Loaded Tater Tots

loaded tater tot casserole appetizer recipe

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5 from 2 votes

A fun lunch, dinner or appetizer idea, I love serving this dish during the summer!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 551kcal

Author: Bailey Franklyn

Ingredients

Sauce

½ cup mayo
1 ½ teaspoon ketchup
2 teaspoon dill pickle juice
2 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Tots

1 (800g) bag tater tots
1 (540ml) can black beans
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped finely
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 beefsteak tomato, diced
guacamole or avocado
pickled onions
cilantro

Instructions

Cook your tater tots according to the directions on the package. Make the whole bag, it will serve 6 people as an appetizer, or fewer people for a meal.
While your tots are cooking make your sauce, and prep your other ingredients.
SAUCE: add all the ingredients into a small bowl. Combine well. Taste and adjust to your taste preference.
BEANS*: add the entire can of beans (no need to drain and rinse) to a large pan over medium heat. Add taco seasoning, and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, and then reduce the heat and cook for 8-10 minutes, letting the beans thicken. Stir occasionally so they don't stick. Once they've thickened up and most of the liquid is reduced, you can turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner.
Once your tots are cooked, let them cool for a few minutes.
Here's how I like to assemble the tots, but you can switch up the order if you want: lettuce first, then tots, then cheese, beans, tomatoes, a few plops of guacamole (or avocado), pickled onions, and then drizzle the sauce on top of everything. Garnish with cilantro (or microgreens).
Enjoy!

Notes

BEANS: I know it sounds strange, but trust me, don't drain the liquid. Keeping the liquid makes the beans creamier and adds some extra flavour. If you can't tolerate the bean brine, then you can drain and rinse the beans, but there won't be anything to simmer/cook, so just warm them up and toss them well in the taco seasoning.

HOW TO LAYER: this is a personal preference, but there is a method to my layering order. I like lettuce on the bottom as a bed. The cheese goes between the tots and the beans so it can melt, and then all the fresh ingredients are on top.

REDUCE THE DISHES: you can assemble right on the baking sheet to save yourself some dishes. The layering order will be a little different, because your bottom layer will be the tots.

LEFTOVERS: it's best to enjoy everything fresh, and it's rare to have leftovers. I find it's hard to heat up leftovers since some of the toppings don't heat up well (lettuce and cilantro). If you plan to have leftovers, I would keep the tots and the toppings separate, then you can reheat the tots and add the toppings after.

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