Breakfast Tater Hotdish
The Midwest tater hotdish is a classic. It’s a casserole made with a canned soup, meat, and veg, topped with perfectly arranged tater tots. AS amazing as that is, I’m jazzing it up and making it for breakfast! No canned soup in this recipe, but it has all the creamy goodness you’re expecting from your classic Midwest Hotdish! This Easy Breakfast Tater Hotdish recipe comes together in no time, perfect for a weekend (or even weekday) breakfast! This can be made the day of or ahead of time so you can bake it in the morning! Just plan ahead for the baking time.
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The Midwest tater hotdish is a classic. It’s a casserole made with a canned soup, meat, and veg, topped with perfectly arranged tater tots. AS amazing as that is, I’m jazzing it up and making it for breakfast! No canned soup in this recipe, but it has all the creamy goodness you’re expecting from your classic Midwest Hotdish! This Easy Breakfast Tater Hotdish recipe comes together in no time, perfect for a weekend (or even weekday) breakfast! This can be made the day of or ahead of time so you can bake it in the morning! Just plan ahead for the baking time.
If you’re not from the Midwest (mainly Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan area), you may not be familiar with the oh-so-wonderful, hotdish. At its core, it’s a casserole of meat and vegetables held together by a creamy sauce (usually canned soup and sour cream) and topped with your favorite starch, usually tater tots, but fries or hashbrowns can also be used). It’s not quite the casseroles that most know, the clincher that makes this casserole the signature Midwest Hotdish is that the starch is on top! It’s meant to create an amazing crisp-potatoey topping vs, mixing it all together.
How to Make This Breakfast Hotdish
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a brief summary:
- Cook the bacon, and remove most of the fat from the pan
- Sauté the shallots (and bell peppers if you want them) until tender, then add the cream cheese and milk and continue mixing until the cream cheese has melted. then add the sour cream and bacon. Turn the burner off, but don’t remove the pan.
- Next add the egg cheese mixture, mixing everything up in the cast iron.
- lay the tater tots in a nice even layer (I recommend doing this one tater tot at a time).
- Bake until the eggs are cooked through.
How to Prepare this Breakfast Hotdish in Advance
Prepare the mixture as instructed, but let everything cool in the cast iron. Once cooled, cover it with foil (it’s important to let it cool to avoid condensation).
When you’re ready to cook it, allow your breakfast hotdish (casserole) to warm up a bit as you let the oven pre-heat (This prevents your cast iron from cracking). Bake as directed, knowing that your dish may require a few extra minutes in the oven since it’s starting off cold (especially if you refrigerated it overnight).
Storage:
Leftovers can be kept for up to 5 days in a storage container.
- I do not recommend storing leftovers in your cast iron pan, because it would be a few days of cooling and reheat. It is important to keep the pan dry between uses to prevent rust.
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Breakfast Tater Hotdish
The Midwest hot dish is a classic. It’s a casserole made with a canned soup, meat, and veg, topped with perfectly arranged tater tots. Well, I’m jazzing it up and making it for breakfast! No canned soup in this recipe, but it has all the creamy goodness you’re expecting from your classic Midwest Hotdish! This Easy Breakfast recipe comes together in no time, perfect for a weekend (or even weekday) breakfast! This can be made the day of or ahead of time so you can bake it in the morning! Just plan ahead for the baking time.
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 slices 1x
Ingredients
- 4–5 slices bacon (about 6oz Chopped)
- 3 oz cream cheese (at room temp)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (feel free to add more)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 shallot (chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (at room temp)
- 1 Bell pepper (chopped (optional))
Optional Toppings
- 1 bunch chives (or green onions)
- 1 sprinkle paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (unless you’re baking the next day, then just whenever you’re ready to bake it)
- Mix scramble all the eggs in a bowl/large measuring cup, then add the shredded cheese and mix together.
- In a 10.25” cast iron skillet over medium heat, cook bacon pieces until crispy. Transfer to a plate/pan lined with a paper towel and drain all but about a tablespoon of the fat.
- Add the shallots (and bell pepper pieces if you want the bell pepper) to the cast iron skillet and let cook until fragrant and slightly translucent (About 3 minutes). Then add the cream cheese and milk to the pan. Continue until the cream cheese has melted and is now nice and thick. Turn the heat off, but let the pan on the burner. Then add the sour cream and bacon and continue stirring.
- Add the egg mixture to the cream cheese-sour cream mixture. Stir so everything is incorporated. The eggs will cook a little as you do this, that’s just fine.
- Now, the important part… layer the Tater-tots on top of the casserole. Do ONE single layer, it is incredibly important you don’t just toss them on, or it’s not a good Hot Dish!
- Bake in the oven until the eggs have fully set and the cheese has melted, 35 to 40 minutes. If desired, sprinkle some additional cheese over top and bake an extra minute or two, until the cheese has melted (this is completely optional). Sprinkle with some chopped chives & paprika and serve.
- If you can contain yourself… Let the casserole cool slightly before cutting it into wedges. Otherwise, if you can’t wait and you decide to eat it right away, just note that when you serve it, it won’t hold its shape and it will be VERY hot. But here in the midwest… it not being a perfect triangle is not a concern.
Notes
Storage:
Leftovers can be kept for up to 5 days in a storage container
- I do not recommend storing in your cast iron because it’s important to keep your cast iron pan as dry as possible in between uses to prevent rust.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 1
- Sodium: 277
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Carbohydrates: 2
- Fiber: 0.3
- Protein: 6
- Cholesterol: 91
Nutritional Facts:
The numbers above are based on the serving size stated. All are estimates and you should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.
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