Last Updated June 13th, 2019 at 09:12 pm by Lisa
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole is an EASY 15-minute recipe to make ahead for breakfast or brunch. This breakfast casserole is perfect for lazy weekends or on holidays! Bakes in 50 minutes and breakfast is served…
I firmly believe that we should all have a go-to list of “lazy dishes“… dishes we can pull out when we are feeling lazy and want to make something quickly and easily.
I do NOT think that “lazy” is a dirty word. In fact, most of the time, laziness should be celebrated because we EARNED it! Weekends and holidays (especially the after-holiday period) are perfect examples of earned laziness. We’ve been working hard and deserve a break!
Enter Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole…
Why You Will Love This Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole!
- It’s the perfect “lazy dish.” Keep this dish in your recipe stash for the times when you need an easy dish, like weekends, holidays, and after the holidays.
- Family and friends will love it. Trust me, everyone is going to be asking you for this tater tot casserole recipe!
- Kids REALLY love it. Tater tots for breakfast? Their eyes will light up when you serve this dish! (Kids-at-heart will feel the same way.)
- The ingredients aren’t set in stone. The tater tots are non-negotiable, of course, but you can try other ingredients to mix it up and use things you have on hand. I’ll share with you some of my ideas in the next section!
What’s in a Tater Tot Casserole?
In my Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole recipe, I’ve included:
- 32 oz bag unfrozen tater tots (approx 6 cups; reserve 2 cups to decorate top of casserole)
- 8 eggs or liquid eggs (Egg Beaters)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 10 oz. can Rotel, drained
- 1 lb sausage (buy bulk) cooked, browned & crumbled
- 3 cups monterey jack cheese, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
The best part of this tater tot casserole is that you can mix n’ match ingredients based on what you have in your kitchen! Here are a few ideas to inspire you:
Different cheeses:
- Goat cheese
- Pepper jack cheese
- Cheddar cheese
Add veggies:
- Browned mushrooms
- Carmelized onions
- Green onions
Add meat (leftovers or freshly cooked):
- Grilled flank steak or tri-tip
- Browned hamburger meat
- Chopped ham
- Crumbled bacon
- Rotisserie chicken
Make this Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole your very own!
Of course, this Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole recipe starts with tater tots, doesn’t everyone LOVE them?
How to Make Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
It’s so easy! Get kids involved if you want… they’ll love helping make this tater tot casserole.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Brown 1 lb. of sausage, set aside.
Step 3: Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with coconut non-stick spray, break 4 cups tater tots into the bottom of the dish.
Step 4: Sprinkle browned sausage on top of crumbled tater tots.
Step 5: In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, can of Rotel, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Step 6: Add 2 cups of grated cheese into the egg mixture (reserve 1 cup for top of casserole).
Step 7: Pour mix over the tater tots, place 2 cups of tater tots on top with remaining cup of grated cheese and decorate in a pretty pattern. Add extra cheese if desired.
TIP: Feel free to get creative at this step. We did a pretty design just for the heck of it, and did it on the diagonal!
Doesn’t this look amazing? Wait until you see it cooked…
Step 8: Put it in the oven and bake 45-50 minutes…
Until brown and bubbly. Serve and enjoy!
The History of Tater Tots
Did you know that tater tots originated in Ontario, Oregon in 1953? They were created by the founders of Ore-Ida when trying to come up with a creative (and profitable!) method to use up leftover cut-up potatoes. They finally figured out that chopping up the leftovers, adding seasoning and flour, and creating “tots” was the best thing to do.
Here is the funniest part of the tater tot story… at first, Ore-Ida offered them so cheap that no one bought them. People thought that such an inexpensive product was worthless. When Ore-Ida RAISED the price, people went crazy for them! These days, Americans consume 70 MILLION pounds of tater tots a year.
Some names for tater tots in other countries:
- Potato Gems
- Potato Pom-Poms
- Spud Puppies
- Squirt Browns
What is a Tater Tot Hotdish?
It’s a name (and dish) that originated in Minnesota, and it’s also a tater tot casserole. A tater tot hotdish contains ingredients like cream of mushroom soup, green beans, and cheddar cheese. Yum! I haven’t tried tater tot hotdish yet, but it’s on my to-make list.
More Easy Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
- Another breakfast and brunch idea to serve a crowd are Pancake Muffin Bites! Everyone gets their own little hand-held pancakes to dip int little bowls of warm syrup. Add topping you know both kids and adults will love. People rave when we serve these…
- And for something sweet, try these make-ahead (keep on hand in the freezer) Mini White Chocolate Raspberry Scones.
- Need something light and healthy for breakfast or a light selection to go with your hearty brunch? Whip up one of these healthy recipes: Avocado Toast, Pink Grapefruit Detox Smoothies, or Homemade Granola Yogurt Breakfast Parfaits.
All The Best Dishes,
Lisa
XO
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 32 oz bag unfrozen tater tots approx 6 cups, reserve 2 cups to decorate top of casserole
- 8 eggs or liquid eggs - Egg Beaters
- 1/2 cup milk
- 10 oz. can Rotel drained
- 1 lb sausage (buy bulk) cooked brown & crumbled
- 3 cups Monterey jack cheese grated
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brown 1 lb. of sausage, set aside.
- Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with coconut non-stick spray, break 4 cups tater tots into the bottom of the dish.
- Sprinkle browned sausage on top of crumbled tater tots.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, can of Rotel, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Add 2 cups of grated cheese into the egg mixture (reserve 1 cup for top of casserole).
- Pour mix over the tater tots, place 2 cups of tater tots on top with remaining cup of grated cheese and decorate in a pretty pattern. Add extra cheese if desired.
- Bake 45-50 minutes until brown and bubbly.
Oh my goodness these are heaven for breakfast!! Super simple to make and absolutely delicious!! I’ll be making this dish this weekend for the second time!
“An easy 15-minute recipe to make ahead …” — You are speaking my language Lisa! Plus, my boys LOVE this dish and I suspect they wouldn’t mind if I snuck it in at dinner every now and again. Looking forward to trying some of those variations!
This pleased a whole house full of fussy guests. Whenever I need a recipe for a special occasion Lisa’s site is my go-to!
Thank you so much Karen! Glad you made the recipe and loved it, easy and everyone is happy…thanks for your great comment and for letting everyone know it was a hit!
I usually make breakfast casserole with bread. I love this gluten-free option.
Has anyone made this ahead of time and then froze it?
Not that I know of…you would need to defrost it for at least a couple days in the fridge before baking because it’s a huge casserole dish. It should work just fine as I freeze eggs and tater tots. I wouldn’t add the cheese on top until right before baking, let us know if you test it out and how it goes Andrea!