Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole is made with tater tots with southwestern flair and lots of cheese!
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.
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?
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. I also make a chicken and bacon tater tot casserole that you must try too!
How to make John Wayne Casserole:
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.
Other wonderful Slow Cooker Ground Beef Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak
- Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin
- Slow Cooker Hobo Dinner
- Slow Cooker Hamburger Potato Casserole
- Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers
- Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Lipton Onion Meatloaf
Slow Cooker Hamburger Hash
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Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole
Equipment Needed:
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)
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 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!
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
First published 06/04/2015
Updated 05/19/2019
I 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..
Can I sub out tots for diced up potatoes? Would it cook/taste the same?
It may be ok, the tots are fried, so they have more flavor. It would be worth trying though!
We love Tillamook cheese. We are originally from Oregon, but now live in Georgia, and we can’t get it here….and they don’t ship. Visited Tillamook last September….and brought home a couple of blocks in my suitcase. Wish we could get more…its the best cheese ever! Will make this recipe for sure, but will have to substitute a lower quality cheese.
Too funny! It is the best cheese ever. And their ice cream is so good too!
Allergic to cheese. Could I omit that ingredient????
Made this for Christmas Eve, it was devoured! Everyone loved it. Perfect for cooking while at church, Sunday morning as well as Christmas Eve. I also want to make an oven version, but don’t know how long to cook. I definitely want to use tater tots, not biscuits. Any ideas?
Could I use a can of Rotel instead of the onion, bell pepper and tomato?
Somewhere buried in all the comments I saw someone did that and they said it turned out great! I think it would be a great addition.
I want to try this recipe, but I broke my slow cooker and have not been able to get a new one yet. I am going to try it in the oven tonight. I’ll try to remember to get back with you on oven temp and how long it cooked. It sounds delicious and I’m always looking for new recipes for my family.
Made this once as written…but in oven. Was great. This time using low fat ground turkey instead.
Do you remember how long, and what temp you cooked it in the oven? I have lot of people ask about that 🙂
I think I would go by the directions on the Tater Tot bag everything else is cooked. 🙂
Tator Tots are cooked before being frozen.
What if you don’t like tater tots? What could you substitute?
The original recipes use bisquick, but I am unsure how that would work in the slow cooker, and how long the cook time would be.
Choose a different dish. LOL.
I can’t understand why you want to change a good dish. Sounds delicious!!! Great recipe!!
Yes, Sarah is a saint – such positive responses to crazy posts.
It made this dish yesterday for the family and it was a HUGE hit! Seconds all around! YUMMY! Thank you for the great recipe! I’ll be trying more for sure!
If you add the rotel and ranch style beans do you need to drain either of them?
I would drain both. 🙂
I love tillamook! Im t om outside dallas, tx and they just started stocking their ice cream here in the grocery stores, i was so excited! Best ice cream ever!!! My husband and mom and i spent a summer in seaside, or a couple of years ago and the tillamook cheese factory was our favorite visiting place 🙂
In the crockpot right now. Sunday slow cooker at my house!
Yay! You will love it. I need to make it again soon. 🙂
I’m really excited to try this, It’s like my tater tot casserole that I do in the oven but I’m really excited about not having to heat that up on a 90 degree day like today! Thank you for your post, It was a nice change from all of the pulled porks, bbq chickens and soups that crowd pinterest!
Ah thanks Kati! I agree this recipe is such different than most crock pot recipes around!
Can you make this for a larger crowd and bake in a slow oven? Say 300 deg.