This Philly Cheesesteak Tater Tot Casserole is a combination of ground beef, onion, and green bell pepper layered with provolone cheese and potato tater tots. A great option for a fast dinner idea on busy nights that is kid friendly!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Welcome to the delicious world of comfort food with a twist! Introducing the Cheesesteak Tater Tot Casserole—a mouthwatering combination that will satisfy your cravings and leave you begging for seconds.
This tater tot casserole takes the iconic flavors of a classic cheesesteak sandwich and elevates them to new heights by incorporating tater tots and gooey cheese.
This casserole recipe is a perfect weeknight meal for a family!
Whether or not a cheesesteak has bell peppers in it is a debate, but I personally love it and have included it here in this gluten free Philly Cheesesteak Tater Tot Casserole.
I love using the flavors of a Philly cheesesteak in different recipes! Find more Philly cheesesteak inspired recipes here!
I am a big fan of potatoes and the idea for tater tot casseroles came to me randomly one day. I figured, why not layer some favorite foods and flavors with a bunch of delicious, golden, tater tots?!
A cheesy beef casserole seemed like a great variation. You can find more tater tot casseroles here!
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need to make this beef tater tot casserole recipe:
- Tater Tots
- Ground Beef
- Green Bell Pepper
- Yellow Onion
- Provolone – See below about the provolone vs Cheez Wiz content
- Chicken Stock – or broth
- Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Provolone vs Cheez Wiz
You are also going to find both provolone and cheez wiz in Philly, but I am told the locals go with provolone.
If preferred, you could swap out provolone for cheddar to give more of that cheez wiz flavor.
Instruction Overview
Cook the ground beef (as we will not be baking long enough for this to happen!).
Cook your onions and peppers until soft but still crisp.
Add the seasoning and stock to keep things moist.
Layer your dish with the beef mixture, cheese, and potatoes.
Top with more cheese to get that golden brown top!
Bake until tots are cooked through and cheese is bubbling.
Modifications and Substitutions
If you are not a fan of provolone cheese, or do not have any on hand, mozzarella is a great substitute!
Slices of cheese help prevent the tater tots from getting soggy when cooking as they act as a sauce barrier. But either shredded or sliced cheese of any kind will work! This Philly cheesesteak casserole is versatile to whatever you have.
Cheddar is also a great swap if you want that sharper cheddar flavor instead.
This recipe would also work with ground chicken or ground turkey.
Kim’s Tips
I also use a smaller baking dish that is approximately 6×9 inches instead of the larger, “typical” size. This is because the meat to tot ratio would be very different.Â
You can use a larger dish and double up the beef part of the recipe to keep the ratio, or bake in any other smaller dishes like a square dish or loaf pans. Or just use a larger dish but don’t pack the tots in as much.
The chicken stock helps prevent the meat from drying out too much. You can use less if desired so that it is not saucy, but you do run the risk of it getting dry.
FAQs
What is Tater Tot casserole made of?
A tater tot casserole has a layer of meat, veggies, and cheese with a top layer of tater tots. This specific recipe uses ground beef, peppers, onion, and cheese to replicate a cheesesteak.
Why is my Tater Tot casserole runny?
This can happen based on the ingredients you are using.
For this recipe, since we add some stock to keep it moist, it can seem runny. You can skip the stock altogether if desired.
Philly Cheesesteak Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
- Knife
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring spoons
- Baking dish (6×9 inches) or similar smaller sized dish
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 8 ounces provolone cheese (or 2 cups shredded mozzarella)
- 1 pound tater tots more or less
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef until cooked through, approximately 7-10 minutes. Drain excess fat.1 pound ground beef
- Add the onion and green bell pepper. Cook until softened, approximately 3-5 minutes.1 cup yellow onion,, 1 green bell pepper
- Add the garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to the meat. Stir until fragrant, approximately 1 minute.1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Add the chicken stock. Stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste.½ cup chicken stock
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Pour the meat mixture into a 6×9 inch baking dish. Lay out half of the cheese slices across the meat (or if using shredded cheese, sprinkle 1 cup across the meat).8 ounces provolone cheese
- Layer the tater tots in rows across the top, using approximately 1 pound of tater tots (1/2 standard bag). Lay the remaining cheese slices across the top of the tater tots (or sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese).1 pound tater tots, 8 ounces provolone cheese
- Bake the casserole until the tots are cooked through when inserting a fork and the cheese is melted, approximately 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
More Philly Cheesesteak Inspired Recipes
Philly Cheesesteak Recipes
Great recipes to enjoy the classic flavors of a Philly cheesesteak sandwich!
No way was this was done in 15 minutes. That’s not enough time for the tater tots to cook!! They take 25 minutes to bake by themselves. Something I’m not getting?? Do they Taters bake before adding them to the recipe???
Hello Bopps,
I have made this several times and they are always ready in about 15 minutes when I put them on top frozen. My guess would be that because you are putting them on top of hot food, and not a cold pan, it jump starts the cooking.
I made this for my family and for a dinner for healing family. my hubby loved it! I added montreal steak seasoning and a little steak sauce to meat. I will make again.
So glad you all loved it!
I made this tonight and I used cream cheese and cream of mushroom and mozzarella and provolone cheese and everyone loved it so keep posting these quick delicious recipes and Thank you
I am so glad everyone liked it!
I do have other tater tot casseroles like a Sloppy Joe and a Beef Taco. Plus some different casseroles, etc. Enjoy!
this was really good! adding to favorites
We are trying it tonight
Great! I hope you like it!
Made with vegan meatballs from Aldi. Came out delish!
I added 1/2 packet of Beefy onion soup dry powder and Worcestershire sauce and OMG it was GREAT!!!
Such a good recipe and easy to make! Cheat note: I pre cook my tatter tots first, while I’m making the meat mixture. The taters are crispier!
turned out great used a brownie pan perfect size for us will make again