Mexican Vegetarian Tater Tot Casserole is a fun dish that the entire family will love! Spice up Taco Night and have this meatless tater tot casserole instead!
Vegetarian + Mexican Tater Tot Casserole
Depending on where you live, you might want to call this recipe a hotdish instead of a casserole. “Vegetarian Tater Tot Hotdish” has a certain ring to it that I like! The traditional hotdish comes from the Midwest, specifically Minnesota.
There, a hotdish would include tater tots, ground beef, and a vegetable. This hot dish is of course vegetarian, and gets its protein from black beans instead of meat.
Tater Tots never go out of style on the dinner table. Did you know that? It’s true! You can dress up a tater tot in so many ways. For this vegetarian tater tot casserole recipe, we decided that we’d put a Mexican spin on our tots, so we created a Mexican Style Tater Tot Casserole.
It is the tots that our entire family loves, including adults and kids. But it takes the flavor up a notch. It adds a Mexican inspired flare to this comfort food dish.
The base of this recipe is packed with tasty and filling vegetables. We mixed sauteed onions, black beans, and corn – traditional mexican taco fixings – with gluten free enchilada sauce to make the top layer of the casserole.
Onions
Onions create a great flavor base for this dish. Aside from being delicious and versatile, did you know that they pack a big punch of nutrition? Onions provide vitamins C and B6 as well as Folate and various necessary minerals
Black Beans
Black beans are one of my favorite beans to cook with, and I almost always use them when I’m making tacos or enchiladas. Fun bean facts: Black beans are actually a variety of kidney bean, and are called “turtle beans” in some places.
Corn
Mexican style tator tot casserole would not be complete without corn. Corn adds bulk and sweetness to this somewhat spicy dish. Corn, like black beans, is a crop that is native to the America’s. This is why you see it in Mexican and South American dishes so often.
The Simple Recipe
This is such a simple dish to put together. Just place your frozen tater tots in your baking dish, and spoon the veggie mixture on top. Throw it in a preheated oven to bake for about 40 minutes.
A large skillet would work as a baking dish too. I love making casseroles in cast iron pans.
As a final touch, add cheese and chopped black olives and bake just until the cheese starts to melt. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!
Make this recipe vegan by swapping out the cheese for a non-dairy cheese. I like Daiya or So Delicious shredded cheese. You could also leave out the cheese entirely and this meatless tater tot casserole would still be delicious.
Can I freeze this recipe?
I actually have not tried freezing this recipe, but I think it would work well. It would be a delicious make ahead meal that you could pop in the oven. I would however package the cheese, olives and cilantro in their own container so you can throw those ingredients on at the end.
Do I need to thaw the tater tots for this casserole?
Nope! And actually I wouldn’t recommend it. The tots would get mushy and start to fall apart if you let them thaw too much. Just put them in frozen. They will cook perfectly that way.
Looking for more Kid Friendly and Allergy Friendly recipes? All of our recipes are gluten free and nut free! Try Kid Friendly Tofu Bites, Kid Friendly Pasta Salad, or Easy Vegetarian Sloppy Joes.
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup enchilada sauce
- 1/2 bag of tator tots 8 oz
- 1 cup shredded cheese Mexican blend
- 3 oz of diced black olives
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Heat over in skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until soft.
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Add corn, beans and sauce to the skillet. Stir to mix.
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Put frozen tots into a lightly oiled 8X8 square dish.
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Pour skillet mixture on top of tots.
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Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (covered).
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Remove from oven. Top with shredded cheese and olives. Place back into over until cheese is melted.
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ENJOY!
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to snap a picture and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #VegetarianMamma! I love seeing our recipes being recreated!Does your family love casseroles? Check out our favorite casserole recipes!
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Take a peak at the older pictures of this recipe, we didn’t want to delete them!
landofoz says
i would add a salad to it.
Amanda says
Love tater tots, but not a huge fan of black beans. Would probably replace them with other veggies like peppers!
pab52760 says
Looks yummy, am definitely going to have to give this a try.
Alyson Wissingerlyson says
My husband would love this!
Lori Jean Williams says
This look delicious!! I have not tried a recipe like this before but I sure will now. Especially since we are so trying to not eat meat. Thank you!!
christina says
I’ve never tried anything like that but looks delicious going to try it my husband loves tater tots!
Haley says
I’ve never tried this, but I will now!
Bethany says
This looks really interesting. I bet it’s yummy!
Kate M. says
That is such an awesome idea. I am going to make it for lunch/dinner tonight.
Brenda Haines says
I have a similar recipe for sloppy jo’s. Sloppy Jo Tater Tot cups. I know i will love this one too. There’s just something about tater tots 🙂
Hannah Sandefur (@hsantafur) says
I love tater tots, so this looks totally delish! My mom used to put green beans with them and pour white gravy on it!
Natalie says
I would love to add tater tots to an egg bake!
Lo says
Love everything about this except olives so I would leave those out. I might add in some fajita veggies, red onions and pepepers.
Anita L says
I’ve never heard of a recipe like this but it sounds tasty! Thank you for sharing!
Nancy says
I agree with some of the other comments about putting in fajitas veggies. I also thought you could change it up and use rotel tomatoes with green chili’s instead of the enchilada sauce. Just a thought! Looks yummy as is too!
Caitlin says
This looks great. I’ll definitely add it to my to-try list!
adriisa says
I have never tried thisthis would love to.
Charlotte says
I’ve seen so many tater tot casserole dishes lately on Pinterest, but I’ve never tried to make one myself. I love tater tots so I am definitely giving this a go. I think I might add some chilli pepper or jalapenos for an extra kick.
jeani b says
i’ve tried tater tot casserole but not like this! this looks much better and healthier for my family. i love olives and black beans and corn! yum!
stuff4yall says
I will be trying this with a side salad.
bonbon @ Farmhouse40.com says
I have never cooked with tater tots. I must admit this looks really good.
Eileen Rhoadarmer - 2nd Generation Allergy Mom says
We haven’t had tater tots in a long time! My husband would heartily approve.
Shayla Roberts says
No, but it looks really yummy!! I love tater tots!!!!
Farrah says
I’ve never tried making tater tots on my own, but I love em’! This looks super good!
Kristen says
I’ve never had a tater tot casserole, but I am absolutely sure that my family would gobble it up. I’d just top it with a little dollop or sour cream…yum!
Bethany says
I already, but I’ll say once again that it looks delicious. I’ve never tried anything quite like it. 🙂
Rosey says
I know the world’s biggest tator tot lover. This would be a huge hit for her. 🙂
rusthawk says
I bet this would be great with some chopped cilantro.
Carol Harrison says
I like how this makes great use of healthy convenience foods – beans, veggies! Healthy can be easy!
Betty says
I have never made a tot recipe like this. Will give it a try. Would add a salad
Betsy Barnes says
We love tater tots, however, I have not yet made any casseroles using them. This recipe looks like a great one to start. I would have some toppings, like sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, onions and black olives 🙂
wen budro says
That sounds like a delicious way to use tater tots. We all love them. I would probably add some shredded cheddar cheese.
Birdiebee says
I have made several types of tater tot casseroles before but never a mexican-flavored on. This looks really delicious. I pinned this for future use.
Gabrielle Warnars says
This looks like it would be good with sweet potato tots!
Debbie says
This recipe would have been great if it hadn’t dried out. I checked the directions twice and thought I wonder if this should be covered. Turns out it was very dry. My family would not eat it. So, I enjoyed some of it. LOL. Please add that it needs to be covered.
Cindy says
Oh no Debbie, I am so sorry. I haven’t made this one in a very long time. It is on my list to remake in the coming weeks so I can rephotograph it to update it. I will also update the directions. I apologize it turned out dry for you. When reviewing the recipe and seeing 400 degrees, that seems very hot and I can see how it could dry out the dish. I agree that it must have been covered so that the moisture would be kept in. When I make the recipe in the coming weeks, I”ll also test at lower temp as well and will update the directions! Thanks for the heads up, I am glad that at you got to enjoy some of it and I am sorry that your family would not eat it!
Debbie says
Thank you, I also think I will use salsa next time to add a different flavor. I love tater tots with just about anything!!!
Cindy says
I love salsa too! I just found a delicious one at Costco! Salsa + jumbo size = winning! hahaha
Sharon says
What a great recipe! Perfect for when you need a quick but hearty dinner.
Caroline says
I wasn’t brought up with tater tots and haven’t cooked with them but I can see them being popular with kids and the other flavors sound good.
Julie says
Love dishes like this. Protein and carbs are the best.
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
This looks amazing and so full of flavour!! I’m really into casseroles at the moment – maybe because I just got a new oven and want to use it all the time haha! I love all the flavours in this casserole, Mexican is one of my fave cuisines!
Ellen says
This looks like such an easy dish. Perfect for a busy weeknight.
Hannah Healy says
What a cool idea to use tater tots!
Cindy says
Thanks, we love this fun idea too!
Eden | Sweet Tea and Thyme says
Love it! So easy and creative! I’d add guac because I’m such a guac lover lol
Cindy says
Thanks so much!
Suzy says
Looks super comforting! And I love the Mexican twist
Cindy says
Thank you so much!
Heidy L. McCallum says
This is hilarious, a friend and I were just having a convo about Tots— and she said she was bored of them because she sees the same old recipes on Pinterest. I showed her yours…She is now about to eat her words after stopping at the market to pick some up to make your recipe.
Cindy says
Ha, great timing!!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
I’m married to a Minnesotan, so I’m all too familiar with hotdish! Love the flavors you’ve melded together in this one – it looks really hearty, too, especially for a vegetarian dish.
Cindy says
Thanks so much! It is such a delicious hotdish!