If you've never heard of hotdish, let us introduce you to the retro recipe from Minnesota. Hotdish is an easy-to-make casserole that's topped with Tater Tots and baked until bubbly. Here's our Test Kitchen's recipe for Tater Tot hotdish, including tips for meal prepping the dish ahead.
What Is Minnesota Hotdish?
Sometimes called Tater Tot casserole, hotdish in Minnesota is commonly made with meat, cheese, veggies, canned soup, and Tater Tots. There are endless variations of the dish, but the classic features ground beef and cream of mushroom soup or condensed tomato soup. The term "hotdish" first appeared in a 1930's cookbook compiled by the Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid in Mankato, Minnesota.
Hotdish vs. Casserole
You may be wondering, what's the difference between hotdish and casserole? "The term casserole refers to the name of the baking dish, so by extension, anything baked in it is a casserole. Could be a breakfast, main dish, or side," says Juliana Hale, senior culinary specialist, BHG Test Kitchen. "A hotdish is a regional term for casserole." So all hotdishes are casseroles, but not all casserole recipes are hotdishes.
What You'll Need to Make Our Tater Tot Hotdish Recipe
After testing the classic Tater Tot hotdish recipe, our Test Kitchen made some modifications for the most flavorful hotdish. Here's a quick glance at what you'll need.
- Meat: Grab a pound of ground beef for this casserole recipe. You can also use ground turkey. If using turkey, we recommend adding a bit of butter as well to help the sauce come together.
- Veggies: We preferred the flavor of frozen mixed veggies as opposed to canned. The vegetable blend often contains green beans, peas, carrots, and corn.
- Sauce: Our biggest departure from the classic is the sauce. Rather than canned soup, we're making a homemade version using milk, flour, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Cheese: It wouldn't be a casserole without shredded cheese. For a little spice, try Monterey jack cheese with jalapenos, or you can also use shredded cheddar.
- Topping: Don't skimp on the Tater Tot topper. For many of our recipe tasters, it was their favorite part.
How to Make and Freeze Minnesota Hotdish
Assemble in a disposable aluminum baking pan, do not bake. Wrap pan and place in a freezer bag. Label and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Bake as directed.
How to Reheat Minnesota Hotdish
Add 1 to 2 Tbsp. water around the edge of the dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 350°F 20 minutes or until heated through.
Ingredients
-
Nonstick cooking spray
-
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
-
1 cup chopped onion
-
3 cloves garlic, minced
-
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
-
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
-
2 cups milk
-
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
-
1 (16-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
-
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese with jalapeño peppers or cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
-
1 (32-ounce) package frozen fried potato nuggets (such as Tater Tots®)
Directions
-
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 3-qt. rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
-
In an extra-large skillet cook ground beef, onion, and garlic until no longer pink, 8 minutes. Do not drain fat. Sprinkle with flour, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add milk and Worcestershire sauce. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, 5 minutes. Stir in vegetables and cheese until cheese melts. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you use ground turkey, cook it in 2 Tbsp. butter. The drippings from the ground beef provide fat for the roux that will thicken the sauce. Turkey is very lean, so added butter will work instead.
-
Arrange potato nuggets over the filling. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 686 | Calories |
| 34g | Fat |
| 62g | Carbs |
| 34g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 6 | |
| Calories 686.2 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 34.4g | 44% |
| Saturated Fat 12.1g | 61% |
| Cholesterol 90.6mg | 30% |
| Sodium 1071.5mg | 47% |
| Total Carbohydrate 62g | 23% |
| Dietary Fiber 7g | 25% |
| Total Sugars 9g | |
| Protein 34g | 68% |
| Vitamin D 1.1mcg | 5% |
| Vitamin C 11.3mg | 13% |
| Calcium 313.6mg | 24% |
| Iron 4.1mg | 23% |
| Potassium 1066.7mg | 23% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 0.6g | |
| Vitamin D 45.5IU | |
| Alanine 1.8g | |
| Arginine 2g | |
| Ash 6g | |
| Aspartic acid 3.2g | |
| Caffeine 0mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 731.8mcg | |
| Choline, total 140.2mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0.3mg | |
| Cystine 0.3g | |
| Energy 2870.9kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 12.4mcg | |
| Folate, total 75.5mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 5.8g | |
| Glycine 1.8g | |
| Histidine 1.1g | |
| Isoleucine 1.6g | |
| Leucine 2.7g | |
| Lysine 2.7g | |
| Methionine 0.8g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 79.4mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0.6mg | |
| Niacin 7.6mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 514.5mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 1.6mg | |
| Phenylalanine 1.5g | |
| Phytosterols 6.9mg | |
| Proline 2.1g | |
| Retinol 83.2mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 23.3mcg | |
| Serine 1.5g | |
| Starch 34.2g | |
| Theobromine 0mg | |
| Threonine 1.3g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.9mg | |
| Tryptophan 0.3g | |
| Tyrosine 1.2g | |
| Valine 1.8g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 3550.5IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 246.2mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 2.7mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0.7mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 25.7mcg | |
| Water 310.3g | |
| Zinc, Zn 6.7mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
