This easy Cowboy Casserole is a hearty dinner made with seasoned ground beef, corn, bacon, a creamy sauce, plenty of cheddar cheese, and crispy golden tater tots. Everything is layered into one casserole and baked until hot and bubbly with perfectly browned tots on top.
What Is Cowboy Casserole?
Cowboy Casserole is a hearty ground beef casserole with a creamy filling, cheese, and crispy tater tots. There are lots of variations, but this version combines ground beef with corn, bacon, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and cheddar cheese before adding a layer of frozen tater tots on top. Also known as Cowboy Tater Tot Casserole, this is a loaded twist on my classic Tater Tot Casserole.
It’s easy enough for a weeknight dinner but filling enough to feed the whole family. If you love my classic Tater Tot Casserole, this version has that same creamy, cheesy comfort-food feel with a few extra ingredients.
Ingredients Needed
All of the ingredients needed for this cowboy casserole with tater tots are inexpensive, which makes this the perfect budget meal. You will find the exact measurements on the recipe card below.
- Ground Beef: I like to use 80% lean to reduce the amount of grease.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup: You can substitute homemade if you prefer it over the canned variety.
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Onion Powder
- Salt – Pepper
- Frozen Corn
- Cheddar Cheese: Buy it prepackaged or shred it yourself.
- Bacon: Cooked and chopped.
- Tater Tots
How to Make Cowboy Casserole
After cooking the ground beef, all of the ingredients get mixed, layered, and baked. It’s so very simple to execute a cowboy tater tot casserole.
- Step 1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Non-stick cooking spray works great.
- Step 2. While the oven is preheating, heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Drain all of the grease.
- Step 3. Whisk cream of mushroom soup, milk, and sour cream in a large bowl until smooth.
- Step 4. Add onion powder, salt, and black pepper to the creamy mixture and stir until well combined.
- Step 5. Stir in ground beef, corn, ½ cup of cheese, and bacon. I use a wooden spoon for this.
- Step 6. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish then layer with another ½ cup of cheese and tater tots.
- Step 7. Bake for 40 minutes or until the tots are browned. Top with remaining shredded cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Step 8. Serve and enjoy!
Tips For The Best Cowboy Casserole
- Substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef.
- Instead of cream of mushroom soup, you can use any other kind including cream of potato, cream of celery or cream of chicken soup.
- You can use a different cheese like pepper jack or mozzarella.
- Make this casserole ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
- I sometimes like to use frozen mixed veggies or frozen peas instead of frozen corn.
- Tater rounds can be substituted for tater tots.
- Add a can of black beans or pinto beans for extra protein.
- Green chiles are a nice addition for a kick.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, chives, or green onions.
Make Ahead & Storage
- Make ahead: Assemble the Cowboy Casserole up to 24 hours ahead of time, cover, and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake. If it’s going into the oven cold, check it around 35 minutes since the tots and corn will have thawed somewhat in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or use the oven if you want to crisp up the tater tots again.
- Freezer: Cover the casserole well and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
More Easy Casserole Recipes
- Hashbrown Casserole
- Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole
- Taco Tater Tot Casserole
- Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole
- Mexican Tater Tot Casserole
Cowboy Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 10.75 ounce cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- 1/2 cup bacon cooked and chopped
- 28 ounces tater tots frozen
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
- In a skillet, cook ground beef breaking into small pieces; until no longer pink. Drain grease.
- In a large bowl, whisk cream of mushroom soup, milk, and sour cream until smooth.
- Add onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until combined.
- With a wooden spoon stir in ground beef, corn, ½ cup of cheese, and bacon until well mixed.
- Pour into the prepared pan. Layer ½ cup cheese and tater tots on top.
- Bake for 40 minutes; until bubbly and tots are browned. Then top with remaining ½ cup cheese and bake until melted; about 5 minutes.
- Serve with an additional sprinkle of bacon, if desired.
Last Step:
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32 comments on “Cowboy Casserole”
My grandson is obsessed with this! We all enjoy it!
Thanks Dawn!
If you make this ahead of time and put it in the fridge do you have to lessen the baking time since the tots and corn will not be frozen?
Hi Natasha. Yes, cooking time will will be slightly less. I would check at 35 minutes.
Love this recipe! We prefer to layer Tater Tot’s on bottom of casserole pan, they melt into the mix so well that way!
Thanks Patricia!
This is a great start to a versitile recipie..!!
Almost anything can be changed as far as the spices go, the protein too.. I would use a blend of turkey and hot italian sausage…!! That wakes it all up, is cheaper and better for you…
This recipe right here is going in the family cookbook for sure! Everyone loves it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Glad they loved it Alexis! Thanks!
Could have used some kind of thickener , it turned out kind of runny , but tasted very good I did put jalapeño peppers that give some zing .
If I have already baked this, could I put it the freezer and pop it back in the oven for a quick meal another night?
Hi Taylor. Yes, this will freeze well. You can also freeze in portion sizes too if you prefer.