Tater Tot Buffalo Chicken Casserole combines chicken, zesty buffalo sauce, crispy tater tots, and melty cheese for a crowd-pleasing meal.
Easy Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
I love buffalo wings with the cooling side of ranch dressing and crispy celery sticks. But, dang! Chicken wings have gotten expensive. Plus, making them for a crowd can be time-consuming and isn't likely to happen on a weeknight at my house.
Enter this east Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole: tender chicken, celery, ranch dressing, zesty buffalo wing sauce, crunchy tater tots, smoky bacon, and two kinds of creamy cheese.
Add this recipe to the list of my favorite tater tot casserole recipes -- Tachos, Big Mac Tater Tot Casserole, and Loaded Tater Tots Casserole.
You're going to have to start buying more than one bag of tots.
Ingredients
- Bacon, cooked -- A little smoky bacon bonus.
- Chicken Breast -- I used fresh and cooked them, but a rotisserie chicken would work perfectly.
- Celery, chopped -- Brings the celery sticks to the casserole.
- Onion, diced -- Yellow onion is my go-to, but white, red, or green onion can work here.
- Garlic, minced -- I use fresh garlic, but you can substitute dried minced garlic or garlic powder.
- Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning -- or other Cajun seasoning of your choice.
- Hot Wing Sauce -- I used Frank's brand hot wing sauce.
- Ranch Dressing Mix -- I can't have buffalo chicken without ranch dressing.
- Cream Cheese -- Adds a creamy note.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded -- Brings a good cheesy flavor to the casserole.
- Frozen Tater Tots -- I use the whole bag but adjust to meet your serving needs.
- Ranch Dressing, optional -- Add a little drizzle along with some extra hot wing sauce to bring even more buffalo wing flavor to the party.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large skillet cook diced bacon until desired doneness. Drain and set aside for topping. Remove bacon grease and set aside for another use.
- In the same skillet, cook chicken, diced celery, onions, and garlic until chicken is just cooked through. Do not overcook the chicken, as it will be baked further.
- Add cajun seasoning and wing sauce to the chicken.
- Pour the chicken mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
- In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and ranch dressing, and mix well. Drop in dollops over the chicken mixture.
- Sprinkle over the top of the cream cheese ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Place frozen tots on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tots are crispy.
- Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese and bacon. Drizzle the casserole with additional hot wing sauce and ranch dressing.
Substitutions & Variations
- Spicy Tater Tot Buffalo Chicken Casserole- add chopped jalapenos, chili pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper while cooking the chicken to up the spice level. Add a few diced fresh jalapenos on top, too.
- Vegetarian Buffalo Tater Tot Casserole - Use drained white beans in place of the chicken in this recipe.
- Tater Tot Casserole with Blue Cheese - Use blue cheese dressing if you prefer it to ranch. If that's your flavor, some blue cheese crumbles would be a nice topper.
Storage
Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
Freeze for longer storage. Defrost the casserole in the fridge before baking.
Top tip
Use chopped rotisserie chicken for a great shortcut. Eliminate or reduce Tony's seasoning by half since the rotisserie chicken is already well-seasoned and your finished dish could be too salty.
FAQ
Yes, you can! Assemble as directed and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
What to serve with Tater Tot Buffalo Chicken Casserole? Try some of these recipes:
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Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Tater Tot Buffalo Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large skillet cook diced bacon until desired doneness. Drain and set aside for topping. Remove bacon grease and set aside for another use.4 slices Bacon
- In the same skillet, cook chicken, diced celery, onions, and garlic until chicken is just cooked through. Do not overcook the chicken, as it will be baked further.3-4 Chicken Breast, 1 stalk Celery, ½ Onion, 1 clove Garlic
- Add cajun seasoning and wing sauce to the chicken.1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning, ½ cup Hot Wing Sauce
- Pour the chicken mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
- In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and ranch dressing, and mix well. Drop in dollops over the chicken mixture.1 Tablespoon Ranch Dressing Mix, 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- Sprinkle over the top of the cream cheese ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese.1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Place frozen tots on top.32 ounces Tater Tots
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tots are crispy.
- Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese and bacon. Drizzle the casserole with additional hot wing sauce and ranch dressing.Ranch Dressing
Sunni says
Super good- my family loved it!
Chuckie says
Yay! That makes my heart happy! I love tater tot casseroles (as is evident from all the different versions I have on my site) for busy weeknights. Thanks for your support, Sunni!