Homestyle Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

We love a good breakfast casserole around here. It’s the kind of thing I like to make when the house is full and nobody’s in a hurry to go anywhere. This Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole is a special favorite that I actually discovered by accident.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

I love to make a breakfast casserole whenever we have folks coming over, for special occasions, or just because it’s the weekend.

We had been making a similar one with hash browns, and it was good. But one morning, after I had already cracked the eggs, I realized that I was completely out of frozen hash browns.

What I did have was a bag of tater tots in the freezer.

I used those instead and, voilà, an even better breakfast casserole emerged from the oven. Everyone loved it, and since that day we’ve perfected this easy, delicious recipe.

It’s perfect for feeding a group, for a snowed-in morning, for an early Easter breakfast, or anytime you want something hearty and easy.

Equipment Needed

• I use a regular 9×13 casserole dish to bake this casserole. Grease it with butter or spray with some Pam.

Ingredients for Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

• 24 ounce frozen tater tots
• 1 lb of breakfast sausage, I use Jimmy Deans regular
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk or heavy cream, or a mixture of the two
• 9 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, you can see from the photos that I used a yellow and white cheddar mix, but any style is fine.
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp garlic powder

How to Make Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

• Preheat Oven to 375°F
• Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks
• Drain any excess grease from the sausage and set aside
• Whisk together the eggs, the milk or cream and all the spices in a bowl
• Put the tater tots in the casserole dish. It’s ok if some overlap.
• Sprinkle the cooked sausage across the tater tots
• Sprinkle 1.5 cups of cheese over the sausage
• Pour the egg mixture evenly over the tots, sausage and cheese
• Top with the last cup of grated cheddar.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes
• Remove foil and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes
• Serve hot and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• If I have heavy cream on hand, I always use it, it makes the casserole extra rich and yummy. Whole milk works just fine too, but skim milk really doesn’t do this one any favors.
• You can take the foil off earlier if you want a little more browning on the top of your casserole.
• We love pork sausage, but you could substitute ham or bacon or turkey sausage in this recipe.
• I bet the addition of sautéed onion, or bell peppers, or even jalapeño would be great in this tater tot breakfast casserole. ! I haven’t ever tried that but let me know if you do!
• Frozen hash browns work in this recipe, too!

Ideas for Serving

• My people love hot sauce on this dish
• Try some pico de gallo or some salsa
• Sour cream
• Sliced jalapeños
• Guacamole

Tater tot casserole is one of those breakfasts that’s meant to be shared. Fix a pot of coffee, set out the hot sauce, and let everyone help themselves.