BYU Casserole, also known as hotdish, is a fun family favorite! It’s got ground beef, tater tots and a creamy sauce. This version can be made in your Instant Pot with an air fryer lid or it can be baked in the oven.
BYU Casserole
With only 8 ingredients this recipe comes together quickly to feed hungry mouths. I found this recipe in a recipe cookbook that my sister gave me. It’s a recipe book with a compilation of random recipes from her church congregation. One of the recipes was called BYU casserole which caught my eye since my daughter is headed to BYU in the fall (😭😭😭). Basically it is a tater tot casserole. I am not sure why the author of the recipe called it BYU casserole…my guess is that she used to make it when she was a poor college student. I made this in my Instant Pot using the air fryer lid. You can also make this the “normal” way in the oven. Both ways work great! Kids love this dish. I loved the crispy tots on top and took a few extra for my portion!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–I used 90/10. You can also use ground turkey.
- Minced dry onion–or a half cup of diced fresh onion
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Milk
- Campbells cream of chicken soup–or cream of mushroom
- Frozen tater tots
How to make in the Instant Pot with air fryer lid…
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break is up. Add in the onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brown until cooked through. Turn off Instant Pot.
In a bowl whisk together the milk and cream of chicken soup.
Spread the ground beef out evenly. Top with the tater tots.
Then pour the cream of chicken soup mixture over the top evenly.
Place air fryer lid on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Check tots for doneness and add more time if needed. (20 minutes was perfect for me).
Scoop onto plates and serve.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a side of green beans, corn on the cob and baked beans.
- I used my 6 quart Duo Crisp Instant Pot*.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. This tastes best the day of since the tots will get mushy.
- Other recipes you can make with tater tots are Rodeo Casserole and Instant Pot Totcho Casserole.
- If you’re not a fan of cream of soups you can make your own from scratch.
More Ways to Use Your Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid…
Casserole on the Quick
Instant Pot Casserole on the Quick is a fast and easy broccoli, rice and chicken casserole with a crispy panko breadcrumb topping. Comfort food to the max!
Instant Pot Millionaire Potatoes
Creamy garlic mashed potatoes topped with gruyere cheese. Tastes like a million bucks!
Instant Pot Dad’s Casserole
Layers of egg noodles, cream cheese, chicken, red sauce and cheese. A family favorite!
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
BYU Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
BYU Casserole, also known as hotdish, is a fun family favorite! It’s got ground beef, tater tots and a creamy sauce. This version can be made in your Instant Pot with an air fryer lid or it can be baked in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (I used 90/10)
- 1 Tbsp minced dry onion
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 (10.5 oz) can Campbells cream of chicken soup
- 1 (20 oz) bag of tater tots
Instructions
For your Instant Pot with air fryer lid:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break is up. Add in the onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brown until cooked through. Turn off Instant Pot.
- In a bowl whisk together the milk and cream of chicken soup.
- Spread the ground beef out evenly. Top with the tater tots. Then pour the cream of chicken soup mixture over the top evenly.
- Place air fryer lid on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Check tots for doneness and add more time if needed. (20 minutes was perfect for me).
- Scoop onto plates and serve.
Oven version:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break is up. Add in the onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brown until cooked through. Add evenly into the bottom of a 9×9 inch baking dish.
- In a bowl whisk together the milk and cream of chicken soup.
- Top with the tater tots. Then pour the cream of chicken soup mixture over the top evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Scoop onto plates and serve.
- Category: Beef
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Way too salty, easy fix. Also very soggy. Has anyone suggested using only 1/2 of the soup mixture and mixing it in the meat. Then just up the tater tots on top and increase the temp to 400 to brown them. The meat is already cooked, only need to cook the potatoes. Does that sound reasonable? Sadly, I had to throw out the meal. However, I’m willing to try the adjustments. i love your web site. This is just an honest opinion.
I made this tonight and my picky family loved it! Thank you
Thanks so much Georgie! 🤩
called BYU casserole because man who invented tater tots in 1953 is the great grandfather of Richie Saunders, a star on the BYU men’s basketball team
let’s go RICHIE SAUNDERS!
I don’t have instalation. I need the recipe for making this Casserole in the oven. PLEASE.
the oven version instructions are in the bottom of the recipe card
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!!!
I was making a version of this for dinner and was stressing over the cream sauce. I’ll use a can of cream of something soup (whatever I have) and it’ll make my dinner prep so much easier!!!
I hope you like it Tonya!
recipe does not show cook time in InstaPot??
If you scroll down to the bottom you will see a recipe card that has all the instructions. Enjoy!
it’s actually called tator tot casserole. it’s been around forever. It is really good with the veggies added right in to the casserole. My grandma makes it with corn, Peas, and green beans. my kids like it with Peas and corn. we just put the frozen veggies on top right before pouring the cream of chicken on. Our neighbor puts the tots on the bottom to form a crust. I’ve never heard it called BYU casserole before and I’m from Utah.
I 100% agree with your comment. It has been called tater tot casserole since I’ve been young, and I am almost old enough
to be a boomer. Almost any vegetable works in it.
Remember that Karen said she got this out of a cookbook from a friend. The author probably called it BYU cassesrole because it was an “association name”. I often name recipies by association so when I scroll through my online recipe file or my “paper recipe file”, I can recognize the name and instantly remember what the recipe is and not have to read the recipe to refresh my memory (because so many recipe contributors have very similar names for different recipes.) Just a thought.
no tater tots but I have frozen fries can it be used instead the recipe sounds great
SURE!!
These are very good Recipes to do.
Thanks Richard!