Sausage and Egg Tater Tot Casserole Recipe (2024)

Make Julia Child's version of Râpée Morvandelle instead of this casserole. I made this tater tot fantasy last night & won't ever again. A gratin of shredded potatoes, ham, onions, herbs, light cream and cheese beat it on every count. Don't bother trying to cut corners. You don't save time & only lose on flavor.

This was extremely easy to make, suited the entire family, and tasted fine, but I would not make it again. Supermarket-quality breakfast sausage plus tater tots really just tastes like fast food. Still, I’d like to encourage NYT to keep putting out recipes of this type because they’re so darn useful for getting picky kids fed without having to make the same exact thing every week.

But it's "Cooking Notes" not "Nutrition Scolds"I chopped a small onion and minced a garlic clove and sautéed them with the green pepper rather than use the powders.

I take it back. Make this recipe instead of anything out of Julia Child’s book. I made this tater tot fantasy last night and can’t wait to make it again! Please bother trying to cut corners. You save time & only gain on flavor.

Choose sausage that is sold in a “chub” for making patties—it’s just easier that removing casings. A similar dish, if you have shredded hash browns rather than tater tots in the freezer: After cooking sausage and onions/peppers, remove from pan and cook the hash browns in the fat. Make sure to let them crisp, flip and crisp again. Then add the meat and pour over the eggs. Bake as described here and top with cheese. You end up with the potato “crust” on bottom rather than top.

I grew up in Iowa. We didn’t call it a hot dish, we called it a casserole.

Instead of using Tater Tots™, why not use potatoes? You could make the dish in the same amount of time if you microwave the potatoes until halfway cooked while cooking the sausage and then fry the potatoes in the sausage fat with vegetables.

WK why the change of heart?

The midwestern attribution of 'hot dish' is a misinterpretation. In Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois. Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska (those parts of the midwest I've resided in for the past 63 years), 'hot dish' is a term equivalent to 'casserole', not a particular recipe as implied.

“casings removed, if any (see Tip)”Someone forgot to leave a tip!

Family enjoyed this dish. Couple of changes I would make if cooking it again… sauté some fresh jalapeno and garlic the bell pepper. You can also use low fat turkey sausage and half egg whites half eggs to reduce the cholesterol.

Sautéed onion and garlic in a bit of the sausage fat instead of using powders. Also left out bell peppers and instead added chopped green chile (I’m in NM and that’s how we do, lol). Turned out delicious!

Excellent as is and can easily be adapted if you’re missing say peppers ( I used mushrooms this time) or low on cheddar (aged Gouda this time too). So tasty!

An oven proof skillet is all that’s necessary here. I can imagine some folks getting twisted up over needing a “cast iron skillet”.

It sounds like you're describing a scalloped potatoes and ham "hot dish" to me. ;-) You Betcha, I'm a Minnesota native.

It took over an hour in the oven for it to not be "soupy" on the bottom. I have no idea what happened. In the end, not my favorite use of tater tots.

Sub soy chorizo

This was a hit for a house full of teenagers during a snowstorm. I made it with field roast Italian sausage and colorful peppers I had in the fridge. I think if I made this again I would par cook the tots. The underside of them seemed too “raw” while everything else crisped up nicely.

Used diced ham vs sausage and added smoked Gouda with the cheddar cheese. Topped homemade Smokey salsa. Oh yeah. I’d make this again. Had seconds, very unlike me.

Easy, flexible, and a bit hit. Everyone loved this as a breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. Definitely keeping this in the repertoire.

As I labored over cleaning my cast iron skillet after making this all I could think about was that it wasn’t worth the 15 minutes it took to get it off of the bottom of the pan.

I liked this with the following adjustments: eliminated onion and garlic powders; sautéed onion with bell peppers and added minced garlic at the end so as not to burn the garlic; used a combo of peppers instead of all green; added a jalapeño for some zing. 35 minutes in the oven was enough. I found that the results were not "eggy" enough so I will add two more eggs next time. No issue with the tater tots Finally, I found the Julia Child comment gratuitous -- this is not trying to be that.

First big shout out to WK for classy move in updating notes. This was awesome - everyone loved it. Used Impossible sausage and Poblano peppers but otherwise followed the recipe. New family favorite.

Goetta can substitute for sausage

I sprinkled on the spices instead of whisking in with the eggs. I think that was a mistake.Dark oval glass dish . I cooked for 35 minutes and let rest for 10.

Very easy to make, but not sure I liked the assembly and would do it differently next time by mixing all ingredients together in a bowl first then pouring into a well greased pan. I would sprinkle cheese on top. Also thought the tater tots got too mushy under all the cheese would layer on top next time. Taste was good, but I like other recipes that have more veggies.

Any recommendations for substitutions for those who don’t like bell peppers.

I would add I cup salsa and no milk OR chorizo bits instead of sausage. Definitley add jalapeños and sautéing onions with the peppers. The original was just kind of bland. Or use a fun cheese. Took 35 mins to cook.

Go to quick breakfast-for-dinner. Easily customizable comfort-food. Snobs and their sarcasm need a reminder that no one really wants or needs their opinions.

Maybe a dumb question---do you defrost the Tater Tots? This sounds like a decent ski-weekend recipe!