I love a good vegan casserole! It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a main dish like enchilada casserole or polenta casserole, or a hearty side like vegan green bean casserole — they’re all my favorites! But here’s one that’s relatively new to me. Are you guys familiar with the concept of tater tot casserole? Also know as hot dish? I was not until I started food blogging. But I hear it’s a pretty popular dish in some areas — one of those comfort staples lots of folks grew up eating. And of course with that being the case, I had to get in on the action and create a vegan version. I’ve seen lots of versions of tater tot casserole in my years browsing Pinterest, and most of the meat-based versions seem pretty simple, generally involving hamburger meat and not much else. So yeah, obviously hamburger meat is out for vegan tater tot casserole, and I wanted to add some fun. That’s how I ended up with this chickpea version. And what more delicious way to season up some chickpeas than zesty tomato and Tex-Mex spices? I threw some carrots and corn into my casserole because that’s what I had on hand, but really, you could use anything. Got a big old head of cauliflower that needs using? Do it! Are you reading this during the late summer with a bumper crop of zucchini on hand? Chuck it in! And then there’s the tater tot part of the recipe. Just for the record: I am not above using frozen tater tots in a recipe, as you may have noticed by reading the ingredients list to this one. While I generally like to take a from scratch approach, doing that would make this otherwise super simple weeknight dinner a lot more complicated. If you have a homemade tot recipe you really like, go right ahead and use it as a topper for this. These butternut tots would probably be delicious.
Tips for Making an Excellent Vegan Tater Tot Casserole…
The chickpea stew portion of this dish can easily be prepped in advance. Finnish simmering, allow it to cool and store it in a sealed container. The day of serving, transfer it to a skillet or baking dish, top with tots, and bake according to the recipe. Adjust the spice level to your liking. If you skip the cayenne pepper, the dish will be flavorful, but not very hot (unless you use hot chili powder). Feel free to back off on the spices for an even milder or more kid-friendly version, or kick up the cayenne a notch for extra heat. Switch things up by swapping out the chickpeas with your favorite variety of beans. Black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and lentils would all be excellent in here.
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