Chicken tater tot casserole (hotdish) is a one-pan dish made with layers of chicken tenderloins, broccoli, and cream of chicken soup – all topped with tater tots and shredded cheddar cheese. It’s an easy recipe that’s ready to serve as a complete meal in under an hour!
If you have never had them, tater tots are a tasty, bite sized potato side dish, made from seasoned shredded potatoes. Sort of like compressed hash browns that are deep fried like French fries.
Since they come frozen, and the seasonings are nothing more than salt and pepper, tater tots are easy to incorporate into casseroles.
Chili tatertot casserole is one of our favorite comfort foods, but it can be pretty high in fat and calories. To lighten it up and make it more wholesome, this version incorporates white meat chicken and broccoli.
Reasons To Love Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
- Healthier Comfort Food
Who doesn’t love a cheesy, chicken potato casserole?! It’s a comforting dinner with the healthy addition of broccoli, so both kids and adults love it! - Versatile
Feel free to use whichever fresh, canned, or frozen veggies your family prefers. - Cooks Quickly
This dinner is ready to serve in just about 40 minutes!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chicken
Since chicken tenderloin recipes are our favorite, chicken tenders is what we used here. Boneless skinless chicken breasts will also work. Or, you can use leftover chicken or turkey for this casserole recipe. - Cream of chicken soup
Using condensed soup is a big time saver, but if you aren’t a fan of using them, consider incorporating homemade condensed cream of chicken soup. - Veggies
Fresh or frozen vegetables work. Sturdy vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, green beans, or frozen mixed veggies would all work well! Avoid using softer vegetables, which tend to become mushy when they’re baked in the tater tot casserole. - Tater Tots
Do not thaw them. Use them frozen or they’ll lose their crispiness. - Cheese
Since this is a kid-friendly casserole recipe, we used cheddar cheese, but any hard cheese works well.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Make the cheesiest tater tot casserole by grating or shredding your own cheese. The anti-caking agents in packages of shredded cheese can affect how well the cheese melts.
Recipe Tips for Making Chicken Broccoli Potato Casserole
- Cut the pieces into similar sizes.
Some of the ingredients in the chicken casserole have round edges, like the onion and broccoli. So, when you’re cutting and dicing, do your best to create consistent sizes.
- Bake until bubbly and golden brown.
Using your eyesight is the easiest way to tell when the broccoli chicken tater tot casserole is ready to come out of the oven.
You’ll know the casserole is done when the tater tots are golden brown and the edges of the casserole are bubbling.
CHICKEN TATER TOT CASSEROLE FAQ
Yes. Allow it to cool completely, then store in a sealed container in the freezer. When ready to reheat you can thaw first or bake from frozen. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until reheated.
Essentially, Hotdish is a baked, main dish casserole. It always includes a protein, a starch of some sort, and a canned or frozen vegetable. Meanwhile, casseroles don’t always have to be the main dish, and there are plenty of casserole recipes that don’t include any protein.
Be sure to layer any cheese under the tater tots. The tater tots crisp up best if they are directly under the oven heating coils.
How to Make Ahead
Assemble the chicken broccoli tater tot casserole with the chicken tenders, but don’t add the tots yet. Cover the baking dish well and refrigerate your hotdish for up to three days.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375º F., add the frozen tater tots and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The chicken casserole is done when the tots are golden brown and the edges of the casserole are bubbly.
Recipe Variations for Tater Tot Chicken Casserole
- Use a different flavor of soup.
This chicken broccoli tater tot casserole is made with cream of chicken soup, but you can use any variety of condensed cream soups. Cream of mushroom, asparagus, or celery are good options. You can also use condensed cheddar cheese soup for extra cheesy goodness. - Choose your favorite vegetables to add to the chicken potato casserole. Broccoli is a healthy choice, but other sturdy vegetables like cauliflower and carrots bake well too!
- Make it meatless.
If you want to omit the chicken, you could make tatertot green bean casserole.
Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins or chicken tenders (can substitute with chicken breasts cut into 1" to 2" strips)
- 1 cup onion, chopped (1 small onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup (see notes for soup variations)
- 1 cup broccoli
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated or shredded
- 16 ounces (1/2 bag) frozen tater tots
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Saute chicken tenders in a 10-12" skillet over medium heat until lightly golden, about 5 – 7 minutes. Remove them to a plate and cover with foil.
- Saute chopped onion, and garlic in butter, until onions are translucent. Stir in canned soup and broccoli.
- Shred or chop chicken tenderloins and add to skillet. If your skillet is oven-safe, continue on to the next step. Otherwise, add the mixture to a round or oblong casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly across the top. Then top the casserole with a layer of tater tots.
- Bake at 375º uncovered for 30 minutes, until the tater tots are golden brown and the edges of the casserole are bubbly. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with sour cream, sliced green onion, or parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
This post, originally published November 2021, was updated with helpful content in December 2022.
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Karlie says
We LOVE a recipe under 10 ingredients! I used to live in Minnesota and these kinds of tater tot casserole dishes were everywhere. I made this tonight for my family and it brought us right back to the great white north! Thanks!