Sausage and Egg Tater Tot Casserole
Updated June 12, 2023
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
8 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 pound uncooked pork, chicken or turkey breakfast sausage, casings removed, if any (see Tip)
Olive oil, if necessary
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 cups frozen Tater Tots (seasoned or unseasoned), about 19 ounces
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
¼ cup sliced scallions (about 2 scallions)
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and set aside.
- Step 2
In a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, stirring frequently and breaking up the sausage into smaller pieces, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat (if you don’t have enough fat in the pan, add enough olive oil to equal 1 tablespoon). Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened with a bit of bite to it, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 6 minutes.
- Step 3
Return the sausage to the skillet and stir to combine, then pour the egg mixture over the sausage and peppers making sure it evenly covers the entire bottom. Place the tots on top, add the shredded Cheddar and scallions and bake until the top is well-browned and puffed in the center and a knife inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, 35 to 55 minutes, depending on how creamy you like your eggs. (They will continue to cook slightly as they rest). Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
The sausage can be replaced with bacon or ground beef if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
Make Julia Child's version of Râpée Morvandelle instead of this casserole. I made this tater tot fantasy last night & won't ever again. A gratin of shredded potatoes, ham, onions, herbs, light cream and cheese beat it on every count. Don't bother trying to cut corners. You don't save time & only lose on flavor.
But it's "Cooking Notes" not "Nutrition Scolds" I chopped a small onion and minced a garlic clove and sautéed them with the green pepper rather than use the powders.
This was extremely easy to make, suited the entire family, and tasted fine, but I would not make it again. Supermarket-quality breakfast sausage plus tater tots really just tastes like fast food. Still, I’d like to encourage NYT to keep putting out recipes of this type because they’re so darn useful for getting picky kids fed without having to make the same exact thing every week.
This was decent and used ingredients I happened to have on hand…not sure why I bought that bag of tater tots in the first place, but I digress. I cooked mine longer than I should have and the bottom ended up quite brown and wound up with that overcooked egg taste and texture. That’s on me. I was nervous after 35 mins as the edges were quite wet-looking and bubbly…but I think in retrospect that was mostly oil. I ended up baking another 10 and that was too long. If I make this again I think I’ll go 38 mins with a spin at the halfway mark. Carry over cooking would take care of the rest…as the casserole, ya know, rests.
Made it last night and followed the recipe. Hubby drowned it in ketchup to give it flavor. I’ll try the Julia Child recipe next time
Easy and yummy. Swapped poblanos for green peppers and would add another one next time. Used veggie spicy sausage. Not much left in the skillet after brunch today-- it was a hit!