Easy Crack Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
This crack chicken tater tot casserole is the ultimate comfort food that you can make on lazy days with just 6 ingredients! It’s delicious and creamy, with no canned soup required. Make it as a quick & easy high protein breakfast, dinner, side dish, or party appetizer the whole family (including picky eaters) will love!
⏰ TIME: 40 mins
🤑 TOTAL COST: $19.45 ($2.43/serving)
🥔 6 INGREDIENTS
I’m so excited to share my 6-ingredient tater tot casserole with you today! I always get caught up making buffalo chicken dip every football season, but I thought I’d try my hand at making tater tot casserole this year.
And let me tell you – it turned out so darn delicious and was so incredibly easy to make!
You can make this as a high protein breakfast, dinner, side dish, or even bring it to a game day party as an appetizer! It’s super creamy, cheesy, and packed with flavor. Even picky eaters and kids won’t mind eating this casserole!
🏈 Looking for even more game day food ideas? Check out my roundup of 27 easy game day recipes made with 5 ingredients or less!
The traditional tater tot casserole recipe uses ground beef, but I made this version using cracked out chicken, which is just chicken coated with cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and cheddar cheese. Trust me, you will not miss the beef at all!
This is a great way to use up any leftover rotisserie chicken you may have in the fridge too!
Not to mention, it’s super easy to make with just 6 ingredients that you simply layer on, bake, and serve!
💪🏽 More 5-Ingredient High Protein Recipes
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
🥔 This crack tater tot casserole is:
- Made with just 6 ingredients
- Ready in under 1 hour
- High in protein
- Kid & picky eater approved!
- Lightened up comfort food classic
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Frozen tater tots: I used a whole 32oz bag to cover the entire 9 x 13 baking dish, but you can use more or less depending on your preference.
- Shredded rotisserie chicken: This recipe is great for using up leftover rotisserie chicken! I used the pulled shredded rotisserie chicken from Aldi, but you can also shred up a whole rotisserie chicken from Costco or your local grocery store.
- Cream cheese: You’ll want to use a block of cottage cheese for this recipe. I used light cream cheese, and it still came out creamy and flavorful. Make sure to put the cream cheese out on the counter for an hour or so before you make this casserole. This will soften it up and make it much easier to mix with the chicken.
- Ranch seasoning mix: This seasoning mixed with the cream cheese is what gives our tater tot casserole the “crack chicken” designation!
- Shredded cheddar cheese: For melting on top of the tater tots to make the casserole even more cheesy, gooey, and delish!
- Milk: I updated this recipe in 2026 to include a few tablespoons of milk. The original recipe felt a little dry to me, and the addition of milk makes it a little more creamy and less thick.
📌 OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: Feel free to top the casserole with bacon bits, green onions, or different types of shredded cheese to kick up the flavor!
Equipment You’ll Need
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- 9×13 baking dish: Any deep casserole dish will work for this recipe, but I recommend one that’s about 9 inches x 13 inches to fit everything. I love my Pyrex glassware dish for this one – I’ve had it for years now and it’s still in perfect condition.
- Mixing bowl: For mixing together the crack chicken filling.
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How to Make the Crack Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Storage Instructions
- Meal Prep: Follow the instructions through Step #4, then cover the assembled casserole with foil or plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. The assembled, unbaked casserole will keep in the fridge for about 24 hours.
- Fridge: Let the casserole cool, then store leftovers as individual portions in meal prep containers for up to 2-3 days.
- Freezer: Freeze unbaked casserole for up to 1 month. If you want to freeze leftovers, allow it to cool completely first, then portion it into freezer-safe containers and store for up to 2-3 months.
- Reheating: Reheat in the oven or air fryer if possible so that the tater tots stay crispy. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave but the tots will likely soften up.
The Printable Recipe Card
Easy 6-Ingredient Crack Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Equipment
- 9 x 13 baking dish
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 16 oz frozen tater tots
- 1.5 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
- 1.5 tbsp ranch seasoning mix
- 3 tbsp milk
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
Instructions
- Soften the cream cheese. Prior to starting this recipe, take out the cream cheese from the fridge and let it soften on the counter at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.
- Make the crack chicken filling: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, shredded rotisserie chicken, ranch seasoning, and milk until evenly combined. Fold in about ½ cup of the shredded cheddar cheese and mix until combined.
- Assemble the casserole: Spread the crack chicken mixture evenly into the greased baking dish.
- Layer the frozen tater tots on top in a single layer as pictured.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the tater tots.
- Bake the casserole: Place the assembled casserole in the oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the tater tots are golden brown and crispy.
- Serve and enjoy! Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Eat right away!: This tater tot casserole tastes best right out of the oven (after a few minutes of cooling of course). If you’re making this casserole for a party or meal prep, I recommend assembling the casserole ahead of time but then baking it right before serving. See the storage instructions.
- Make it more creamy: If you want your filling to be more creamy or if the filling seems too dry, you can add an extra tablespoon of milk in step #3.
- Use rotisserie chicken for extra flavor: I love using rotisserie chicken for this recipe to add even more flavor to the dish! You can definitely make this crack chicken tater tot casserole with plain shredded chicken instead – the ranch seasoning will still infuse the dish with flavor and you can always add other seasonings to jazz up the flavor too!
- No extra salt needed: The ranch seasoning + rotisserie chicken gives this dish enough sodium, so you shouldn’t need to add more salt. If you want a lower sodium option, feel free to use plain shredded chicken and/or cut the amount of ranch seasoning mix in half.
🥘 More 5-Ingredient Dinner Recipes
- Creamy Soup Recipes
- Crockpot Dinners
- Fall Dinner Recipes
- Pasta Dinner Recipes
- Rotisserie Chicken Recipes
- Sheet Pan Dinners
- Spring Dinner Recipes
- Summer Dinner Recipes
