Taco seasoned ground beef, cheese and tater tots is what you will find in this kid-friendly Crock-Pot Tater-Tot Taco Casserole recipe. Perfect for dinner any night of the week!
Slow Cooker Tater-Tot Taco Casserole
My kids tend to go a little crazy over anything with tater tots in it. And this Mexican inspired casserole was no exception.
First I cooked up a couple of pounds of extra lean ground beef with some taco seasoning mix, then added a jar of salsa and some tomato sauce.
I put that mixture in the bottom of my Casserole Crock-Pot (I LOVE that one!) and topped with some shredded cheese (I used Kraft Fat Free cheddar cheese because I am doing Weight Watchers) and then arranged some tater tots on top of it all.
The whole thing only needed to cook for about 4 hours and dinner was ready!
Before dinner time I set out some sour cream, extra cheese and some sliced green onions and let everyone top their serving of slow cooker taco casserole however they liked it.
Huge hit with everyone in the family!
Equipment Needed For Crock-Pot Tater-Tot Taco Casserole Recipe:
- 3.5 Quart Casserole Slow Cooker OR 6 Quart, 6.5 Quart Or 7 Quart Slow Cooker
- Large Skillet
- Wooden Spoon
- Can Opener
- Cheese Grater
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to shave off calories and fat you can easily substitute the ground beef for ground turkey. You can even use ground chicken or venison.
I choose to cook this in my casserole slow cooker because the final dish looks more like a traditional oven-baked casserole. However you can easily cook this in a 6 quart or larger oval slow cooker and the recipe will be great. You may find that you have extra tater tots that won’t fit in a single layer on to of the casserole but that is OK. You can just save them for another meal.
The tater tots that top this casserole won’t get super crispy but they will crisp up. Because the tots are placed on a layer of cheese, the cheese acts as a little bit of a barrier from the moisture in the meat mixture below. If you would like the tater tots to be super crispy you can take the stoneware insert out of the heating base and place it under the broiler in your oven for just a few minutes (double check that you insert is oven safe).
Special Diets
Gluten Free | Low Fat| Low Sugar
This recipe for Crock-Pot Tater-Tot Taco Casserole is Weight Watchers Friendly on the new Personal Points plan. You can see the WW personal points for this recipe here on the Weight Watchers website. Click here for MORE of our Weight Watchers Recipes
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Recipe Collections:
- 3.5 Quart Casserole Crock-Pot Recipes
- 6 Quart Crock-Pot Recipes
- 6.5 Quart Crock-Pot Recipes
- 7 Quart Crock-Pot Recipes
- Beef Crock-Pot Recipes
- Cinco de Mayo Recipes
- Crock-Pot Hamburger/Ground Beef Recipes
- Entrée Recipes
- Kid Friendly Crock-Pot Recipes
Crock-Pot Tater-Tot Taco Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
- 1 Packet Low Sodium Taco Seasoning Mix (Or 3 Tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix)
- 16 Ounces Jarred Salsa
- 8 Ounces Canned Tomato Sauce
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 16 Ounces Frozen Tater Tots
Instructions
- In a large skillet on the stove-top, brown and crumble the ground beef with the taco seasoning until the meat is fully cooked. Drain off any excess fat.
- Add the salsa and tomato sauce to the ground beef mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour meat mixture into a 3.5 quart casserole slow cooker OR a 6 quart or larger oval slow cooker and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the meat mixture.
- Arrange the tater tots in a single layer over the top of the cheese.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or until the tater-tots are cooked through.
- Serve with additional toppings if desired and ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
I have made this receipe several times. We love it
So glad you love this recipe Cindy!
Is there any reason this can’t be cooked on low, especially if the meat is already cooked? Also, I see many recipes call for either a 3.5 quart slow cooker or 6 quart or larger. Is there any particular reason for the difference in size? I’m thinking about getting a casserole cooker and getting rid of my 6 quart one since I also have an Instant Pot. Is this a bad life choice that I’ll regret down the road? 🙂 Thanks!
While we have not tested this recipe cooked on the LOW setting I think it should be okay. Let us know how it turns out for you!
As far as Crock-Pot Sizes go this recipe can be cooked in either a 3.5 Quart CASSEROLE crock-pot or a 3 quart or larger oval or round slow cooker. For this recipe or any of the recipes that say the casserole crock-pot or 6 quart or larger it is more about the surface area rather than volume of how much the slow cooker holds. For casseroles and baked goods we like having more surface area. We love our Casserole Crock-Pot and use it all the time. It really can replace baking in an oven for a lot of dishes!