Consider us humongous Tyson-lovers in our household. Tyson has made their chicken nuggets and patties 100% all-natural, and so we gobble ’em up until we grow feathers. Maybe.
Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
I loved working with Tyson before, so of course I didn’t hesitate to work with them again for their new, spectacularly awesome Grilled and Ready™ Frozen and Refrigerated Chicken Fillets. We found them at our local commissary for $6.19 a bag, in which we found seven lovely breast fillets in our package, just ready to go for whatever our appetites desired. Yum!
Other than being super-fast to prepare (20 minutes!), here’s what else I love about them – they’re healthy!
| Nutrition Facts | ||
| Serving Size 1 PIECE (98g) | ||
| Serv. Per container About 6 | ||
| Amount Per Serving | ||
| Calories 110 | ||
| Calories from Fat 10 | ||
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat | 1.5g | 2% |
| Saturated Fat | 0g | 0% |
| Trans Fat | 0g | |
| Polyunsturated Fat | 0 g | |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 0.5g | |
| Cholesterol | 60mg | 20% |
| Sodium | 230mg | 10% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 1g | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber | 0g | |
| Sugars | 0g | |
| Protein | 24g | 48% |
| Vitamin A | 0% | |
| Vitamin C | 0% | |
| Calcium | 0% | |
| Iron | 4% | |
| *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. |
I was asked to come up with something super-yum, and I have to admit, it was a hard choice, because there are just so many things you can do with these! In the end, I came up with Chicken Tater Tot Casserole using homemade cream of chicken gravy/soup. Why not healthify it without lacking in flavor, y’know?
(Please remember, all recipes I create are made to fit my gigantor family. Please halve it to fit your normal-sized family, or be prepared for leftovers for a month. Just sayin’)
(Another note – for those of you shooting me eye-daggers because this recipe appears too fattening, please take a look at the bottom, where I “healthify” this for you even further. You’re welcome.)
How to Make Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients needed:
- Tyson Grilled and Ready Frozen and Refrigerated Chicken Fillets (you can make this as “chicken-y” as you want, using as little as two fillets to as many as the entire bag, your choice!)
- Tater tots
- Frozen mixed vegetables
- Milk
- Chicken broth
- Shredded cheddar cheese plus more to sprinkle
- Butter
- Flour
- Mrs Dash table blend, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste
Keep in mind, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
(I kid you not, that’s all that’s needed. Pretty easy-peasy, eh?)
Preheat your oven to 375. Open the Tyson package, take the breasts out one by one, and place them onto your sprayed pan to heat them up for about 20 or so minutes. Look at how beautiful they are frozen. When Tyson says “grilled” they mean grilled. Yum!
After about 20 or so minutes, when your mouth is drooling by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, be prepared to remove the awesome from the oven. Yes, friends, this is the result. They are ready for consumption, right this very second. (Oh my goodness, I couldn’t stand it, I had to sneak a taste!) Oh chicken, you, my friend, are going to be my delicious chicken sandwich later, for dinner (despite my casserole being yummy, and yes, I will have a taste, or ten, I could.not.resist. the idea of a chicken sandwich with canola mayo, lettuce and spinach).
(We interrupt this recipe for a special announcement – Just think about this for a minute – 20 minutes to delicious chicken sandwiches, to chicken for your pastas, your salads, for anything you need chicken for. Didn’t I tell you how hard it was to demo just one recipe, when we’re talking limitless possibilities here?! Okay, wiping drool again, back to cooking…)
Here’s the cast of characters for the casserole, at the ready on the front lines for me! Aren’t they cute? They’re gonna be tasty when combined!
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan while you have hubby dice up the chicken. Ahem.
Once the butter is melted and bubbly, spoon in the flour, whisking it together until it looks like this (this is known as Roux). This will be the base of your gravy/soup.
Add the chicken broth and milk, and whisk the roux into the liquid, until the lumps are blended away.
While you let the gravy/soup sit and thicken on the burner for a bit, pour your tater tots into a bowl while you spray the baking pan they’ll be going in.
Go back and whisk your gravy/soup once more, scraping the thickness off the bottom of the saucepan, and you will notice in just that short amount of time how it’s begun to thicken quite nicely. Already. (It doesn’t take long)
Turn back to your bowl ‘o tots, and add to it the mixed vegetables, and toss ’em about a little to get a good mix.
By now, the gravy/soup should be done. Keep whisking while you turn the heat off, and once it’s blended and evenly thickened, grab a rubber spatula and prepare to make magic.
Pour the soup into the bowl. Don’t mix yet, just pour it right on top, like this:
Add your chopped chicken, spices, and cheese. Don’t be afraid with your spices, either. Me? I like it speecy-spicy. Get it nice and cheesy, too. You’ll thank me later. Pinky-swear.
Once stirred gently (no squashing your tots, now), lay it into your pre-sprayed pan, and flatten it out (again, gently. Don’t mash, just press so that it lays evenly). For good measure, sprinkle it with some more seasoning, and more cheese. I’m a firm believer that you can never have too much cheese. Except maybe in France. (Ever see the movie French Kiss with Meg Ryan? Hilarious example.)
Spray your foil before laying it on top (so it doesn’t stick, and you don’t waste some good eats) and pop it into your oven on the middle rack for a bit. I’d give you a time, but all ovens are different – keep an eye on it, until its start bubbling and appears heated through. Maybe 20-30 minutes? Maybe more?
Once it’s good and bubbly, and the cheese on top is melty, take the foil off so that it can brown a bit. Be prepared to want to take a spoon and eat it rightthisverysecond because OHMYGOD, the smell will reel you in. Must. Eat. Now. But resist! You’re not done yet! (Pardon the crappy pictures from here on out, I lost the natural light when the sun set.)
You need to place it back in on the top rack of your oven to brown a little, and, while you’re at it, go ahead and turn the oven off. It’s done it’s job in helping create this awesomness, it can take a break now.
It’s right about this time, with all the oven-opening-‘n-such, your children will flock like wild animals to the kitchen, hounding you about dinner. Calmly prepare them for the awesome in the oven by having ’em set the table and make drinks, since it won’t be long now. In about 5 minutes, this is what you will see. Slight browning. All ready for consumption. Hello, beautiful. Where have you been all my life?
Spoon into a bowl, or on a plate. Serve with some biscuits, if you like. But my suggestion, due to it’s crazy-hot state at this time, is to let it cool after being served, for just a few minutes. I know, it’s hard to resist shoving it in your face at this point, but yes, you will burn your mouth, and then it’ll be like letting the terrorists win.
Oh. My. Word. Hell yes!
The end.
Okay, maybe not the end. I promised to healthify it further for you, didn’t I? Instead of butter, use Smart Balance (like we did), which is chock-filled with omega-3’s. Use skim milk instead of 2%, and low-fat, low-sodium cheese. Half the portion of gravy, and/or use less cheese. Notice, we used Mrs. Dash and absolutely no extra salt, adding no extra sodium to the dish other than what was already in the ingredients. Use more vegetables, and perhaps, instead of tots, cut up potatoes, baked and seasoned in the oven. (How amazing would that taste? A cheesy, chicken baked potato bake? Ohh…)
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Ingredients
- 1 bag Tyson Grilled and Ready Frozen and Refrigerated Chicken Fillets you can make this as “chicken-y” as you want, using as little as two fillets to as many as the entire bag, your choice!
- 1 bag tater tots
- 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus more to sprinkle
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 tbsp flour
- Mrs Dash table blend
- onion powder to taste
- garlic powder to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375.
- Open the Tyson package, take the breasts out one by one, and place them onto your sprayed pan to heat them up for about 20 or so minutes.
- After about 20 or so minutes, when your mouth is drooling by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, be prepared to remove the awesome from the oven.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan while you have hubby dice up the chicken. Ahem.
- Once the butter is melted and bubbly, spoon in the flour, whisking it together until it looks like this (this is known as Roux). This will be the base of your gravy/soup.
- Add the chicken broth and milk, and whisk the roux into the liquid, until the lumps are blended away.
- While you let the gravy/soup sit and thicken on the burner for a bit, pour your tater tots into a bowl while you spray the baking pan they’ll be going in.
- Go back and whisk your gravy/soup once more, scraping the thickness off the bottom of the saucepan, and you will notice in just that short amount of time how it’s begun to thicken quite nicely. Already. (It doesn’t take long)
- Turn back to your bowl ‘o tots, and add to it the mixed vegetables, and toss ’em about a little to get a good mix.
- By now, the gravy/soup should be done. Keep whisking while you turn the heat off, and once it’s blended and evenly thickened, grab a rubber spatula and prepare to make magic.
- Pour the soup into the bowl. Don’t mix yet, just pour it right on top.
- Add your chicken, spices, and cheese. Don’t be afraid with your spices, either. Me? I like it speecy-spicy. Get it nice and cheesy, too. You’ll thank me later. Pinky-swear.
- Once stirred gently (no squashing your tots, now), lay it into your pre-sprayed pan, and flatten it out (again, gently. Don’t mash, just press so that it lays evenly). For good measure, sprinkle it with some more seasoning, and more cheese.
- Spray your foil before laying it on top (so it doesn’t stick, and you don’t waste some good eats) and pop it into your oven on the middle rack for a bit. I’d give you a time, but all ovens are different – keep an eye on it, until its start bubbling and appears heated through. Maybe 20-30 minutes? Maybe more?
- Once it’s good and bubbly, and the cheese on top is melty, take the foil off so that it can brown a bit.
- You need to place it back in on the top rack of your oven to brown a little, and, while you’re at it, go ahead and turn the oven off.
- Once browned nicely, pull out your casserole and serve in a bowl or on a plate but let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating.
Notes
- Instead of butter, use Smart Balance (like we did), which is chock-filled with omega-3’s.
- Use skim milk instead of 2%, and low-fat, low-sodium cheese.
- Half the portion of gravy, and/or use less cheese.
- Notice, we used Mrs. Dash and absolutely no extra salt, adding no extra sodium to the dish other than what was already in the ingredients.
- Use more vegetables, and perhaps, instead of tots, cut up potatoes, baked and seasoned in the oven. (How amazing would that taste? A cheesy, chicken baked potato bake? Ohh…)
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I’m a bit confused on whether or not the chopped up chicken is supposed to be added to the gravy/soup or tater-tot/vegetable mix? Not sure if I overlooked the directions on that part, so I just wanted to clarify if I’m supposed to do anything with the chicken once cut up…
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry for any confusion! I went in and edited it above to make it more clearer, but essentially you can toss that chopped chicken in at any point before you bake it altogether! I like adding it with the gravy before the cheese, but you can do it however you feel comfortable! Just so long as it gets baked with the tots in the casserole dish! I hope this helps and I hope you LOVE IT as much as we do!! 🙂 Let me know how you make out!!