One Skillet French Onion Tater Tot Casserole

By Leslie Blythe Beef, Casserole, Cheese Roasting, Sautéing

November 12, 2023

I recently made this Tater Tot Cowboy Casserole. It was insanely good, so I made another version of it. One-Skillet French Onion Tater Tot Casserole is a cross between French onion soup and a classic midwest style tater tot casserole. It is made with caramelized onions, ground beef, bell peppers, garlic, and topped with a layer of Gruyère cheese, tater tots and baked in the oven until the tater tots are golden brown and then get an extra layer of cheddar cheese.

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Yields: 6 Servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

2-3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc 

1 pound lean ground turkey, chicken, or beef 

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated 

2 red bell peppers, chopped (or 16 ounces mixed frozen vegetables)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley) 

kosher salt and black pepper 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend

 ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

2 pounds frozen tater tots

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 

fresh chives, for topping (optional)

Directions

1Preheat the oven to 425° F.

2In a large oven safe skillet, melt the butter, olive oil, and onions together. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. At this point, you want to slowly add ½ cup of the wine, ¼ cup at a time, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 8-10 minutes until you've used the ½ cup of wine and the onions are deeply caramelized. Push the onions to the side of the pan and stir in the meat, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, parsley, cayenne, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, another 5 minutes until the meat is browned. Stir in the flour and cook another minute. Add the remaining ½ cup wine, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened 3-5 minutes.

3Remove from the heat and sprinkle the Gruyere cheese overtop the meat. Arrange the tater tots on top of the cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake 20 minutes, until the tots are golden. Sprinkle the cheddar over the tater tots, return to the oven. Bake another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

4Serve topped as desired with fresh thyme and chives.

Recipe by Tieghan Gerard, Half Baked Harvest.

close full screen

00:00