To begin, preheat your oven to 400°F.

Next, take a 9 x 9 baking dish, and spray the bottom and sides with cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside.

Then, cook the ground beef, by taking a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Cook the ground beef until it is nicely browned. Once it’s cooked remove from the heat.

Pour the ground beef mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth it so the entire bottom of the pan is covered with the ground beef mixture.

At this point, if you’re adding shredded cheese, you will want to add a layer on top of the ground beef mixture before adding the tater tots.

To finish assembling the casserole, opened the bag of tater tots, and spread an even layer of tater tot, in a single layer across the top of the casserole.

Place the tater tot casserole into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until the tater tot’s are golden brown, and have become crispy tater tots. You can also look to make sure that the casserole is bubbling around the edges.

Remove the tater tot casserole from the oven and allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. If desired, you can add sour cream or catch it to the top of the tater tots before serving the tater tot casserole. You might also enjoy adding some green onions or chives to the top of the casserole as well. That’s entirely up to you though.

After the casserole has rested for 3 to 5 minutes, it’s time to serve and enjoy the delicious tater tot casserole with cream of mushroom soup.