Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

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Our quick and easy chicken tater tot casserole recipe includes ground chicken, crumbly bacon bits, ranch dressing, and cream of chicken soup topped with crunchy tater tots cooked to perfection. It’s creamy, rich, and so full of texture and flavor, the whole family will come back for more.

Close-up of chicken tater tot casserole.

If you like my beef tater tot casserole recipe, you’re in for a treat today! This is basically a chicken version of the same recipe, with a few new additions for extra flavor. We’re using cream of chicken soup instead of mushroom soup, swapping beef for chicken, adding ranch dressing, and including some crumbled bacon bits for extra texture because why not?

So with that being said, what ingredients do you need to make my chicken tater tot casserole? Ground chicken, bacon, dry ranch dressing mix, milk, cream of chicken soup, and tater tots. Don’t worry, the instructions are as simple as the ingredients because y’all know that’s my signature style.

We start by simply browning the chicken in a skillet. You can also saute the chicken with chopped onion if you like, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Then we combine this in a mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients. Give that a good stir and pop it into a casserole dish. The finishing touch is adding some frozen tater tots on top.

Bake this for 30 minutes and that’s all there is to it. Yep, your chicken casserole is prepped and cooked in under an hour. Who can say no to that? Another easy casserole I love to make as a main dish on busy weeknights is my taco tater tot casserole. Now let’s make ourselves an easy chicken tater tot casserole.

Labeled ingredients for chicken tater tot casserole.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Ground chicken
  • Chopped onion (optional)
  • Tater tots
  • Cream of chicken soup
  • Milk
  • Cooked bacon pieces
  • Dry ranch dressing mix

How to Make Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

Brown the ground chicken in a skillet.

Brown the ground chicken in a skillet over medium heat and drain off any grease.

I brown my ground meat ahead of time and store it in the freezer to make this quicker.

You can also saute it with a small chopped onion if you like.

Whisk together soup, milk, and dressing.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup, dry ranch dressing mix, and milk.

Add ground beef to mixing bowl.

Add the cooked ground chicken to the mixing bowl…

Add bacon pieces to mixing bowl.

As well as the bacon pieces.

Mix ingredients together.

Mix ingredients together.

Pour ground chicken mixture into greased baking dish.

Pour chicken mixture into a greased baking dish.

Top chicken mixture with frozen tater tots.

Top with the frozen tater tots.

Baked chicken tater tot casserole.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Removing a spatula of tater tot casserole from the baking dish.

Now grab a big spoonful of that delicious chicken tater tot casserole…

Chicken tater tot casserole on plate.

And pop it on a plate. Enjoy!

Storage

  • Store casserole leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat quickly in the oven to make crispy tater tots again.
  • You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before reheating them as above.

Recipe Notes

  • A lot of recipes don’t have you covering it and I used to do mine that way but I’ve found it is even better if you cover it up a bit. If you’d like your tater tots nice and golden brown, uncover the casserole dish for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
  • You don’t need to thaw the tater tots before adding them to the casserole. You can, but it isn’t mandatory.
  • Here are some recipe variations to make it work for you and your family:
    • Use homemade cream of chicken soup instead or the canned cream soup of your choice.
    • If you’re not on team ground chicken, substitute it for ground turkey. You can also substitute it for any kind of cooked chicken, like a shredded rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast. You’ll need about 3 cups.
    • Substitute the bacon for turkey bacon.
    • For extra creaminess, substitute the milk for sour cream.
    • Make a cheesy chicken tater tot casserole by mixing a cup of shredded cheddar cheese into the chicken mixture and sprinkling 1/2 to 1 cup on top 5 minutes before it’s done cooking. You can use any type of shredded cheese, like pepper jack, mozzarella, or Colby jack.
    • Add some veggies. I recommend a 12 to 16-ounce packet of frozen mixed vegetables. A blend of veggies like frozen peas, carrots, corn, green beans, and/or broccoli florets would be perfect.

Recipe FAQs

What food goes with tater tot casserole?

This chicken tater tot casserole is a great main dish as is. But if you want to serve it with a side dish, I’d recommend a simple side salad, zucchini and squash, roasted asparagus, homemade biscuits, or some quick homemade dinner rolls.

How long can you keep tater tot casserole?

Homemade tater tot casserole will last in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Does tater tot casserole reheat well?

Absolutely! Reheat your tater tot casserole in the oven and it will be perfect.

Can you make chicken tater tot casserole ahead of time?

Yes, you can make your tater tot casserole ahead of time. Here are your options:

  • Bake the casserole as instructed, cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the fridge for a few days. Then quickly reheat it in the oven until heated through.
  • Assemble the casserole a day in advance and store it covered in the fridge overnight. Remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before baking and bake as instructed.
  • Freeze the baked or unbaked casserole double-wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the oven.

Check out these comforting casseroles too:

Beef Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

Taco Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

Ham and Potato Casserole

Bacon Breakfast Casserole

Tex Mex Chicken Casserole

Chicken tater tot casserole

Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

My quick and easy chicken tater tot casserole recipe includes ground chicken, crumbly bacon bits, ranch dressing, and cream of chicken soup topped with crunchy tater tots cooked to perfection.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: casserole, chicken, taters
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground chicken
  • 1 chopped small onion (optional)
  • 1 package frozen tater tots (about a pound)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon bits
  • 1 packet ranch dressing mix

Instructions

  • Brown the ground chicken and onion together until done, and drain off any grease. I brown my ground meat ahead of time and store it in the freezer to make this quicker.
    2 pounds ground chicken, 1 chopped small onion (optional)
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup, dry ranch dressing mix, and milk.
    1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 cup milk, 1 packet ranch dressing mix
  • Add the cooked ground chicken and bacon pieces to the mixing bowl and mix again.
    1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon bits, 2 pounds ground chicken
  • Place the ground chicken mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.
  • Top with the frozen tater tots.
    1 package frozen tater tots (about a pound)
  • Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Notes

A lot of recipes don't have you covering it and I used to do mine that way but I've found it is even better if you cover it up a bit. If you'd like your tater tots nice and golden brown, uncover the casserole dish for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

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