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I had a friend from the Midwest who swore by her Tater Tot covered dish. Being that I am from the West Coast, “covered dish” was not a term I was familiar with. On the West Coast, we say “casserole.” When I mentioned this to her, she said, “Right, same thing……covered dish.” This made me chuckle, but I wasn’t going to argue with her, I did want her yummy recipe afterall!
Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole is everything you want comfort food to be. It’s a chili dog, without the mess and topped with extra cheese and crunchy tater tots! Talk about a winner!!
I was given the recipe for Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole, “covered dish” and had every intention of making it, but tucked the recipe away and promptly forgot about it. It wasn’t until years later when I was cleaning out a drawer that I found the recipe again.
This is a recipe that I would consider the ultimate kid friendly meal, second only to my Corn Dog Casserole. Kids love this! Adults love this! There is never any leftover when I make it. The ingredients are typically things I have on hand. I always have canned chili in the pantry and hot dogs in the freezer, so throwing this together takes just minutes.
Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole takes just minutes to get in the oven, making it the perfect weeknight meal!
This is essentially a deconstructed chili dog in a casserole form. I love chili dogs, but I don’t love how messy they are to eat. So, the beauty of this Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole is, once it is baked in the oven, I can top it with the same things I put on my chili dog. I personally like chopped red onions and mustard on mine. I get all the wonderful flavors with the addition of crunchy tater tots. You can’t go wrong here!
To make this, you will need a baking dish that you have prepped with nonstick spray. Then in a large bowl, you will add the chili. You can use canned chili or homemade, that doesn’t matter, use what you love. Then, cut your hot dogs into 1/2 inch pieces and add them to the bowl.
Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chili flakes and stir together. Once everything is well incorporated, pour it all into the prepared baking dish. This is where you get to pile on the cheese. The next and final layer is topping the whole thing with tater tots. Pop this into the oven and let it bake. As it cooks, the flavors of the chili mix with the hot dogs, the tater tots get crunchy and your Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole is done!
Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 regular size hot dogs, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces Use 5-6 is you have extra large hot dogs
- 2 15 ounce cans of chili of your choice You can use with or without beans or your favorite homemade chili
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 cups shredded cheese
- 1 28 ounce bag frozen tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray nonstick spray on a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- In a bowl combine chili, sliced hot dogs, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes. Stir to mix well.
- Pour the chili mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the shredded, cheese all over the chili dog mixture. Then, place the tater tots on top of the cheese. Make sure your tater tots cover the whole casserole in a single layer.
- Place casserole uncovered, into the oven for 30 minutes or bubbling.
As I mentioned above, I like to top my Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole with chopped red onion and mustard. I know others who like ketchup or hot sauce, or just as it is when it comes out of the oven bubbly hot. Give this a try, you will love it! The kids AND adults will keep coming back for more! Enjoy!
I love how quick Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole is to make, yet such comfort food to eat. Do you have a hot dog casserole that your family loves?
My wife made this and I finished it off. Definitely a mustard and red onion kind of guy. It is addictively delicious. I tried it with hot sauce but liked it better with mustard and red onions. Very good!!