You want to place your casserole in a COLD oven, and then proceed to pre-heat the oven. I would recommend freezing in foil for this reason, but if you use glass, there is a tip that makes your dish less likely to break from the freezer to oven shock. If you froze your Tater Tot and Ground Beef Casserole in a glass dish, DO NOT place the dish directly from the freezer to the oven. If the tater tots aren’t crisping up, but are cooked through, try them under the broiler for a minute or two. Instead of the 30 minutes required, I would start with 50 minutes and see how that works for your family.

You would definitely need to allow for a longer cooking time to ensure it cooks through from the frozen state.

How do I cook it once frozen?įor this particular meal, I would probably prepare it directly from frozen since you don’t want the tater tots to thaw out. At some point the following day, I would take the casserole and place it in my deep freezer, or wherever you plan on keeping your freezer meals. Immediately wrap with plastic or foil, and place in the freezer on a flat surface to freeze completely. Then, take the casserole out and add the remaining layers.

Let this cool on the counter, and this stick it in the fridge to cool a little more. Spread your prepared ground beef in the bottom of a freezer friendly 9X13 dish or foil pan. How do I freeze it?įirst, you want to follow the recipe and prepare your ground beef, onions, and garlic. Since there are several layers to this dish, and only one of them should be hot, I would freeze this a little differently than other dishes. You really want to make sure everything is completely chilled when you finally place your meal in to the freezer. Placing a warm meal in a cold freezer causes condensation, which then becomes freezer burn. The secret I’ve learned with freezing is that you cannot put anything in the freezer while it is still warm. Yes, you can! In fact, it freezes quite lovely! Whether you’re looking to stock your freezer for a busy season of life, a new baby, or to help you out during weekdays, Tater Tot and Ground Beef Casserole is a classic freezer friendly dish. Can I Freeze Tater Tot and Ground Beef Casserole? Since you’re going to have the skillet out for browning the ground beef, it really is quite easy to saute some onions and garlic as well. I also like to use a little sautéed onion and a few cloves of garlic. The seasoning list is SUPER simple (salt, pepper, paprika), but it does make a difference. You still need to add a little bit of seasoning, in my opinion, to round out the flavors. I find a lot of recipes that use a “cream of” soup rely on it for all seasoning and flavor needs, and this should not be so. Perhaps the beauty of most of these recipes is in the simplicity and short list of ingredients, but for a small amount of extra effort, you can have a pleasantly seasoned meal. This version of Tater Tot and Ground Beef Casserole has a little more going on in the seasoning department than other casseroles I’ve seen. This soup freezes really well, so I would go ahead and make the larger batch just to freeze the leftovers. I include a secret ingredient that gives it that classic taste. If you would like to avoid “cream of” soups, I have a great recipe for Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup. Do I Have to Use “Cream Of” Soups?Įventually I would love to create a completely from-scratch Tater Tot-esque casserole, but this here is for those times when you want to serve up something bubbly, warm, and comforting. This recipe for Tater Tot and Ground Beef Casserole is that kind of classic comfort. You know the kind, it normally has some kind of cream soup in it, and there is almost definitely cheese. Food starts out as being part nourishment, and part comfort…when does it stop? I don’t think it does.Ĭertainly, we can find comfort in nutrient dense foods that are great for our bodies, but sometimes we want that classic comfort food. There is something to be said about enjoying food for something beyond its nutritional value, and although we’re told over and over again it’s unhealthy to find comfort in food, I can’t help but wonder if food was designed to comfort in some way? Infants find comfort at their mothers breast, or when being cradled and fed from a bottle. See our disclaimer for more information.Įvery once and a while you need something that is just purely comfort. If you make a purchase through these links, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please note that some of my blog posts here at Little Home in the Making may contain affiliate links.

Beef and tater tot casserole recipe