BBQ Beef Tater Tot Casserole

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

This sloppy joe tater tot casserole was a pure accident one night while I was making dinner. I had plans to make these bbq beef ranchero tacos and got all the way done before realizing that I had no taco shells…. plan B had me scrounging in the pantry to try and find a way to still have something edible to eat for dinner. 

I found a bag of frozen tater tots in the bottom of the freezer and found a can of sloppy joe sauce. And the rest is history as they say 🙂 It ended up being a delicious accident and something that my kids actually ate with NO complaining!

I’m always on the lookout for kid-friendly dinners so I was pretty excited about this sloppy joe tater tot casserole. It’s sweet from the bbq sauce and baked beans combined with the savory ground beef that’s seasoned with garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and onion powder.

Throw in a can of corn for some veggies and color, and you have a delicious dinner that’s topped with tater tots and cheese. What could be better?!

How to make sloppy joe tater tot casserole

• In a skillet pan, brown some ground beef with a little bit of salt for some flavor. Drain the beef well and add the remaining ingredients; bbq sauce, sloppy joe sauce, mustard, baked beans, and some spices. 
• Spread it into a 9×13 baking dish, top with some shredded cheese, and then top with mini tater tots.
• Bake it up until the tater tots are browned and crispy and the casserole is hot and bubbling. 

My tips for making tater tot casserole

• Be careful of the BBQ sauce + baked bean combo you use. I would advise you don’t use sweet versions of both of them, unless of course you want a really sweet casserole. I always use regular baked beans + a honey BBQ sauce. My kids don’t care for regular BBQ sauce because it can be very strong, which is why I love the honey BBQ sauce. It’s slightly sweet which pairs nicely with everything. 
• You can use regular sized tater tots but you may have to increase the cooking time. I love using the miniature size because they don’t take as long to cook and they’re smaller which makes it easier for kids to eat.
• Use as much or as little shredded cheese as you want. If you want lots of cheese, add additional shredded cheese on top after the cook time. 
• I use Colby Jack cheese but use whatever you prefer; pepper jack, cheddar, etc.
• You can find the sloppy joe sauce by the canned beans and canned chilies. 

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