I am not going to lie, I love tater tots. Ever since I was a little kid, tater tots have been one of my favorite things to eat, maybe not as much as Napoleon Dynamite, but pretty close. This tater tot breakfast casserole is sure to please any tot-loving person or family. It’s all about the tots!
What is not to like about tater tots being smothered with melted cheese, onions, peppers, breakfast sausage, eggs, and more cheese? Pure heaven on a plate right there.
If you are a fan of tater tots or like potatoes in general, give this tater tot breakfast casserole a try. It feeds a whole family, is super easy to make, and makes amazing leftovers. If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get started!
What You Need: Ingredients and Tools/Equipment
In order to make this homemade tater tot breakfast casserole you need a handful of ingredients:
- Breakfast sausage – I normally buy the ground country pork style, but you can use pretty much any style, turkey is a good option if you don’t want to use a pork-based sausage.
- Onion – Use white or yellow onions.
- Jalapeno – This will give it a tiny kick, but not much.
- Bell peppers – I like to use green and red, but you can certainly use orange as well.
- Salt – Not too much.
- Black pepper
- Eggs – The eggs will act as a binder to hold the casserole together.
- Milk – You can also use half and half if you like.
- Tater tots – The star of this dish. You can’t have a tater tot breakfast casserole without the tots!
- Cheese – I use a combination of cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses. But you can experiment with other cheese if you like.
- Olive oil – Just a bit of oil to go in the skillet.
Tools/Equipment
- 13×9 inch baking pan
- Cooking spray
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Skillet
- Foil
Step 1: How to Make Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Preheat the oven to 350F/176 C.
Begin by chopping up your onion, bell peppers, and jalapeno into little chunks. Each one of those ingredients is optional. And feel free to add additional ingredients.
Heat a skillet on medium heat with about 2 tsp of olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. Add the breakfast sausage (ground pork, ground turkey, etc.) as well as the chopped onions and peppers. Break up the sausage with a spatula.
Sprinkle on the black pepper, garlic powder, and just a little bit of salt. Don’t overdo the salt. The meat, tater tots, and cheese already have salt inherently in them. Each individual can sprinkle on a bit more salt if they like when they eat it.
Cook 10 to 13 minutes until the meat is cooked through and a little browned, turning periodically with a spatula. Once done set aside for a few minutes and turn off the burner.
In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs and the milk.
Step 2: Put it all together
Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray, then pour the bag of frozen tater tots into the pan and spread them out evenly on the bottom.
Sprinkle about half of the cheddar cheese and half of the Monterey jack cheese on top of the tater tots.
Then spread out the breakfast sausage mixture on top of that. Follow that up by evenly pouring the egg mixture all over.
Add the remaining cheddar and jack cheese on top.
Cover with foil and place on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake another 20 to 25 minutes until all the cheese is melted on top.
TIP:Β You can make this the night before and place it in the fridge and then bake it off first thing in the morning if you like. But it only takes about 20 to 25 minutes start to finish to have it ready to go in the oven.
Allow the tater tot breakfast casserole to cool a few minutes. Then cut it into squares. You should be able to get about 12 servings depending on the size that you make the squares.
If you like, cook up some bacon and then chop it up and sprinkle that on top along with some green onion or chives.
I am not going to lie, I like to add a little bit of ketchup to the top, so yummy!
Enjoy!
Also if you are a tot lover like me make sure to check out this Totchos recipe.
How long does a tater tot breakfast casserole last?
Place any leftovers in an airtight container where they will keep for a few days in the fridge. You can also freeze it for about a month.
Do I have to add eggs?
If you don’t eat eggs, you can leave them out. The cheese will also act as a binder to hold the breakfast casserole together.
Here are other breakfast recipes you may like:
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Equipment
- 13×9 inch baking pan
- cooking spray
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Skillet
- foil
Ingredients
- 1 lb of ground country pork breakfast sausage 453g
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 1/4 tsp of salt 1g
- 1 to 2 tsp of garlic powder 5g
- 1 tsp of black pepper 4g
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup of milk or half and half 237 ml
- 1 32 oz bag of frozen tater tots 907g
- 8 oz of shredded cheddar cheese 226g
- 8 oz of shredded monterey jack cheese 226g
- 2 tsp of olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C.
- Chop up the onion, bell peppers, and jalapeno into small chunks.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat with just a few teaspoons of cooking oil.
- Add the country pork sausage and chopped veggies to the hot skillet. Sprinkle on the black pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Don't use a lot of salt.
- Cook until the sausage has browned and there is no longer pink on the inside. It will take around 10 to 13 minutes. Stir and flip periodically with a spatula. Remove from burner and set aside. Turn the burner off.
- Whisk together the eggs and the milk in a medium bowl.
- Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Then layer all the frozen tater tots on the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle about half of the cheddar cheese and half of the Monterey jack cheese on top of the tater tots.
- Spread the breakfast sausage mixture on top of that. Then pour the egg mixture over evenly.
- Add the rest of the cheese on top then cover with foil.
- Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake another 20 to 25 minutes until all the cheese is melted on top.
- Let rest for 10 minutes then serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. Save the Pin to Pinterest!Β If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you wonβt miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.
Check out my other websiteΒ 101 Creative DatesΒ for fun date ideas. Food and dating go hand in hand!
I love to try this recipe, but we donβt have tater totβs in my country, can I substitute anything or what can you suggest to me for substitute to it like French fries in different shapes or sized or hash browns. I am from the Philippines.
Hello! Yes, I think hashbrowns would be the closest thing to a substitute for tater tots. π Good luck! Let me know how it turns out.
I can’t wait to try this! Breakfast seems to be the hardest meal for me to enjoy cooking, because mornings feel chaotic. Casseroles like this one are nice because I can make them in advance and it’ll probably (hopefully) last a few days! Thank you!
You are welcome! π
this is an amazing meal prepping breakfast idea, thank you so much for sharing! cant wait to try it!
Thank you!
This is one of our weekend go-to’s!! My kids love everything about it, especially how cheesy it is!
So glad you like it! π