The BEST Chicken Tater Tot Casserole Ever (Prepped In Just 5 Minutes)

This chicken tater tot casserole is loaded with deliciousness. It combines a creamy chicken bacon ranch filling with crispy tater tots, all topped with melty cheddar cheese. The best part though is that this easy tater tot casserole is prepared in 5 minutes! It may just be one of the best meals you have ever make.

The Best Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

Casseroles are amazing, but a casserole that can double as a quick breakfast or dinner is even better. And that's just what this chicken tater tot casserole recipe can do!

Not only is it versatile, but this tater tot casserole chicken recipe might just be one of the most delicious casseroles you ever make!

I mean, this recipe is just jam-packed with flavor. The creamy, savory filling is made up of shredded chicken, sour cream, ranch dressing, and bacon bits scattered throughout. That right there would be delicious on its own, but this casserole has crispy tater tots in the filling and a generous amount of shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Gah, it's just so good and so easy to make too! The entire process of making this chicken tater tot casserole basically involves mixing the ingredients together, then putting them in a casserole dish to bake in the oven. It's really that easy.

And since everything gets mixed in the same bowl and baked together, the clean-up is super easy too - which you know I love.

Ingredients

Another reason to love this chicken tater tot casserole is that it's made with a handful of simple ingredients.

In fact, you might have a few at home already, but if not, a trip to the store is well worth it. And you'll definitely want to stock up on these ingredients because I have a feeling you'll want to make this recipe all the time!

Anyway, here are all of the ingredients you'll need to make this chicken tater tot casserole recipe:

• 2 Cups Cooked Chicken, shredded
• 1 ¼ Cup Cup Sour Cream
• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 2 tsp. Ranch Dressing Mix
• 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled 
• 1 bag Frozen Tater Tots
• 1 ½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Pretty simple stuff, right?

By the way, you can use a lot of these same ingredients to make this ranch chicken, crack chicken casserole, or Buffalo chicken casserole next! So if you end up having some extras of them, I recommend giving one of those easy chicken recipes a shot.

Oh, and if you have more tater tots, you have to make this cowboy casserole.

Ingredient Additions and Substitutions

Now, I almost always make this chicken tater tot casserole with the ingredients listed above, but there are certainly some ways you can change it up.

To make this chicken tater tot casserole as quick and easy as possible, I always use a rotisserie chicken since it's already cooked and can be shredded in seconds. With that said, you can use any cooked chicken or leftover chicken that you want! This air fryer frozen chicken breast is a great recipe to make if you're looking for one.

One addition you can make is to add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables to the casserole mixture. Adding some frozen veggies is a great way to make the casserole a little heartier if you're serving it for dinner.

Lastly, feel free to change up the shredded cheese. Other cheeses like pepper jack, mozzarella, and Colby jack work great.

So, there are a number of ways to change this tater tot casserole chicken recipe, and all of the variations will be just as delicious!

How to Make Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

Now it's time for the fun part, making the best chicken tater tot casserole!

As I mentioned earlier, this is such an easy recipe to make. It requires just 5 minutes to prepare the casserole, and you can have it on the table in well under an hour! Sounds pretty great, right?

Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get cooking.

Step 1: Prep Work

You'll want to start by preheating your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Then, coat a 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set it aside. Doing this - coating the dish with the spray - will not only help you scoop the warm casserole out of the dish later on, but it will also make the dish much easier to clean too.

Anyway, after the casserole dish is prepped, you can add the shredded chicken, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and ranch dressing mix to a large bowl and mix them all up until they combine.

Then, when they do you can stir in the bacon, half of the cheddar cheese, and frozen tater tots.

Step 2: Building The Casserole

So, now that all of the casserole filling ingredients are well combined you can transfer the chicken and tater tot mixture into the prepared pan and spread it evenly across the pan.

Then, you'll want to top the casserole with the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese until it's evenly coated in it.

Step 3: Bake The Casserole

Now that you've got the casserole all prepped and ready to go, it's time to bake it in the oven. So put the casserole dish in the oven and bake it for about 45 minutes.

Then, after that amount of time you should end up with a perfectly cooked chicken tater tot casserole with bubbly melty cheese that is golden brown on top.

Finally, let your tater tot casserole with chicken cool for a minute, then scoop out a few portions and serve warm. Enjoy!

How to Store Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

So, this recipe for chicken tater tot casserole makes enough for about six people. And while my family devours the whole casserole in just one sitting, you may have leftovers.

I mean, this recipe does make a lot of food. Honestly, though this tater tot casserole makes for some tasty leftovers so that's definitely not a bad thing!

Anyway, to store your leftover tater tot casserole, you'll just want to let it cool completely, and then wrap the entire baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to four days.

Alternatively, if you want to store this chicken tater tot casserole for even longer, you totally can by freezing it.

So, to do that, you'll just want to wrap the entire casserole dish in plastic wrap and then in a layer of aluminum foil before putting it in the freezer. Also, just so you know, this casserole will stay good in the freezer for up to three months.

How To Reheat Tater Tot Casserole

Now, if you're eating this chicken tater tot casserole recipe leftover, you'll definitely want to reheat it.

So to reheat, all you have to do is put the casserole bake in a baking dish or casserole dish and heat in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese melts again and the casserole is warmed through.

For a quicker method, you can reheat individual portions of this cracked out chicken tater tot casserole in the microwave in 20-second increments until it reaches your desired temperature.

And if reheating from frozen, just add more cooking time to either method.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make chicken tater tot casserole!

The crispy bacon, the crunchy tater tots, the tangy ranch seasoning, and the creamy soup filling all just go so, so well together.

Honestly, my family loved it so much the first time I made it that it's now a part of our weekly dinner rotation. Seriously, my wife and daughter can't get enough of it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this tater tot casserole with chicken as much as I/we do.

As always, if you make it, be sure to leave a comment below and tell us how it went!!

More Casserole Recipes

If you're looking for some more easy casserole recipes that are just as delicious as this one, we have a ton on the blog that you can try next!

Check out these casserole recipes:

• John Wayne casserole
• Pork chop casserole
• Cheeseburger casserole
• Poppyseed chicken casserole
• Chicken pot pie casserole
• Sausage casserole

Also, for even more deliciousness, be sure to follow us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. We post easy casserole recipes just like this one all the time!

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