This delicious Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole with bacon, eggs, and cheese is filled to the brim with crispy tater tots. It’s quick, easy, and sure to be your family’s new favorite breakfast recipe.
This tater tot breakfast casserole recipe is more than enough on its own. But, if you are planning a brunch spread, or if you want to serve with as part of a holiday breakfast, try serving with this Classic French Toast, Candied Bacon, or a simple Fruit Salad.
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Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole With Bacon
One bite and you’ll be asking where this comfy, cozy, super satisfying Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole has been all of your life. It is one of those ideas that sounds so obvious after the fact - why haven’t we all been tossing frozen tater tots into a casserole dish with eggs, bacon, shredded cheese and chives?
Our family loves spicy, so sometimes we’ll do a Southwestern version by adding some canned green chilies and sautéed bell peppers into the mix. Other times, we’ll switch up the bacon with breakfast sausage, or change up the shredded cheese. However you decide to make it, you can be sure that your whole family will absolutely love it.
This recipe is also a great make-ahead recipe so it’s perfect for feeding a crowd of both kids and adults. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream and a splash of your favorite salsa and you’ll be good to go!
Tater Tot Video Tutorial
Ingredients You Will Need
- Bacon - any kind of bacon will work to make bacon bits.
- Tater Tots - it’s best if these stay frozen. Of course, if you plan to make this the night before that won’t be possible.
- Cheddar Cheese - you can purchase shredded cheese, or shred your own. Also, feel free to substitute colby jack, pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese.
- Eggs - you can use any type of large whole eggs.
- Milk - we recommend that you use whole milk or 2% milk.
- Onion Powder and Garlic Powder - these add so much flavor to the whole dish.
- Chives - you could also substitute chopped green onions.
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole
- Cook the bacon bits. Cook sliced bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is golden brown. Remove the bacon bits and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- Assemble the tater tots and cheese. Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish, then line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with tater tots. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of the bacon on the tater tots, then sprinkle half of the shredded cheddar cheese over that.
- Pour the egg mixture over the top. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, onion powder, garlic powder and chives. Pour this egg mixture over the tater tots and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. If you don't plan on baking right away, wrap with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.
- Bake. Once you are ready to bake, place the prepared tater tot dish into a preheated oven for about 1 hour, or until the edges and top are golden brown.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- Vegetarian - remove the bacon and you’ve got yourself a vegetarian breakfast casserole.
- Substitute a different breakfast meat - diced ham or even breakfast sausage would taste great in this casserole. You could also try a “meat lovers” version and use all three!
- Sautéed veggies - add sautéed red peppers, onions or mushrooms. You can sprinkle the veggies over the tater tots just before you pour over the egg mixture.
- Spicy - add a pinch or two of cayenne powder and a dash of your favorite hot sauce if you want to make things a little spicy.
- Tater Tot Casserole Muffins - bake individual portions into muffin tins! Just keep an eye on the cooking time which will vary quite a bit, depending on the size of tins that you use.
Frequently Asked Questions
You sure can. Just prep completely, then wrap well and store in the fridge overnight. The next morning, pull your baking dish from the fridge and preheat the oven for at least 30 minutes (you want to be sure that your baking dish has enough time to come to room temperature so that you don’t risk the chance of it shattering in the oven!).
Bake as directed and voila - breakfast is served!
Yes! Simply prep and bake as directed, cool completely, then wrap with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
In order to reheat, it’s easiest to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then pull out to room temperature the next morning while you preheat your oven. Reheat in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until warmed through.
Nope! It's actually best if you keep them frozen right up until you want to assemble. Otherwise they will get all mushy.
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Bacon sliced into ½" pieces
- 32 ounces Tater Tots frozen
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black Pepper
- 2 cups Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 12 large Eggs
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 T Chives chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add sliced bacon. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is golden brown. Once cooked, remove the bacon bits and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish, then line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with tater tots. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of the bacon on the tater tots, then sprinkle half of the shredded cheddar cheese over that.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, onion powder, garlic powder and chives. Pour this egg mixture over the tater tots and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. If you don't plan on baking right away, wrap with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.
- Once you are ready to bake, place the prepared tater tot dish into a preheated oven for about 1 hour, or until the edges and top are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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One bite and you’ll be asking where this comfy, cozy, super satisfying Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole has been all of your life. It's quick, easy and filled to the brim with crowd-friendly favorites like bacon, cheese and tater tots.
Diane
My husband wanted an egg casserole to bring to a guys weekend so I trialed the receipe on my family last week. Everyone loved it. It's certainly not the healthiest meal but once in a blue moon works for me.
Mel
Jill this was amazing! Thank you for this easy to make recipe! I loved being able to prepare a hot breakfast for my family ahead of time and they LOVED starting the day with such a yummy hot breakfast. I'm excited to try some italian sausage next time...
Brandy
I really enjoyed this. It was so easy to make and very delicious!