Sausage and Egg Tater Tot Casserole
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 8large eggs
- 1cup milk
- 1tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 1teaspoon onion powder
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 1pound uncooked pork, chicken or turkey breakfast sausage, casings removed, if any (see Tip)
- Olive oil, if necessary
- 1green bell pepper, diced
- 4cups frozen Tater Tots (seasoned or unseasoned), about 19 ounces
- 1cup shredded sharp Cheddar
- ¼cup sliced scallions (about 2 scallions)
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and set aside.
- Step 2
In a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, stirring frequently and breaking up the sausage into smaller pieces, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat (if you don’t have enough fat in the pan, add enough olive oil to equal 1 tablespoon). Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened with a bit of bite to it, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 6 minutes.
- Step 3
Return the sausage to the skillet and stir to combine, then pour the egg mixture over the sausage and peppers making sure it evenly covers the entire bottom. Place the tots on top, add the shredded Cheddar and scallions and bake until the top is well-browned and puffed in the center and a knife inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, 35 to 55 minutes, depending on how creamy you like your eggs. (They will continue to cook slightly as they rest). Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Tip
- The sausage can be replaced with bacon or ground beef if you like.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
WK, Bellingham, WA
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.
CLC
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.
Dan
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.
WK, Bellingham, WA
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.
jc
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.
m1stones1
WK why the change of heart?
MGM
I grew up in Iowa. We didn’t call it a hot dish, we called it a casserole.
Jackie
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.
Dan F
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.
john N
“casings removed, if any (see Tip)” Someone forgot to leave a tip!
JHOFF
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.
Cynthia
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!
SB
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!
Sandy
An oven proof skillet is all that’s necessary here. I can imagine some folks getting twisted up over needing a “cast iron skillet”.
Jean21
It sounds like you're describing a scalloped potatoes and ham "hot dish" to me. ;-) You Betcha, I'm a Minnesota native.
VS
Did this for Father’s Day and my husband and toddler enjoyed it. Took forever though! I did it in a 10 in cast iron since that’s what I had and it nearly filled it to the top. Consequently, had to bake for 70 mins until the eggs were set in the middle, which hindsight was too long as the top dried out and the bottom was burnt. Maybe 55-60 mins next time? Or adjust the volume so it’s not as much in the pan?
Alison
Careful not to overcook - mine wa almost too done closer to 30 than the suggested 35-55 minutes. Keep an eye on it.
Lianne
I’m not sure what some of the other commenters did wrong with this recipe, because it was not, in fact, bad, nor did it taste like fast food. It tasted like brunch food. It tasted delicious. The only thing I had to change was using chicken apple sausage instead of ground sausage because that’s what I had. Did everything else as is and it was a massive hit with both adults and children. Served with thick cut bacon on the side and mimosas, bien sûr. Also I didn’t add salt and it didn’t need it.
Somewhere In 413
I wouldn't make this again. It was just bland even with adding a jalapeno with seeds. I did use half red and half green pepper as that was what I had. Added an onion added a couple of dashes of Tabasco plus a lot of pepper, just not to my liking.
Declan
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.
me
Sub soy chorizo
Stacy in Portland
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.
great suggestion.
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.
Terry F
Easy, flexible, and a bit hit. Everyone loved this as a breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. Definitely keeping this in the repertoire.
Monica J.
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.
Peter V
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.
awesome
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.
JohnB
Goetta can substitute for sausage
Marianne
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.
David Belanger
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.
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