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Home » dishes » Tacos

Cheesy Dorito Casserole With Tater Tot Crust

Published: Feb 25, 2019 · Modified: Jul 17, 2021 by Ben · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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"Cheesy Dorito Casserole with Tater Tot Crust" and a picture of a slice of the dorito pie
"Cheesy Dorito Casserole with Tater Tot Crust" and a picture of a slice of the dorito pie

You haven't seen a Dorito casserole like this! We make a tater tot pie crust and then fill it with delicious beefy Dorito flavors. If you show your family love through food, this is love in a pie pan.

Overhead shot of Dorito Casserole topped with taco sauce, sour cream and green onions. There are two gold forks in the pictures and it is on a blue and white cloth.

I probably have far too many food weaknesses and Doritos are definitely one of them. Sometimes it is healthy to just give into some weaknesses and today we are going to celebrate Doritos with my Cheesy Dorito Casserole With Tater Tot Crust recipe. Isn't it fun to give in to temptation and treat yourself with comfort flavors that you love? Of course it is! As part of our taco series, we are going to do that with this fun and tasty Cheesy Dorito Casserole With Tater Tot Crust.

Dorito Casserole with Tater Tot Crust Basics

When I decided to do a taco series, I knew I wanted to do something with Doritos. I love a good Velveeta Queso with Doritos and I have a crush on Taco Bell’s Dorito Tacos. You see where I am going with this, right? I know Doritos are not the best for my waistline, but I think they taste more than fine and I want all the Doritos to be mine oh mine.

I also wanted to do something a little different, as a Dorito Casserole isn’t really earth-shattering stuff and other folks have made similar recipes. Since this isn’t one of our classic dishes, I thought it would be fun to throw another comfort food into the mix by adding tater tots. We previously made a Tater Tot Hotdish and even made some tater tots from scratch, so I am familiar with the product, but today we use them in a slightly different way.

Tater Tot Pie Crust

I wondered if I could turn tater tots into a crust and, sure enough, you can. I dethaw my tater tots and mix them with eggs and flour. Then, I line a pie pan with them and cook our Dorito Casserole in this.

Using hand to smoosh the thawed tater tots, egg, and flour together.
Tater Tot Crust in Pie Tin before putting in oven.

Why Prebake the Tater Tot Pie Crust?

Originally, I had just cooked the entire dish and I found it to be a big mushy mess. That is not what I am going for. I want a nice crispy crust with a cheesy, beefy filling. After some experimentation, I found that baking the crust separately for a while works great. It allows the final product to have a bit more of a crunch to it, which is what I am looking for.

Why Extra Ingredients in Tater Tot Pie Crust?

Baked Tater Tot Pie Crust before Meat Mixture has been put in pie tin.

With the help of the egg and flour, we make something that binds together in a way that helps everything stick together. With the addition of prebaking the crust, these extra binders help keep everything together and give us a sort of potato dough to work with.

But It Is A Pie Dish. Why Call It A Casserole?

As we learned in our post about the difference between hotdish and casserole, a casserole is defined by the dish you are using. In this recipe, we are using a pie pan. What gives, Ben? While this is in a pie pan, I really feel it carries the spirit of a casserole. So, technically, I don’t think this is a casserole, but I am going to go with my gut and call it that.

Can I Use Other Dorito Flavors?

Absolutely. Take note, however, that I only tested this recipe with the standard Cheesy Nacho flavor. In my life-long Dorito tasting research, I have found that some of the flavors tend to have slightly different chip textures, which leads me to believe that they are not all the same formula. Since we are only using Doritos as a filling and topping, I can’t imagine that Jacked or Cool Ranch are going to be that much different.

Mixing Dorito Beef and Cheese mixture before dumping in tater tot pie crust.
Pouring beef Dorito mixture into tater tot pie crust.
Side View of two plates of the Dorito pie. Two gold forks and a beer off to the side.

I have to be honest that this was a really fun one to work on and test. My life-long love of Doritos gave me an excuse to take a few weeks and eat way too many! If you like this Dorito Casserole with Tater Tot Crust recipe, please make sure to let me know! It always helps if you Pin this on Pinterest and we sure would love to have you subscribe to our email newsletter.

Products I Use In This Recipe

  • 9 Inch Pie Pan
  • Cast Iron Skillet
  • Glass Bowls
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Overhead shot of Dorito Casserole topped with taco sauce, sour cream and green onions. There are two gold forks in the pictures and it is on a blue and white cloth.

Cheesy Dorito Casserole With Tater Tot Crust

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Homemade Salsa Recipe
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Casserole
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Mexican
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Description

This Cheesy Dorito Casserole has a special surprise with its tater tot pie crust. There is a lot of comfort going on in this comfort taco dish and you should be making it today!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 servings of tater tots
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 Pound of Ground Burger
  • 1 Packet of Taco Seasoning or One Serving of Homemade Taco Seasoning
  • 4 Servings of Doritos, crushing with hand.
  • 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

  1. Thaw tater tots in a microwave or let them sit in the fridge overnight
  2. Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit
  3. In a large bowl, hand mix tots, egg, and flour until completely combined
  4. Add to a 9-inch pie pan and use your hand to flatten tater tot mixture down and edges until it forms like a pie crust
  5. Bake crust for 20 minutes
  6. While crust is baking, cook ground beef, and add taco seasoning per instructions.
  7. Mix beef, ¾ Doritos, and 1 ½ cups of cheese.
  8. After 20 minutes, remove crust and put filling in
  9. Bake another 20 minutes
  10. Remove and add final ¼ Doritos and ½ cup of cheese as a topping
  11. Bake for 5 more minutes to melt cheese.
  12. Remove and serve!

Notes

  • Top With any taco like ingredients you like. Green onion, taco sauce, and sour cream are featured.

Keywords: dorito casserole

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  1. Jo

    March 01, 2019 at 9:31 am

    This is vaguely reminiscent of the dorito "salad" I grew up eating - similar to a walking taco. So it definitely strikes a nostalgic chord. Also I'm always in for tater tots.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Ester kocht

    March 03, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    Your cheesy dorito casserole recipe sounds amazing Ben! I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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