Pizza Tot Casserole

Time :55

Yield :8 servings

Recipe Background

Kids and those who crave kid-like foods rejoice! This Pizza Tot Casserole brings all our favorites (let's be honest!) together for a fun and delicious nod to every kid's fantasy! Pizza AND tater tots. Yep, that dynamic duo comes together as one dish with all of your favorite pizza fixin's, like melty cheese, tangy sauce, spicy meats, and fresh veggies. All of that goodness gets topped with crispy, golden-brown potato nugs for an all-around good time. Pizza Tot Casserole will make us all feel like kids again!

Ingredients

1 pound ground bulk Italian sausage uncooked
1 pound ground beef
1 cup onion chopped
1 medium red or green bell pepper chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
23 ounces pizza sauce
1/2 (3-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced pitted black olives drained
2 cups Italian cheese blend shredded, divided
1 (32-ounce) package frozen fried potato nuggets

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish.
In an extra-large skillet over medium heat, cook the Italian sausage, the ground beef, the onion, the bell pepper, and the garlic until the meat is browned, about 5-7 minutes. Drain off the excess fat.
Evenly spoon the beef mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Spoon the pizza sauce over the beef mixture.
Top the pizza sauce with the pepperoni slices, the olives, and 1/2 of the cheese.
Top the cheese with the potato nuggets.
Bake the casserole, uncovered, until the potatoes are browned, about 20-25 minutes.
Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese and bake until it melts, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the casserole from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
Serve.