This Spicy Vegan Tater Tot Hotdish is the perfect winter comfort food. It’s easy to make in your cast iron skillet and a great way to use up whatever vegetables are in your fridge! It’s peppers, onions, corn, peas, and walnut meat in a thick flavorful gravy, topped with crispy tater tots.
This post contains affiliate links. As Amazon Associates, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases (at no cost to you). Click here to read our full policy about affiliate links. Thank you for shopping our affiliate links, as it helps support our business and keep the yummy recipes coming your way!
Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I had no idea what a tater tot hotdish was until a few months ago…let alone a vegan tater tot hotdish.
According to Wikipedia, the hotdish has Midwestern roots and was originally created for church potlucks because it can feed a lot of people on a tight budget.
Traditionally, it includes some kind of ground meat cooked with veggies and a can of creamy soup, often topped with frozen tater tots.
Meaty? Creamy? And tater tots? I dig it.
To me, the tater tot hotdish is kinda like a shepherd’s pie, but instead of a mashed tater topping, it’s tater tots.
You’re on board now, yes? Me too.
Click here to pin this post for later.
Vegan Tater Tot Hotdish Inspiration
For this vegan tater tot hotdish recipe, I used this vegetarian recipe by Lindsay at Pinch of Yum for inspiration. No better place to get hotdish inspiration than a true Minnesotan herself, right?
I really dig the spicy walnut beef we added to this vegan tater tot hotdish to replace the traditional ground beef. It’s an adaptation of our sausage-style walnut meat, and it’s just so damn good!
I love the softened texture it achieves after cooking in that gorgeous roux for so long. It’s the perfect meaty addition to all those beautiful veggies!
More Vegan Cast Iron Skillet Recipes:
- Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza
- Cast Iron Potato Wedges
I am so, very excited to share this vegan tater tot hotdish recipe with you all.
Although I’ve never had the traditional version, I am soooo in love with this dish. It’s warm and cozy and filled with flavor, just begging to be shared with the people you love – which is awesome because when it comes down to it, making kickass food is so much more fun when you can share it. 🙂
You should totally make this recipe! And when you do, let us know how it goes and what you thought! Tag us in your photos on Instagram (we’re @theplantpowercouple, with the ‘the’).
Hope you enjoy every minute of this recipe just like we have!
Brittany Roche
This Spicy Vegan Tater Tot Hotdish is a comfort classic made vegan and oh so delicious! Walnut meat and veggies all cooked up in a creamy, cheesy roux, topped with tater tots, and baked to perfection. The perfect comfort food dinner!
30 minPrep Time:
30 minCook Time:
1 hrTotal Time:
Save Recipe5 based on 1 review(s)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp refined coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium green bell peppers, chopped
- 10 oz container of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
- 1 block vegan cheese (optional, cut into cubes)*
- 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 batch spicy beef-style walnut meat
- sea salt , to taste
- 1 32-oz bag frozen tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Heat the refined coconut oil over medium high heat in a large cast iron skillet . Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and peppers with a pinch of salt and saute for about 3-5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the cumin and chili powder and stir to thoroughly coat.
- Add the flour and stir again. Add the soy milk slowly, stirring continuously. Add the vegan cheese cubes and cover. Turn the heat to medium low and let it cook 5-7 minutes or until the cheese mostly melts.
- Stir in the walnut meat, peas, carrots, and corn. Taste and adjust your seasonings. You'll probably want to add a bit more salt.
- Turn the mixture off heat and top with frozen tater tots. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the tots are nice and browned and allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
*We love Violife + Daiya - both make vegan cheese blocks that are awesome in this recipe! 1-2 cups of shredded vegan cheese will also work.
2 thoughts on “Spicy Vegan Tater Tot Hotdish”