The Best Tater Tot Venison Casserole
I call this classic comfort food Tater Tot Venison Casserole, while my wife who was born and raised in Minnesota calls it Tater Tot Venison Hotdish. Whatever name you use, this ground venison recipe is definitely a family favorite here in the Upper Midwest. I use layers of ground venison, extra veggies, and cream of mushroom soup to make this simple skillet venison for dinner. You can substitute cream of celery and other ingredients to make it your own.VENISON HOTDISH VS VENISON CASSEROLEIf you live in a certain part of the Upper Midwest (namely Minnesota and North Dakota), you've probably been introduced to hotdish. It practically runs in people's bloodstreams there, a staple main course at potlucks, funerals, and family reunions. But describing hotdish to an outsider is no easy feat. It doesn't have a strict definition, and that's kind of the point. It's a meal of necessity, made with whatever you have on hand at the time. The name is easy to explain — it's a hot meal prepared entirely in a casserole dish — but exactly what goes into that dish can vary significantly. The basic elements are meat, vegetables, starch, sauce, and toppings, but the specifics are up to each cook.The meat is typically ground beef, though you could use chicken, pork, tuna, and venison like I do here. The vegetables are usually canned or frozen. The starch could be pasta or rice. The sauce is made from canned condensed soup, the most popular being cream of mushroom and cream of tomato. The most recognizable topping is a layer of Tater Tots, which may stand in for the starch as well, although potato chips, chow mien noodles, and melted cheese are also popular choices. At this point, those of you unfamiliar with hotdish might be thinking, "Hang on, that's just a casserole." You're not wrong, but you're not quite right either.HISTORY OF HOTDISHHotdish was popular during the Great Depression as a way to stretch a small amount of meat into a meal for the entire family. The use of canned goods added volume to the dish while keeping the budget within reason. The word "hotdish" first appeared in print in a 1930 community cookbook published by the Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid in Mankato, Minnesota. The recipe, written by Mrs. C.W. Anderson, called for ground beef, canned tomato soup, peas, celery, and macaroni noodles (specifically Creamette macaroni, made in Minneapolis). However, the circumstances of the Great Depression meant that recipes had to be adjusted based on what was available to you at the time. You had to make do with whatever you could get, and thus hotdish came to have a very flexible definition.EASY TATER TOT VENISON CASSEROLEOne of the nice things about this tater tot venison casserole recipe is that it takes hardly any time at all to put together. You fry up an onion and some ground venison in a cast iron skillet, then start layering in the rest of the ingredients in the same pan.My 8-year-old daughter loved helping me make this venison casserole using the mule deer we got together while hunting in the Badlands of North Dakota. Check out my daughter's other favorite ground venison recipe Sloppy Does.MORE GROUND VENISON RECIPESIf you are looking for more great ways to use that ground venison in your freezer, don't stop with this Tater Tot Venison Casserole. I also have a delicious and easy-to-make Venison Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe, and an Easy Venison Chili Recipe. How about my Easy Venison Spaghetti! Or you can find all my Venison Recipes here.If you are headed our way for North Dakota deer season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.Did you enjoy this Tater Tot Venison Casserole Recipe? Be sure to leave a 5-star rating RIGHT HERE!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and diced onion and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the ground venison, break into small pieces, and cook for about 5 minutes until no longer pink.
- Turn down the heat to low and add the corn, soup, milk, salt, black pepper, and spinach and mix thoroughly. Cook on low for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the casserole. Add the tater tots to the casserole in a single layer, arranging them in circles, starting on the outside and working your way in to the center.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes until the tater tots are golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve.
Toni Schmidt says
Another excellent recipe
Jeff Benda says
Thanks Toni! Glad you liked it as much as we did.
Gary says
Just made it in a 10x12 baking dish, after done baking, saw yours was in a cast iron pan. We had one of those, 1003 pm, will taste tomorrow for lunch.
Tara says
Our 3 little girls love helping me make this venison casserole and love the pic of your daughter enjoying it as much as we do.
Liz says
Turned out super good. I had previously made a similar Tater tot casserole with venison and for some reason there was a much more Gamey flavor, but this one was much better. I will say I did add some extra seasonings to it this time (flavored salt, sage, garlic powder) and I had frozen green beans and peas that I went ahead and tossed in… and the cheese I had on hand was Colby Jack, …yes, I suppose I rabbit trailed away from the given recipe, but didn’t you say this dish is versatile and can be adjusted to “whatever” you like?! My point for sharing a comment is to encourage others who might be doubtful to take you at your word and just go ahead and make adjustments according to whatever you have in your fridge. This really does taste great and it was actually the first time I ever baked a casserole in cast iron skillet. Turned out really good! Everyone had seconds (which in my house is a very telling gauge of success) Thanks for the recipe!
Jeff Benda says
Thanks for leaving a comment Liz and sharing that you added a few things and made the recipe your own! I'm so glad to hear everyone liked it and had seconds!