joe tater tot casserole?
Yes. Cool it, cover it tightly and freeze it for up to 3 to 4 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat it in the oven until bubbly.
Can I add cream cheese?
Yes. Four tablespoons stirred into the sloppy joe sauce makes the filling creamier.
Final Notes
Drain the beef, keep the tots frozen until they go on, and give the casserole a hot oven. If you have a question or make this, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole
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Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 14 ounces canned corn rinsed and drained
- 24 ounces sloppy joe sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- 32 ounces frozen tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cook the ground beef in a skillet until browned (160°F), breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain the excess fat.
- Add the corn, onion and red bell pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in the sloppy joe sauce and smoked paprika, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Spread the beef mixture in the baking dish. Top with half the cheese, then the frozen tater tots, then the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the tater tots are crispy and golden and the center reaches 165°F. Serve warm.
