This Instant Pot tater tot casserole is a hearty and filling warm comfort dish packed with ground beef, corn, cheese, and crispy tots. You're going to love this simple and easy food dish recipe.
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We love to eat tater tot casserole around here, especially when I don't feel like cooking up anything fancy. But making it in the Instant Pot is so much fun.
My oven-baked Tater Tot Corn Casserole is fine and dandy, but something about cooking in the Instant Pot is always appealing, possibly because there are fewer dirty dishes involved (or at least- it feels that way).
I could also enjoy this Instant Pot tater tot hotdish simply because it's flavorful and easy to make. Whatever the reason, it's an Easy Comfort Food Casserole that keeps the kids coming back for seconds.
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💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Basic ingredients. This Instant Pot tater tot casserole uses simple, easy to find ingredients. If you have extra tater tots, try them in our Loaded Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos).
- Easy prep. Prep takes about 10 minutes of active time, mostly mixing while things cook. After that, the Instant Pot does the work. This is one of the reasons we love recipes like Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs and Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti.
- Filling and comforting. This hearty dish will leave everyone satisfied and is perfect for feeding the whole family.
🛒 Ingredients
Ground Beef- You'll want to use some ground beef or even ground turkey for the meaty filling.
Beef Broth- This is the base of the recipe and creates a rich broth. It also replaces the water your Instant Pot normally needs to operate.
Cream of Mushroom Soup- Adding in a can of condensed soup gives us a thicker filling and way more flavor.
Cheddar Cheese- Putting cheese into anything can make it taste good. We love adding sharp or medium cheddar cheese to our tater tot casseroles.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Stretch the beef: Use 80/20 ground beef for flavor, or replace part of it with extra onion or corn to lower the cost per serving. Ground turkey is often cheaper than ground beef as well.
Buy store-brand frozen tots and soup: Generic tater tots, broth, and cream soup cost less and work exactly the same.
Shred your own cheese: Block cheese is usually cheaper per ounce than pre-shredded.
🥄 Instructions for Instant Pot Tater Tot Casserole
Step 1: Bake the tater tots according to the package directions until crispy. (Image 1) Set aside..
Step 2: Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add the ground beef and diced onion (Image 2) and cook until the beef is fully cooked and the onion is softened. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. (Image 3)
Step 3: Stir in the beef broth.
Step 4: Spread the drained corn evenly over the beef mixture. (Image 4)
Step 5: Spoon the cream of mushroom soup evenly over the top of the corn. (Image 5)
Step 6: Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes. (Image 6)
Step 7: Perform a quick pressure release and carefully open the lid.
Step 8: Stir in the sour cream and the shredded cheddar cheese until combined. (Image 7) Fold in the cooked tater tots. (Image 8)
Serve warm. The mixture will be slightly loose at first but will thicken as it cools.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Easy preparation. This pressure cooker tater tot casserole is simple to make. The most time consuming step is crisping the tater tots.
- Crisping options. Oven baking works well, but a toaster oven or air fryer are great alternatives for crispy tots.
- Delicious results. Expect a creamy, cheesy filling topped with crisp tater tots for the perfect texture contrast. Check the recipe card notes if you want to adjust the filling thickness.
❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheating: Reheat in the microwave or warm on the stovetop, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of broth if the mixture thickens too much.
Make Ahead: Cook the beef mixture ahead of time and refrigerate. Reheat and stir in the tots and cheese just before serving for the best texture.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Serve with a simple green salad, steamed vegetables, or fresh fruit to balance the richness. Pickles or a vinegar-based slaw also pair well to cut through the creamy sauce.
- Iceberg SaladRecipe $5.00 / Serving $0.83
- Zucchini Cornbread CasseroleRecipe $5.04 / Serving $0.42
- Rustic Sourdough Discard BreadRecipe $1.59 / Serving $0.16
- Air Fryer Canned Green BeansRecipe $1.79 / Serving $0.45
❓ Recipe FAQs
Technically this dish classifies as both. A hot dish is a main meal one dish type of recipe that combines cream of something soup, vegetable, and something starchy.
When we make tater tot casserole in instant pot, we used cream of mushroom, corn, and tater tots. Casseroles, however, are a combination of items cooked together that can be served for any purpose or function (breakfast, dinner, etc.)
You can use either one! For canned corn, drain the liquid first. You can even rinse it if desired. For frozen, just use as-is.
Serving this dish with simple sides like a salad or more cooked veggies are always a hit around here. The main dish already has meat, veggies, and starch so keeping sides simple help to keep the casserole the star of the show on the dinner plate.
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Instant Pot Apple Pie FillingRecipe $7.30 / Serving $0.91
- Instant Pot Beef Back RibsRecipe $15.34 / Serving $3.83
- Instant Pot Zucchini BoatsRecipe $6.23 / Serving $1.56
- Instant Pot Brussel Sprouts and BaconRecipe $4.01 / Serving $1.01
🐝 If you tried this Instant Pot Tater Tot Casserole, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 ounces tater tots - ($1.49)
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef - ($5.94)
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced - ($0.35)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder - ($0.08)
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup beef broth - ($0.25)
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained or 1 cup frozen corn - ($0.76)
- 1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of mushroom soup - ($0.70)
- ½ cup sour cream - ($0.47)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded - ($1.00)
Instructions
- Cook the tater tots. Bake the tater tots according to the package directions until crispy. Set aside.
- Brown the beef. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add the ground beef and diced onion and cook until the beef is fully cooked and the onion is softened. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add liquid. Stir in the beef broth.
- Layer without stirring. Spread the drained corn evenly over the beef mixture. Spoon the cream of mushroom soup into the center. Do not stir.
- Pressure cook. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Release pressure. Perform a quick pressure release and carefully open the lid.
- Finish the casserole. Stir in the sour cream and the shredded cheddar cheese until combined. Fold in the cooked tater tots.
- Serve. Serve warm. The mixture will be slightly loose at first but will thicken as it cools.
Notes
- Tater tots. Tots can be cooked in the oven, air fryer, or toaster oven. Crispy tots contrast best with the creamy filling.
- Corn options. Both canned and frozen corn work well. Drain canned corn before using.
- Texture. This casserole is intentionally creamy and thickens slightly as it rests.
Nutritional Information
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Robert Newcomer says
I used your tatertot recipe from the Google,the family said it was great. I made the other dishes that came with the tatertot recipe you had on line,no complaints, ALL WERE GREAT: Thank you. ........ . Robert