Spicy Tater Tot Casserole with Sausage & Mushrooms

Give your traditional tater tot casserole a spicy Italian twist! Prepare it with Italian sausage, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  This simple one pot meal is sure to please the whole family!

Tater tot casserole seems to be one of those meals that every family has a recipe for, and for the most part, I bet they are all fairly similar.  I switched up my Tater Tot Casserole recipe to make this Spicy Tater Tot Casserole with Sausage & Mushrooms.

My classic recipe uses ground beef, canned mushrooms, green beans and cream of mushroom soup.  This version gets a kick from the Italian sausage, red pepper flakes and organic marinated mushrooms from Paisley Farm.

This post is sponsored by Paisley Farm Foods, but my love for their products and opinions in this post are all my own.

Giving Tater Tot Casserole an Italian Flair

With the flavors of the Organic Marinated Mushrooms, the tang of the vinegar, the spice of the garlic, red pepper and oregano, it seemed a natural direction to go to Italian.  I replaced the green beans in my traditional tater tot casserole to tomatoes and added in some fresh basil and used Mozzarella cheese in place of the cheddar I typically use. 

You can prepare this recipe in a 9×13 baking dish, or do what I did, and make it all in your cast iron skillet.  One pan, less clean up!

Ingredients in this Spicy Tater Tot Casserole with Sausage & Mushrooms:

• Italian Sausage
• Green Onion
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Paisley Farm Organic Marinated Mushrooms
• Basil
• Canned Tomatoes
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Tater Tots

You will find the complete, printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Begin by browning your ground Italian sausage with the bottoms of the green onions and the red pepper flakes.  

You can regulate the heat of this dish by adding more or less of the peppers.  Alternatively, you can purchase spicy Italian sausage.  I used mild here.  

If you can’t find ground Italian sausage, simply remove the casings from the link style.  

For this tater tot casserole recipe, I quartered the larger mushrooms and halved the smaller ones. 

When the sausage is about halfway done, add in the mushrooms.  I drained them but didn’t rinse them.  I wanted to keep that “zip” they have from the jar.  Plus, rinsing them would have taken most of that garlic away! If you prefer a milder flavor, give them a rinse and add some garlic to the meat.  

Next, add in the tomatoes and basil.  Then stir in the cream of mushroom soup. 

Here comes the CHEESE!! Mozzarella cheese is next.  Top the meat mixture with freshly shredded cheese. 

WHY YOU SHOULD GRATE YOUR OWN CHEESE:

• It tastes better.  It has no added chemicals or additives to preserve it in the packages.  You get to enjoy the real fresh taste of the cheese.  Not what they used to make it last longer in that package.  
• It melts better. Those preservatives and additives to that bagged shredded cheese help to keep it from sticking together.  The starches they add will inhibit the cheese from that creamier, smoother melt you get when you shred your own from a block of cheese.  
• It’s more economical.   Don’t let the price tag on an 8-ounce block of cheese sway you to purchase an 8-ounce bag of cheese.  Did you know you will actually get more cheese out of a block of cheese that’s the same size? Yep.  Don’t forget that bag of cheese comes with a “convenience charge.”

Lastly, pile on the tots and bake in the oven.  We prefer the mini tater tots, but the regular sized ones or the potato rounds all work just fine.  

(Sidebar – does anyone else hear Napolian Dynamite every time they say the word “tots?”)

The casserole will come out of the oven in about 40 minutes.  The tots will be golden brown and crispy, and the sides will be hot and bubbling.

Sprinkle with the reserved tops of the green onions before serving hot from the skillet.

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Paisley Farm Organic Marinated Mushrooms

Since 1945 Paisley Farm Foods has been bringing freshness into homes.  From the farm to the jar, to your table.   Their Organic Marinated Mushrooms are one that my family loves. They are simple to eat by just opening the jar.  They make great additions to charcuterie boards or appetizer skewers like these Italian Chicken & Mushroom Appetizers.

They’re also perfect to toss in a salad or serve just as a side dish.

Like here, where they accompanied some herb butter filet mignons.  

But I wanted to show you how these flavor packed mushrooms can also be incorporated into a recipe, as I did here today with this Spicy Tater Tot Casserole with Sausage & Mushrooms.

It gives Chicken, Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup a serious burst of flavor! 

Green Chile Mushroom Burgers the burger is STUFFED with mushrooms and it is AMAZING. 

Where to buy Paisley Farm Organic Marinated Mushrooms?

Costco just started carrying Paisley Farm Organic Marinated Mushrooms! So very exciting!!  But they are seasonal, so you need to make sure and stock up while you can!  Other Paisley Farm Products are also available in Kroger stores and Sam’s Club as well.  You can find all of the stores that carry their products, as well as wonderful recipes on the Paisley Farm Website.  

Be sure to follow them on social media, too!  They are on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Are you a fan of  “the tots?”

I have other tater tot casserole recipes, in addition to this Spicy Tater Tot Casserole with Sausage & Mushrooms.  Of course, my original Tater Tot Casserole is a family favorite, but we love to serve this Taco Tot Casserole as a fun twist to Taco Tuesday, too!  

And if you love sauerkraut like we do, I have this Beef & Kraut Tater Tot Casserole and these Reuben Sheet Pan Totchos (sheet pan nachos)  that will rock your world! 

Find ALL of my Casserole Recipes Here

Well, I think it’s about time we made this Tater Tot Casserole!   

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Print Recipe

Spicy Tater Tot Casserole with Sausage & Mushrooms

Give your traditional tater tot casserole a spicy Italian twist! Prepare it with Italian sausage, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  This simple one pot meal is sure to please the whole family!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Keyword: casserole, How to make a tater tot casserole with sausage?, Italian, mushrooms, Paisley Farm Mushrooms, Sausage, Spicy, Tater Tot

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Michaela Kenkel

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 4 green onions sliced, divided into tops and bottoms.
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup Paisley Farm Organic Mushrooms drained of liquid, halved or quartered
• 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 teaspoons basil
• 1 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 8 ounce block of Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 28 ounce bag tater tots

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a cast iron skillet, brown sausage with pepper flakes and the bottoms of the green onions.
• When sausage is about halfway done, add in mushrooms. Cook until meat is done.
• Add in tomatoes and basil. Mix to combine.
• Stir in cream of mushroom soup. Remove from heat.
• Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet. Top with shredded Mozzarella cheese.
• Spread tater tots evenly over the top.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until the tater tots are crisp and golden brown.
• Top with tops of green onions.
• Serve hot from the skillet.

Notes

I drained the mushrooms, but I didn't rinse them. If you want to reduce the pickling a bit, rinse them in cold water. Feel free to add some garlic to the casserole to make up for the garlic you rinsed off.

You can prepare this casserole in a 9x10 baking dish instead of the skillet if desired.

Control the spiciness by adding more or less red pepper flakes. We like our Italian sausage spicy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 630mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g