Mexican Tater Tot Casserole

Jump to Video · Jump to Recipe

This low carb Mexican tater tot casserole is loaded with ground beef seasoned in my homemade taco seasoning mix, lots of cheese, and keto cauliflower tots. If you need your tater tot casserole fix on the keto diet, this is for you.

This recipe is , with main ingredient
low carb tater tot casserole

52 Shares

This is the season for comfort food and nothing compares to the low carb Mexican tater tot casserole. What makes this casserole so unique it that it is keto approved thanks to the cauliflower tots. I came up with this recipe a while back and recently thought it would be cool to make a Mexican tater tot recipe using them. I also wanted to give it a taco flavor, so I used my favorite homemade taco seasoning mix, and the flavors are off the charts.

Before making the low carb Mexican tater to casserole, be sure to make my keto cauliflower tots as you will need them for the topping. I decided to omit the cheese from the tot recipe since we are using a bunch of cheese in the casserole, but it’s completely up to you.

How Do I Make A Mexican Tater Tot Casserole?

The first step to making a low carb tater tot casserole is to make the cauliflower tots. All you need to do is rice 1 head of cauliflower on a box grater or food processor and combine with eggs, seasonings, and pack them into mini muffin tins. I recent started using a silicone mini muffin tin because my tots kept sticking to the non-stick pan I had. This was driving me crazy, so I made the switch and love it.

Bake the low carb tots in a 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Click the link in the beginning of this blog post to get the full recipe. Next up, cook some onions, poblano peppers, and garlic in a large non-stick pan for 10 minutes and then add 1 pound of ground beef.

After the beef is cooked halfway, add 2 tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning mix. It has smoked paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, coriander, thyme, and cayenne pepper, and it’s so tasty! Then add some beef stock and 2/3 cup of red enchilada sauce to make the filling of the tater tots casserole moist and saucy.

Cook for 10 minutes then transfer to an 8×10 baking dish and top with 1.5 cups of grated cheddar and jack cheese. Place the keto cauliflower tots on top and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Add 1/2 more of cheese and bake another 10 minutes. Allow the casserole to cool for 20 minutes before serving or it will fall apart when you scoop it out.

Low carb casserole
Mexican tater tot casserole

How Do I Make A Low Carb Mexican Casserole?

It’s very easy to make a tater tot casserole low carb. Just replace the tots with ones made from cauliflower and use keto approved veggies. I like to add green or poblano peppers to the garlic and onions, but you can also add some spinach or broccoli. That is a great way to sneak some veggies. The kids won’t even taste them because the taco seasoning mix and beef have so much flavor!

Each cauliflower tater tot only has 0.87 net grams of carbs, and you won’t even be able to tell that it’s not made of potatoes. Make sure to top he casserole with full fat shredded cheese, lower fat cheeses have more carbs, and bake in the oven. You can top with low carb toppings like avocados, full fat sour cream, radishes, and cilantro.

Mexican tater tot casserole
Low carb cauliflower tater tot casserole

Can You Make A Tater Tot Casserole Ahead Of Time?

You can make a tater tot casserole one day ahead of time and reheat in a 350 degree F for 15 minutes or until hot. The flavors actually get better the next day! You can freeze the Mexican casserole for 3 months,. Just make sure to thaw before reheating in the oven. The tater tot casserole will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Make sure to check out my other comfort food recipes:

52 Shares

amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "flavcity05-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_title = "My Amazon Picks"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "96d8b836a6526a404a2ad1f0af47f779"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B0746CWTXF,B01KNZOOP8,B004YZENBY,B009HBKRKG";

low carb tater tot casserole

Mexican Tater Tot Casserole

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: keto, low carb, tater tot, tater tot casserole
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Calories: 582 kcal
Author: Bobby Parrish

This low carb tater tot casserole has a Mexican vibe thanks to ground beef seasoned with homemade taco seasoning mix and enchilada sauce. Top this casserole with lots of cheese and my homemade low carb tots, and bake it in the oven.

Print

Ingredients

For the casserole:

  • 1 cup onions minced
  • 1 poblano pepper diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound ground beef 85:15
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix recipe below
  • ¼ cup beef stock/broth
  • 2/3 cup red enchilada sauce
  • Keto tater tots recipe here
  • 2 cups total shredded cheddar & jack cheese
  • Avocado. radishes and red chilies for garnish
  • Avocado oil
  • Kosher salt & fresh pepper

For the Taco seasoning mix:

  • 2 teaspoons each smoked paprika ancho chili powder, cumin, & chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon each dried thyme & coriander
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Make the low carb cauliflower tots according to the recipe on this blog page. Tots can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F and pre-heat a large non-stick pan just below medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil along with the onions, poblano peppers, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a few cracks of pepper. Cook for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, make the taco seasoning mix by adding all the ingredients to a small bowl and mix well, and set aside. After 7 minutes, add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the ground beef along with ½ teaspoon of salt and raise the heat to medium-high. Break up the ground beef into small pieces and cook until the beef is halfway cooked. Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix, stir well, and cook just until the beef is cooked thorough. Add the beef stock and enchilada sauce, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened up and is not runny. Check for seasoning, you may need more salt.
  3. Pour the beef mixture into an 8x10 baking dish, or something close to that and top with 1.5 cups of the shredded cheese. Place the cauliflower tater tots on top and push them about half way down into the beef and cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, add the remaining ½ cup of cheese, and bake for 7-10 minutes more. Allow to cool for 20 minutes so the casserole does not fall apart, top with toppings and enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Macros per serving of casserole, makes 5 servings:
582 calories
10 grams of net carbs
13.3 grams of total carbs
43.2 grams of fat
37.3 grams of protein
3.5 grams of fiber

Nutrition Facts
Mexican Tater Tot Casserole
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 582 Calories from Fat 389
% Daily Value*
Fat 43.2g66%
Carbohydrates 13.3g4%
Fiber 3.5g15%
Protein 37.3g75%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

MORE RECIPES

beef tacos

Beef Tacos & Creamy Slaw

stuffed bell peppers

Keto Stuffed Bell Peppers

homemade guacamole

My Best Guacamole Recipe

low carb cauliflower tots

Low Carb Cauliflower Tots

This recipe is: ,

7 thoughts on “Mexican Tater Tot Casserole”

  1. Katie

    Bobby,
    I tweaked the recipe and used tater tots, added some left over veggies from the frig, and added left over chorizo/potato taco filling. I topped it with avocado, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. I realize it is not keto, but my twin 16 year old boys loved it, and asked me to make 2 pans next time. I will try your keto tots when I have time and a minute muffin tin.

    Reply
  2. Kim

    Love the Mexican Tater Tot Casserole! However, instead of sprinkling with parsley, cilantro would be more fitting (in my humble opinion). Thanks for the awesome recipe Bobby.

    Reply
    1. Bobby Parrish

      Cilantro probably makes more sense than parsley for the recipe since it was a Mexican flavored dish, but either works.

      Reply
  3. Megan McDonnell

    Holy sabor!

    I got cocky and upped the cayenne in the tots, and used two poblanos instead of one, and my mouth is muy caliente! I topped it with sour cream, and all is well. Great recipe for flavor, just be prepared to clean a lot of dishes.

    Reply
  4. Michele

    Took a bit of time but we made date night out of it. This dish was delicious and we will be making it again!

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top
52 Shares