Tater Tot Hotdish

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brown lentils (dry), cooked
• 4 cups Cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Yellow onion, diced
• 3 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
• 2 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• ¾ cup 1% milk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 ½ cups Frozen peas
• 1 cup Corn kernels
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 5 cups Frozen potato tots
• 3 oz Sharp cheddar, grated

Method

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Brown the mushrooms and onion in the butter over high heat for 10 minutes until the pan is dry and everything is well colored.
2. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes. Add the broth and milk gradually, whisking, and simmer 4 minutes until it thickens into a gravy. This is what the can of soup was standing in for.
3. Stir in the mustard, thyme, lentils, peas, corn, salt and pepper. Spread in the baking dish.
4. Line the tots up on top in tidy rows — this matters to people from Minnesota — and bake 35 minutes.
5. Scatter the cheese over and bake 8 minutes more until the tots are crisp and the cheese has melted. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Do not cover the dish. The whole appeal is a crisp tot roof, and steam is its enemy.

🧒 For the kids

This is the recipe children request. Serve it with something raw and green on the side to balance the plate.

🥡 Leftovers

Keeps 4 days. Reheat in the oven, not the microwave, or the tots go soft.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.