Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole is made with tater tots with southwestern flair and lots of cheese!
Not your average recipe today! I made this drool-worthy Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole for dinner the other night. I’ve wanted to try an oven version of John Wayne casserole for years, but never got around to doing it. I thought, why not make it in the slow cooker?
I love making casseroles in the slow cooker if you want to try a few other great ones try my Chicken Cordon Bleu or Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipes.
The history on John Wayne Casserole and my changes
I don’t think John Wayne had anything to do with the casserole. I believe the name of this came about because it’s western themed, but still, this is a fun recipe to try. The original John Wayne casserole recipe that I’ve found is made with biscuit mix, but one of the reviewers on Food.com said that she had a version of this casserole made with tater tots at a restaurant. BINGO! That’s how this recipe can be made perfect in the slow cooker, with tater tots.
I have a beloved standard tater tot casserole recipe that I adore on my site, so I knew exactly how to assemble this new creation.
How to make this:
You will need:
- tater tots
- ground beef
- bell pepper
- onion
- sour cream
- taco seasoning
- cheese
- salt, pepper, onion powder
I add the bag of tater tots to my slow cooker. Then I brown a pound of hamburger with bell pepper, onion, taco seasoning, and water, I pour that meat mixture over the tots.
Then I make a sour cream and cheese mixture with a bit of seasoning and spread that on top of the meat.
Cook on LOW for 4.5 hours, and topped with more cheese, I put the lid back on the slow cooker and the cheese melts in minutes.
I like to serve this delicious casserole with tomatoes on top. When I say this meal was the bomb, I mean it! I was seriously licking my plate! Try it, you’ll love it!
I want to do a shout-out to my favorite cheese company Tillamook. If you ever visit the Oregon coast you must visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory! We do it once a year. Tillamook was a sponsor at the Indulge Conference I went to recently. We arrived in our hotel room to find that Tillamook stocked our mini fridge with cheese! That was possibly the best gift ever.
I hope you enjoy this fun twist on tater tot casserole and try it soon. Have a great week.
First published 06/04/2015
Updated 05/19/2019
Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole
Ingredients
- 32 oz. bag tater tots (frozen, not thawed)
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 oz. taco seasoning mix (I use Lawry's)
- water add the amount of water to the meat that the taco mix says to add, 2/3 cup is what my packet said
- 16 oz. sour cream
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (divided, half in sour cream mixture and half on top at the end)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. onion powder
optional toppings
- diced tomatoes
- bell peppers
Instructions
- Spray a 6-quart oval slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add the tater tots down in an even layer, so there isn't a high spot.
- In a large skillet, set over medium high heat, brown the hamburger, onions and bell pepper. When the meat is browned, drain the fat. Add the amount of water the taco packet says to add to the meat (my packet said to add 2/3 cup). Add the taco packet, and continue cooking and stirring until the meat and the seasoning has thickened.
- Pour the meat mixture over the tater tots in the slow cooker.
- In a medium sized bowl add the sour cream, salt, pepper, onion powder, and half of the cheese (this is about a heaping cup of shredded cheese, save the other half to top the casserole at the end.)
- Spread this sour cream cheese mixture over the meat mixture in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4.5 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- After the cooking time is up add the remaining cheese evenly over the casserole.
- Cover and let the cheese melt, this will only take about 5-10 minutes.
- To serve, top with diced tomatoes.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other wonderful Slow Cooker Ground Beef Recipes that are similar and are easy to prepare:
- Slow Cooker Shipwreck Stew
- Slow Cooker Land Your Man Baked Beans
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak
- Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin
- Slow Cooker Hobo Dinner
- Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers
- Slow Cooker Texas Trash Beef and Bean Dip
- Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Lipton Onion Meatloaf
- Slow Cooker Chuck Wagon Chili
- Slow Cooker Hamburger Hash
Lencrest Photos says
January 8, 2016 at 5:51 amI love this recipe but I make it in the oven and use tator rounds not tots..The rounds are half the size of the tots a d I like the bottoms a little crispy… And I probably use to much sour cream lol…but this is a regular on the menu now and everyone loves it..
Sharon Cole says
January 21, 2016 at 6:19 pmI’M IN, SOUNDS MARVELOUS! !
Karina says
March 3, 2016 at 11:00 amWould it work if you cooked it for 8 hrs (low) in the crock pot?
Sarah Olson says
March 3, 2016 at 1:49 pmI think that would be too long.
Connie says
April 16, 2016 at 5:04 amI have never heard of or tried Tillamook cheese, not much of a cheese lover unless cooked in a dish but the rest of the household is. With all the hype on here my curiosity sent me web searching Tillamook fans….feast your eyes on this http://www.madeinoregon.com/Tillamook-Cheese-Shop/?gclid=CJXg7dSMk8wCFdcZgQodznUEZQ
Sarah Olson says
April 16, 2016 at 7:36 amYes! At the cheese factory there a line of cheese tasting with most of those cheeses!
Connie says
April 16, 2016 at 4:05 pmyou can order a select few of their cheeses from that website amazon also sells them but they seemed rather pricey.
Tara Russell says
July 4, 2016 at 1:08 pmI couldn’t fit all if the tater tots in. I had to leave about two handfuls out, otherwise the slow cooker lid would not close at the start of cooking.
Sarah Olson says
July 5, 2016 at 7:42 amHow did this turn out Tara? I don’t think you used a 6-quart so cooker, you can see in my photos I still had a few inches of room with the 6-quart. I hope it did work for you though!
mary heckman says
August 16, 2016 at 12:35 pmLove the recipe idea! Would it be possible to use my programmable “casserole crockpot” ?
Sarah Olson says
August 16, 2016 at 4:06 pmI think so! Since it is a casserole meal. My advice is to keep the lid on the entire cooking time.
Neely says
September 14, 2016 at 11:32 amCould I use french fries in place of the tots??
Sarah Olson says
September 14, 2016 at 3:12 pmI don’t know how that would work. The tots work well because they are browned slightly before they are frozen. I’m thinking the fries may be bland.
Jen niksich says
November 4, 2016 at 5:52 pmMy husband doesn’t like green peppers. Any suggestions for a substitute? I love them! Maybe mince them so he doesn’t really see them? Or maybe a green chili mix?
Sarah Olson says
November 4, 2016 at 6:31 pmYou can leave them out! I think it would be fine 🙂
ko says
November 8, 2016 at 10:43 amI will use diced fresh hatch green chilies since they are healthier than green bell peppers………love the recipe
Cynthia Young-Johnson says
November 18, 2016 at 1:38 amI’ve made regular John Wayne casserole and I am excited to try this. The tater tots are a good substitution for the crust on the bottom of regular JW casserole. One thing missing, however, is the jalapenos. I’ve always thought they gave the casserole a lot of flavor. They could be used as a garnish I guess if there are people eating the dish who have a sensitivity to peppers.
Kathy says
December 14, 2016 at 5:13 pmSorry, tried this and would not try again.
Sharon Davis says
January 27, 2017 at 6:19 pmmy slow cooker quit on me last week so I’m making this in a 9X13 pan and will cook it in 1 hour I think!
Sarah Olson says
January 27, 2017 at 8:58 pmI think so!
Patricia Ehn says
March 14, 2017 at 6:54 pmI am doing a low carb diet I wonder how it would be without tater tots?
Annie Welsh says
May 11, 2017 at 2:29 pmTrying this tonight! Only had about a quarter bag of tater tots in the freezer, so I added some seasoned curly fries… figured potato is potato… Haha! I’ll see how it turns out!
Sarah Olson says
May 12, 2017 at 2:09 pmHow did this turn out? I’m so curious!
Annie Welsh says
May 12, 2017 at 2:21 pmIt turned out just fine! Didn’t cause anything to go wrong and the family enjoyed it!
Debbie says
July 29, 2017 at 9:23 amThank you for a great recipe!
I made this in the oven. I cooked it at 350 F for 45 mins covered with foil and then took the foil off and cooked it for 15 mins more. It was a little dry so next time I might add a can of diced tomatoes or rotels. The reason I cooked it so long was I wanted to make sure that a whole bage of tater tots got cooked in a 9×13 pan. But all in all it was really good.
Annie says
November 25, 2017 at 1:08 pmI’ve made this several times – for family at home and for church pot lucks. It’s delicious, and everyone LOVES it every time!
Sarah Olson says
November 27, 2017 at 11:12 amso great to hear Annie!
Delores says
June 10, 2018 at 7:53 amAll your recipes look delicious . Do you have nutritional facts about the fat content of your recipes? Am trying to watch my Cholesterol intake
Sarah Olson says
June 10, 2018 at 8:19 pmHi, Delores. My newly added recipes now have the nutritional info. This is an older recipe. I am working slowly on getting them all updated.
Diane says
August 4, 2018 at 8:26 amI made this John Wayne casserole and I was amazed at how crispy the tator tots got. I will use a low sodium taco seasoning next time. I loved this dish.
Vicky Hensley says
October 21, 2018 at 12:00 pmI am trying this today but I only have shredded hash browns, and had to substitute salsa for the taco mix and water.
It is cold out and the Eagles game is on so I am too lazy to go to the store. Let’s see if it turns out ok!
Sarah Olson says
October 21, 2018 at 5:08 pmLet us know how it turned out with the hashbrowns!
StephieD says
January 11, 2019 at 2:23 pmSuch an amazing recipe!!! We loved it!! Thanks for sharing!!
Sarah Olson says
January 11, 2019 at 8:43 pmGlad you enjoyed it Stephie! I need to make this again soon.
Lynne says
April 11, 2019 at 3:19 amI added a can of refried beans to the mince and onions, and added a layer of fresh sliced leeks on top of the tater tots. Your cooking times were spot on for my slow cooker and the dish was a hit. It was delicious and I’ve added it to my book of ‘keepers’ to go on rotation. Thank you 🙂
KIMBERLY STRAWCUTTER says
April 30, 2019 at 8:18 pmLove all the comments but has anyone actually made this??
Michael Murphy says
May 7, 2019 at 9:40 am@Kimberly – I’ve made this countless times and it’s always a big hit. I do kick it up a bit with a can of green chilies and some Franks Hot sauce but the basic recipe is really awesome. One son-in-law always asks me to make it for his birthday. Truth.
Try the Alpine Chicken as well. Another winner.
Brandy says
May 19, 2019 at 1:22 pmCan you change the setting to high and split the time in half?
Sarah Olson says
May 19, 2019 at 8:37 pmYou may be able to get away with 3 hours on high. Though I’d watch that the edges don’t burn.
Rick R Keane says
May 20, 2019 at 8:16 amIs there a substitute for the sour cream?
Arlene Cosand says
May 20, 2019 at 8:35 amI notice that the recipe still says “single layer”. I’m confused.
Sarah Olson says
May 20, 2019 at 9:18 amThat is some very bad wording on my part I will fix that. Put them down in an even layer so they are not high in one spot. Thank you for pointing that out.