Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole has all the delicious flavors of buffalo chicken dip and is a great way to spice up your weeknight dinner.
In this twist on classic Tater Tot Casserole, I swapped the beef for spicy Buffalo chicken and replaced more traditional vegetables with carrots and celery. Served with carrot and celery sticks with a side of Ranch or blue cheese dressing for dunking, this is a super fun weeknight dinner that can be on the table in under an hour.
Is this recipe spicy?
As written, this recipe has a little bit of a kick to it, but it isn’t super spicy. I used bottled wing sauce and the heat level is similar to the heat of a medium buffalo wing.
A great way to control the level of heat is to make your own wing sauce with hot sauce and butter. Add more butter for a milder sauce, or use less if you really want to kick things up. If you like things super spicy, you can also add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Does this casserole use canned soup?
Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole swaps condensed soup for a different sauce – in Tater Tot Casserole, it’s red enchilada sauce. In this dish the wing sauce adds enough moisture and acts as a binder to keep the chicken together. I suggest adding a thin layer of cheese directly on top of the vegetables to help hold the tater tots in place though.
What Kind Of Chicken?
I use rotisserie chicken in this recipe for convenience, but you can use chicken breast if you prefer. You’ll want to use about 1 and 1/2 pounds of chicken breast in place of the whole chicken. Cook the chicken, then shred or dice the meat and toss with the wing sauce.
What kind of cheese should you use?
You have some options here. While I definitely recommend using shredded mozzarella underneath the tots, mozzarella or crumbled blue cheese are both great melted over the top. You can also switch things up by using pepper jack or shredded Mexican blend.
What should you serve this casserole with?
Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole is a meal in itself, but I like to serve it with carrot and celery sticks for added nutrition. Plus, that gives you an excuse to dunk something in dressing – and who doesn’t love to do that?
Podcast Episode: Making Tater Tot Casserole
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly how to make this casserole, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 small rotisserie chicken (about 3 pounds)
- 1/4 cup Buffalo wing sauce, bought or homemade
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 lb. frozen tater tots
- 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350°F.
- Remove and discard the chicken skin. Pull the meat off the bones and shred it.
- Add the meat to a 9×11 casserole dish. Pour in the wing sauce and mix well.
- Scatter the carrots and celery over the chicken.
- Sprinkle with half of the cheese.
- Arrange the tater tots in a single layer over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until the tater tots are golden brown. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes, until melted.
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