My Midwest Kitchen: Dairy-Free Tater Tot Hot Dish

The worst part of developing an adult dairy allergy is that I know what I’m missing out on. I love a classic tater tot hot dish made of canned cream of mushroom soup, and lots of shredded marble jack cheese. I haven’t had the dish in years because of my allergy, but tonight I finally felt bold enough to give it a dairy-free go. Plus I had some fresh venison “burger” that was begging to be made into a glorious hot dish.

I’m not going to sugar coat it, making a dairy free hot dish is a pain and there are a lot of extra steps, but this recipe is so worth it. Even my milk and cheese loving fiance gave it rave reviews. Like I said there is a lot going on in this dish, but with a little patience and confidence you will have an amazing dinner that you won’t event know is dairy-free.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground hamburger or venison burger
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 packed of mac n cheese sauce from a box of Daiya Dairy-Free Deluxe Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac
• 1 -1 1/2 cups of dairy-free gravy (consists of 2 Tbsp dairy free butter, 2 Tbsp of flour, 1 1/2 cup of oat milk)
• 1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)
• 3/4 a bag of tater tots
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste

1. In a pan, sauté the chopped onion until translucent, then cook ground beef until cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Transfer to a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
2. In the same pan over medium heat, melt 2 Tbsp of dairy free butter, add in 2 Tbsp of flower and whisk until a paste forms. Add in oat milk and whisk until combined. Let sit until gravy like consistency forms. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add mac n cheese packet and gravy mixture to the baking dish, along with the frozen vegetables. Stir to combine, and bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
4. In an air fryer (or the oven), pre-cook the tater tots to ensure crispiness.
5. Remove baking dish and top with pre-cooked tater tots, and pop back in the oven for 8-10 minutes until hot and bubbly.
6. Serve with ketchup, because it is the Midwest after all.

Let me know if you try this recipe out for yourself by tagging me on Instagram, @MyMidwestKitchen.

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