Loaded Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole is the perfect spin on the traditional Tater Tot Hotdish, with farm fresh eggs, breakfast sausage, and piles of crispy tater tots! If this sounds like your kind of breakfast, make sure to try my Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole and my Breakfast Strata as well!
Loaded Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Some people plan their week around dinnertime, not me. Breakfast, all the way. I love everything from a simple hard-boiled egg to a more complex pulled pork breakfast hash.
For this loaded breakfast tater tot casserole, we took my family’s favorite tater tot hotdish recipe and transformed it into a breakfast meal that will bring smiles to all of the faces at your breakfast table!
Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
Hotdishes have been popular for years because they are not only delicious and crowd-pleasing but also very budget-friendly. You can feed a crowd with a 9×13-inch pan of tater tot hotdish, or, you can easily get two meals from one casserole. One of the best things about this casserole is that the ingredients are so incredibly simple.
How to Make Breakfast Casserole
This Loaded Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole is best if broken up into two steps–cooking the tater tots and preparing the casserole. You can skip precooking the tater tots and add extra baking time to the dish, but adding the first step is definitely worth the extra time. If you are anything like me, you like your tater tots crispy, not mushy.
Cooking the Tater Tots
This extra step is so worth it! Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay the tater tots out on a prepared baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes. Take them out and flip them and then pop them back in for another 10 minutes. You don’t need the tater tots to get fully crispy, just precooked enough that they will crisp up nicely in the final step.
Preparing the Casserole
While you are pre-cooking the tater tots, you can prepare the sausage and egg mixtures.
- Starting with the sausage, you will need a medium frying pan or skillet. Over medium heat, cook the Italian sausage and onions.
- After the sausage has browned, add in the garlic and cook for about a minute. Set that aside and move to the egg mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper,
- Stir in the jalapeno, and bell pepper. (Set aside a handful of diced jalapenos for garnish.) This recipe calls for 9 eggs, but if you want to bulk this recipe up you can certainly add more.
- Next, mix in your cooked sausage mixture and half of the shredded cheddar cheese. Once this is all mixed together nicely, pour it into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Place the cooked tater tots on top in a single layer, being careful to cover the egg mixture completely. I know it is tedious, but setting them in one at a time really helps to ensure that you get an evenly cooked dish. This will bake for an additional 40 minutes.
- Remove it from the oven, top with the remaining cheese, and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
Garnish with the remaining diced jalapenos and chopped tomato. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to three days.
Can I Freeze Loaded Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole?
Yes, you can make this casserole ahead of time and freeze it. Be sure to bake the casserole first, let it cool completely, and then store it in the freezer. Wrap the portions of the casserole in aluminum foil and store in zipped, freezer-safe bags. Be sure to date and label the bags.
This can last in the freezer for up to three months. To reheat it, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking it in the oven. Or, simply heat up your portion in the microwave when ready to eat it.
More Breakfast Recipes
Loaded Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 bag (32 ounces) tater tots
- 20 ounces ground Italian sausage, (if frozen, should be thawed)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 9 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 medium jalapeno, finely diced and divided, reserving some for garnish
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 medium tomato, finely chopped for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place tater tots on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, flip, and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- In a skillet or non-stick frying pan, cook Italian sausage and onion.
- After the sausage has browned, add the garlic and cook for about a minute.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.
- Add the diced jalapeño (reserving a few for garnish), and diced bell pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add browned sausage mixture and half of the cheese. Stir to combine.
- Pour egg mixture into greased 9×13 baking pan.
- Spread pre-cooked tater tots on top, ensuring that you cover the entire mixture.
- Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.
- Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for 5 more minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Garnish with diced jalapenos and chopped tomato (optional).
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
Do you have ti have the mushrooms
This recipe does NOT include mushrooms, so no, you definitely don’t need to add them.
For those people who do like mushrooms I’m sure they would be an incredibly tasty addition.
If I were to add them I would sauté them first and I think I would probably sauté the Bell Pepper along with them. I know some people prefer that added crunch factor when including certain fresh vegetables in casserole dishes, I don’t particularly care for that though, especially in my Breakfast Creations.
I read this recipe as it sounds fabulous but it doesn’t say when to add the meat mixture. It says put the eggs in the 9 x 13 and top with tots. I’m really not trying to be difficult or a smart a$$ but it should be clear as everyone doesn’t have cooking skills as you do.
Thanks!! 😁
Step #7 is adding the meat mixture. 🙂
😻
Do you bake the casserole itself at 350 also
I also add mushrooms, bacon and use hash browns instead of tater tots. I have used refrigerated crescent roll dough rolled out and pressed on the bottom of the pan as a crust for a change of pace.
Can you use hash brown patties?