Freezer to Crock Pot

My kids will eat pretty much anything if it involves tater tots. This cheesy tater tot chicken casserole is no exception. And I like that it is an easy make ahead crock pot recipe that is dump and go!Tater tot casseroles are a go-to around here. I’m not sure that our kids could choose a favourite between our Ground Beef and Vegetable Tater Tot Casserole, Pizza Tater Tot Casserole, and Tater Tot Casserole with Ground Sausage.

This all in one meal is family friendly and tasty. This is exactly the kind of dinner busy families need for those crazy weeknights juggling homework, soccer or piano practise, and trying to get supper on the table.

Cheesy Tater Tot Chicken Casserole Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breasts, boneless and skinless*
• 32 oz. bag of frozen tater tots
• 1 small bag of bacon bits or 3 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 12 oz. can evaporated milk
• salt and pepper

*You can cube the chicken breasts or leave them whole.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Place the chicken in a large resealable freezer bag.
2. Add the tater tots, bacon bits or crumbled cooked bacon, shredded cheese, evaporated milk, and seasonings.
3. Remove the excess air from the bag, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Spray your crock pot with nonstick spray or use a crock pot liner (these are a major mess saver!).
3. Dump the bag contents into the slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

Variations on this recipe:

• Use tex mex or nacho blends of shredded cheese in place of the cheddar to kick it up a notch.
• If you want things to be even cheesier, add additional cheese to the top in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
• Substitute turkey bacon for the bacon.
• Use imitation bacon bits instead of bacon or omit it altogether.

Print

Cheesy Tater Tot Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken breasts boneless and skinless*
• 32 oz. bag of frozen tater tots
• 1 small bag of bacon bits or 3 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
• 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
• 12 oz. can evaporated milk
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

1. Place the chicken in a large resealable freezer bag.
2. Add the tater tots, bacon bits or crumbled cooked bacon, shredded cheese, evaporated milk, and seasonings.
3. Remove the excess air from the bag, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Spray your crock pot with nonstick spray or use a crock pot liner (these are a major mess saver!).
3. Dump the bag contents into the slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

Recipe Notes

*You can cube the chicken breasts or leave them whole.

You might also be interested in these recipes:

Tater Tot Casserole with Ground Beef and Veggies

Pizza Tater Tot Casserole

Beefy Rice Crock Pot Casserole

My kids will eat pretty much anything as long as it involves tater tots. This tater tot casserole with beef and veggies is an easy all in one meal that can be made ahead and then popped in the crock pot on cooking day. This is quick and easy comfort food. Our original tater tot casserole is based off the Duggar recipe except that we use ground sausage instead of turkey and don’t use the chicken soup (so I guess it’s totally different!) is most of our kids’ absolute favourite thing to eat, but it’s not all that healthy. We love our tater tot pizza casserole, but I wanted more variety. I’ve been trying different ideas for a new one and this one fits the bill.

This has meat and vegetables and my kids all love it. Healthy AND something my kids will actually eat gives this recipe major points!

I make this tater tot casserole as a freezer meal, but if you prefer, you can always cook it the same day instead. Better yet, make two. Eat one and freeze the other so you’ve got an easy weeknight meal for next week!

Tater Tot Casserole with Beef and Veggies:

Tater Tot Casserole Ingredients:

• 750 g bag frozen tater tots
• 1 lb. lean ground beef, browned
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded

Assembly instructions:

1. Brown ground beef and cool slightly.
2. Place beef in a large resealable freezer bag.
3. Add the chopped onion and mixed vegetables.
4. In a mixing bowl, stir together soup, evaporated milk, garlic, and seasonings. Pour into the bag over the other ingredients.
5. Place the shredded cheese in a medium freezer bag.
6. Remove the excess air from both bags, seal, and staple together above the fold.
7. Freeze.

Crock pot cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Dump the contents of the large bag into the slow cooker.* Cook on high for 3-4 hours or 6 hours on low.
3. Top with cheese near the end of cooking.
4. Serve.

*This casserole tends to stick to the sides of the slow cooker making it hard to clean afterwards, so I suggest using Crock Pot liners. They are food safe and can be thrown out after use making clean-up a breeze!

Oven cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Place contents of the large bag in a 9×13 casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.
3. Serve.

More family favourite freezer meals:

• Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
• Beefy Rice Slow Cooker Casserole
• Chicken and Vegetable Casserole with Crispy Onion Topping
• Instant Pot Pizza Casserole
• Make Ahead Mac and Cheese

Print

Tater Tot Casserole with Beef and Veggies

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: tater tot casserole

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 750 g bag frozen tater tots
• 1 lb. lean ground beef browned
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

1. Brown ground beef and cool slightly.
2. Place beef in a large resealable freezer bag.
3. Add the chopped onion and mixed vegetables.
4. In a mixing bowl, stir together soup, evaporated milk, garlic, and seasonings. Pour into the bag over the other ingredients.
5. Place the shredded cheese in a medium freezer bag.
6. Remove the excess air from both bags, seal, and staple together above the fold.
7. Freeze.

Crock pot cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Dump the contents of the large bag into the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or 6 hours on low.
3. Top with cheese near the end of cooking.
4. Serve.

Oven cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Place contents of the large bag in a 9x13 casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.
3. Serve.

My husband started doing Keto this year. It’s made freezer meals more of a challenge as I’ve had to find make ahead recipes that are keto friendly. This Beef and Bacon Goulash is one I made last time we did meal prep and he was very happy with the results. This is an easy freezer to crock pot recipe with just 5 ingredients. And it’s healthy, using real food. So whether you’re on a low carb diet or not, this recipe can be one you add into your dinner arsenal.

It’s not the prettiest looking thing, but the taste is there!

Apparently, a goulash is supposed to be seasoned with paprika and this one isn’t, so technically, I guess I should be calling this a stew, but we named it Bacon and Beef Goulash. Once your bag is labelled that, that’s what you and your family will call it for all of time!

Beef and Bacon Goulash Recipe:

• 2 lbs. beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 1/4 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup beef broth
• 5 slices bacon, sliced into bite sized pieces*
• 1 onion, sliced

Optional for day of serving:

• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Note: *If you want crunchier bacon, you can fry it before adding it to the freezer bag.

Assembly instructions:

1. Cube the beef. Slice the onion, mushrooms, and bacon.
2. Add the beef, bacon slices, mushrooms, onion slices, and beef broth to a large resealable freezer bag.
3. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Remove from freezer to thaw.
2. Add the bag contents to the Crock Pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
3. If you want to thicken up the gravy, mix together 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and stir into the beef mixture in the slow cooker 20 minutes before serving.

You can serve this on mashed potatoes, rice, or cauliflower rice. Or if you’d rather, you can serve this beside vegetables or with buns. My husband likes to eat his with cauliflower rice fried up with lots of garlic. It’s actually pretty delicious.

Check out these other keto friendly freezer meals:

Instant Pot Keto Bone Broth

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Instant Pot Pork or Chicken Shawarma

Print

Beef and Bacon Goulash

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. beef stew meat cubed
• 1 1/4 cups mushrooms sliced
• 1 cup beef broth
• 5 slices bacon sliced into bite sized pieces*
• 1 onion sliced

Optional for day of serving:

• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

1. Cube the beef. Slice the onion, mushrooms, and bacon.
2. Add the beef, bacon slices, mushrooms, onion slices, and beef broth to a large resealable freezer bag.
3. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Remove from freezer to thaw.
2. Add the bag contents to the Crock Pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
3. If you want to thicken up the gravy, mix together 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and stir into the beef mixture in the slow cooker 20 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

*If you want crunchier bacon, you can fry it before adding it to the freezer bag.