Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole

This Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole is made from scratch without any canned soups! It’s creamy, comforting and a one dish dinner!

I can’t believe August is almost over!!!  That means school time is around the corner or has already started for some of you and that means busy nights.  When I am going to be having a busy night I like to use the help from my crock pot.  And when life gets crazy I tend to crave comfort food.

Enter this Bacon Cheeseburger Crock Pot Tater Tot Casserole!

It’s super easy to make and made completely from scratch with no canned soups!  Don’t worry though you can still substitute in a can of cream soup of your choice if you prefer.  You could also bake this in the oven like a traditional tater tot casserole and I will give instructions for that as well.  Don’t worry, I got ya covered.  If you are looking for some more comfort food made in your crock pot check out this Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatball Soup, or this Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches.

So a little about the recipe:

I used my traditional tater tot casserole recipe and added a hefty dose of bacon and cheddar cheese.  Because bacon and cheese make everything better, right?!  And as I mentioned earlier I didn’t use canned soups in this tater tot casserole.  It really isn’t that much harder to make a homemade gravy.  Plus, I can pronounce everything that goes into it.  Don’t worry it won’t be lumpy either.

The way to lump free gravy is to mix the flour in with the browned hamburger.  It was a trick I learned a very long time ago from watching my mom and grandma cook.  I use this method to make biscuits and gravy too and it works every single time.

I chose to put tater tots on both the top and bottom of the casserole.  There weren’t enough leftover tater tots to make another batch so in the bottom they went.  I also really didn’t want to store a bag with just a handful of tater tots left in it either.  But if you are making this in the oven with a 9×13 baking dish you won’t be using them all.

This recipe makes a pretty large amount but it can easily be cut in half.  I just make a large amount and have some for leftovers.  Leftovers + kids + a busy day = one happy mama!  You can serve this dish as is or serve with a simple tossed salad, or steamed vegetables and some crusty bread.  YUM!

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Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

3 hrs

Total Time

3 hrs 20 mins

 

This Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole is made from scratch without any canned soups! It's creamy, comforting and a one dish dinner!

Course: Beef, Main Dish, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef, slow cooker, tater tot casserole

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Malinda Linnebur

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 10 strips bacon, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• dash of hot sauce, optional
• 3 cups cheddar cheese, plus a little extra for topping if desired
• 1 (12-16 oz) bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (2 pound) bag frozen tater tots

Instructions

1. In a large skillet brown ground beef, bacon, onion and garlic over medium heat until beef is no longer pink. Sprinkle the flour over the ground beef and stir well to combine. Stir in the milk, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar, frozen vegetables and sour cream.
2. Spray the crock pot with non-stick spray. Place some tater tots in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour meat gravy over tater tots. Arrange remaining tater tots on top. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-3 1/2 hours. In the last 10 minutes of cooking sprinkle with extra cheddar if desired. Cover and finish cooking.

Recipe Notes

1. If you would like to substitute in your favorite cream soup just omit the flour, milk, Worcestershire, and sour cream. If you are making the full amount add in 2 cans.

2. If you would like to downsize this recipe just cut the ingredient amounts in half except for the tater tots.

3. If you would like to make this recipe in the oven, spread meat gravy in a 9x13 casserole dish and top with tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the tater tots are to your liking.

See this recipe on Julie’s Eats and Treats, where I’m a contributor!