Vegetarian Tater Tot Casserole

This meatless tater tot casserole recipe is great for Meatless Mondays or anytime you’re craving a veggie-filled casserole! Plus this rich-tasting comfort food is healthy and delicious! Even picky eaters will gobble up any version of a cheesy tater tot casserole that lands on their plate!

Nowadays a lot of meatless foods have meat substitutes but I decided to make a vegetarian tater tot hot dish with actual vegetables! To me the best veggies to add were mushrooms, onions and green peppers – it’s a vegetarian delight! It’s also a very easy recipe that makes a great side dish or main dish!

Vegetarian Tater Tot Casserole Ingredients

There are so many different vegetables you can add to this casserole dish – I added my favorites so you should do the same! Here’s what you need:

• olive oil
• green or red bell pepper
• onion
• mushrooms
• fat free cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken soup)
• frozen tater tots
• cheddar cheese
• OPTIONAL:
  • More veggies – add some black beans
  • Ground meat – add a vegan ground beef like Beyond Meat or even crumbled veggie burgers are a great option
  • Seasonings – I like to start a dish fairly plain – but feel free to add:
    • onion powder, garlic powder & worcestershire sauce for a little zip
    • chili powder & red pepper flakes for a little zing!
    • make a mexican version by adding taco seasoning

How do you make this vegetarian tater tot hotdish? 

This is a great recipe for any night of the week – it’s a comforting casserole that the whole family will love!

• Preheat oven to 350 and spray 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray
• You could do this as a one-skillet meal if you use an oven-safe skillet like cast iron
• In a large skillet, over medium heat, pour oil in skillet
• Saute onions, mushrooms and bell peppers until cooked through
• Add cream of mushroom soup and stir
• Pour sauteed onions & soup mixture into the bottom of the pan
• Top with tater tots in a single layer
• Bake for 30 minutes until top of the tater tots are golden brown
• Remove dish from oven and add shredded cheese to top of the casserole
  • No need to put back in oven – it’s such a small amount it melts quick

I’ve been trying to do some “meal makeover” recipes – to take something people think of as unhealthy and flip it to healthy! The original recipe for tater tot casserole has hamburger, is filled with crispy tater tots and cream soup and then smothered with cheese. 

For this healthy tater tot casserole, here’s the swaps we made:

• we switched hamburger to sauteed vegetables
• changed the condensed cream of mushroom soup to the fat free version
• only used 2 servings of tater tots and just a dabble of cheese

The result is a much lighter version that still has all the flavor that you love in tater tot casserole. 

I really went lean with the tater tots to stay healthy and I have to say – it was enough! That’s the easiest way to modify a recipe – use the original ingredients and just cut back – instead of 1/2 cup of cheese – just add a sprinkle – you’ll be surprised at how much it works!