Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot casserole brings bold flavor to a cozy casserole. This easy recipe has tender chicken in a creamy, zesty buffalo sauce topped with crispy tater tots and cheese. Dress it up with scallions, blue cheese crumbles and plenty of extra buffalo sauce to get your wing flavor fix.
Are you a chicken wing fanatic like me? This hot dish is ideal for game days, weeknight dinners, or any occasion that calls for a satisfying kick!
The Best Chicken for Casseroles
I love chicken casseroles because they can be a great way to use up leftover chicken. Leftover rotisserie chicken works great here!
When I'm making chicken specifically for this recipe, I put three large chicken breasts in my pressure cooker with one cup of water and a teaspoon of salt. Then I set it on manual pressure for 8 minutes and let it natural release for 10 minutes. You'll have perfectly cooked chicken breasts ready to be diced and then added to this casserole.
Two Kinds of Cheeses
The stars of the show in this family favorite are the tater tots and the buffalo chicken. However, cheese makes everything better. I use both sharp cheddar cheese and low-moisture mozzarella because they serve different purposes. Sharp cheddar provides a zippy cheesy flavor. Mozzarella is the king of ooey, gooey cheesy texture.
This recipe is still awesome if you opt for one kind of cheese, either cheddar or mozzarella. However, I do recommend you shred it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is treated with anti-caking agents like potato starch which are perfectly fine to eat, but they can tend to mess with the melty magic we're going for this in recipe.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Casserole
Step 1: Make the Sauce
Whisk together sour cream, cream of celery soup and milk in a large bowl. Then add in buffalo wing sauce and the herbs and spices. I'm a fan of Frank's Red Hot sauce.
Step 2: Fold in the Good Stuff
Fold the chicken, two-thirds of the shredded cheese, and diced celery to the sauce mixture.
Step 3: Fill the Casserole Dish
Add your chicken mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and then top it with an even layer of frozen tater tots. No need to defrost the tots. It's best if you put them on top of the casserole frozen and bake right away.
Step 4: Bake
Bake the casserole uncovered in a preheated oven for 35 minutes at 425F until the sauce starts to bubble up through the sides and the tater tots are crispy and golden on top. Then sprinkle on the remaining cheese and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese on top melts.
What to Serve with Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
I like to garnish the casserole with diced green onions. Chives would be another great option. I also like to have additional hot sauce and blue cheese on the side for folks to add if they like. My kids also like a side of ranch dressing with it.
This dish goes great with a fresh green salad like this Simple Green Salad or steamed broccoli or peas.
Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: casserole
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tender chicken in a zesty, creamy buffalo cheese sauce topped with crispy tater tots.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8oz) sour cream
- 1 (10.5-oz) condensed cream of celery soup *or cream of chicken or cream of mushroom
- ¾ cup whole or 2% milk
- ½ cup buffalo wing sauce
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp. dried dill
- 1 tsp. freeze dried chives
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- 2 cups low-moisture part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
- ¾ cup celery, diced (approximately 2-3 medium celery ribs)
- 1 lb cooked chicken (approximately 3 large chicken breasts), shredded or cubed
- 1 (32-oz) bag of frozen tater tots
- 2 green onions, diced *optional
- Extra buffalo sauce *optional
- Blue cheese, crumbled *optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F.
- In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of sour cream, 1 10.5oz can of cream of celery soup and ¾ cup of milk and whisk to combine.
- To that, add ½ cup buffalo wing sauce, 2 teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon dried dill, 1 teaspoon freeze dried chives, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper and whisk until combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
- To the large mixing bowl of sauce, fold in ⅔ of your combined cheeses, reserving ⅓ for later, and then also fold in ¾ cup celery and 1 lb cooked diced or shredded chicken.
- Pour the chicken mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish and top with an even layer of tater tots.
- Bake the casserole uncovered for 35 minute at 425F until the sauce starts to bubble up through the sides and the tater tots are crispy and golden on top.
- Sprinkle the remaining ⅓ of combined mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top of the casserole and bake for another 5 minutes at 425F until the cheese gets nice and melty.
- Serve hot, garnished with diced green onions if you like and extra buffalo sauce and crumbled blue cheese on the side for topping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 345
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 1008.5 mg
- Fat: 20.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.3 g
- Fiber: 2.8 g
- Protein: 22.6 g
- Cholesterol: 60.8 mg
Looking for other game day recipes with a bit of spice? Check out my Spicy Dill Pickle Dip or Jalapeno Salsa Verde with tortilla chips!
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