Venison Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
If you’re looking for an easy dinner recipe to add to your weekly meal plan, then check out this venison tater tot casserole recipe. This is a ground venison recipe I learned to make as a child, so it is very easy to make (and a family favorite)! Deer tater tot casserole takes about 20 minutes of prep, and about another 20 minutes of oven time. I use only 5 ingredients, so this hot dish recipe is also great if you don’t have many groceries in the house.
Ground Venison Taste vs Ground Beef
Venison tastes similar to beef, and you almost can’t tell the difference if you cook the venison in beef broth. Our ground venison tastes exactly like ground beef because our local butcher mixes 30% ground beef with the ground deer meat, because the grease from the beef creates a broth that the venison is cooked in (no need to soak the venison in milk or vinegar before cooking). I prefer cooking ground venison instead of ground beef, mainly so that I don’t have to drain the grease. This is because there is no fat content, nor grease with most types of wild venison.
Tater Tot Casserole Ingredients
The main ingredients needed when cooking the best green bean tater tot casserole include ground venison (deer, elk, moose, etc.), cream of mushroom soup, green beans, tater tots, and seasoning. (This recipe will also work if you prefer to use ground beef.) Spices that go well with ground venison tater tot casserole include garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. If you have extremely gamey tasting venison, adding a bit of Worcestershire sauce or add a bit of beef bouillon diluted with water. If your taste buds get bored easily, I like to add a bit of Mrs. Dash to jazz things up a bit. These few simple ingredients are what makes this wild venison casserole so easy to make.
How to Make Tater Tot Casserole
Some people love to cook in their slow cooker / crock pot or instant pot. In fact, I have seen many recipes in the instant pot that mainly use the sauté mode. I prefer to fry my ground venison in cast iron for the higher iron content in the food (plus seasoned cast iron makes food taste better). You can read more about why I cook in my cast iron cookware in this article. If you would like to try a cast iron skillet, I recommend Lodge (Amazon affiliate link) large skillet. It is made in the United States, and has had a great reputation for quality products for over 100 years! After the ground meat is cooked, layer cooked meat, then canned cream of mushroom soup, green beans, then tater tots. Oven finish the hamburger tater tot casserole, ensuring the oven is hot enough to cook golden brown tater tots. (This recipe has enough liquid to prevent sticking, so there is no need to grease the baking dish.)
Venison Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground venison
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cans green beans
- 1/2 package frozen tater tots (about 30 tots)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Mrs. Dash ((optional))
Instructions
- Brown ground venison, adding garlic and onion when almost brown2 pounds ground venison, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder
- Layer cooked venison in the bottom of the casserole dish2 pounds ground venison
- Next pour cream of mushroom soup on top of ground venison, smoothing out to even layer2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- Add drained green beans, and spread into even layer2 cans green beans
- Add optional Mrs. Dash (this can also be done to individual servings if desired)1 tsp Mrs. Dash
- Arrange tater tots on top layer1/2 package frozen tater tots (about 30 tots)
- Bake 425° for about 20-30 minutes (until tater tots are golden brown on top)
- Enjoy!
- If you like this recipe, please rate and comment at the bottom of the page. Thank you!
Nutrition
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Our Other Venison Recipes:
Great casserole recipe!
I’ve had trouble cooking elk before, and this was DELICIOUS!