Chickpea tater tot hotdish
A creamy, cheesy chickpea and vegetable filling hidden under rows of golden, crunchy tater tots, the Minnesota potluck casserole made meatless and very kid-approved.
- 55 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $1.60 a serving
- 540 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1 lb 8 oz tater tots
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
Each serving has about 540 calories, 18 g protein, 63 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $1.60 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Heat the oil in a large over medium heat and cook the onion 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Take it off the heat and stir in the chickpeas, frozen vegetables, soup, milk, cheese, garlic powder, pepper and salt.
Spread the mixture in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Line the tater tots up in neat rows over the top, covering it completely.
Dolly’s tip: Neat rows look great, but any single layer gets crispy.35 to 40 minutes, until the tots are deep and and the filling bubbles.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 37 min
Let it sit 5 minutes before scooping.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
