It’s Fall in Minnesota and time for some serious comfort food. I’m not sure what would be considered more Minnesotan than tater tot hotdish so I decided to try to make a vegan version. It turned out sooo good! And bonus: now there is an actual hotdish recipe on my blog haha. Let me know what you think!

Tater Tot Hotdish

Ingredients

2 small to medium sweet potatoes

3/4 cup cashews, soaked*

1-1 1/2 cups water

2+ tbsp olive oil, divided

2 tbsp Earth Balance or similar vegan buttery spread

1-2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken or Vegetable base (to taste)

1 teaspoon paprika, divided

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1 heaping tablespoon nutritional yeast

About 1 lb beefless ground (Beyond or Dr. Praeger’s brand work great or just use your favorite)

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

10-12 oz bag frozen vegetables (pea, carrot, bean, and corn medley or similar with small chunks)

Large freezer bag of tater tots

Fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Directions

Start by steaming the sweet potatoes. Peel them, cut them into large chunks, then steam them in an Instant Pot for 15 minutes or over the stove until very soft all the way through.

While they steam, add to a blender a tablespoon of oil, the butter spread, 3/4 teaspoon paprika, onion, garlic, bouillon, soft cashews, nutritional yeast, and about half of the water. Once the sweet potatoes are done, carefully add them and blend until completely smooth, adding more water slowly until you achieve a cream of mushroom soup consistency.

Either during this process or after, saute the onion in another tablespoon of oil until translucent and ideally a little browned. Add the beefless ground and garlic and saute per package directions or until you have lightly browned chunks the consistency of ground taco meat.

Now start to assemble! Grease a 9 by 13 pan with another teaspoon or so of oil. Pour in the beefless mixture and then the bag of vegetables, distributing both evenly. Then pour the creamy mixture overtop, coating everything. Gently add tater tots on top one by one or by carefully dumping, creating an even layer (feel free to completely cover the sauce mixture or not, either works). Sprinkle the remaining paprika and pepper over the top.

Heat the oven to 425 F. Cook uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until the tots are browned and there is at least some bubbling toward the center of the dish. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes and serve!

* As you may have noted in previous posts, cashews can be softened either by soaking overnight at room temperature or by covering with water in an Instant Pot and processing on high manual for 1 minute (with a 10 minute vent). I also love using 1/3 cup Joi almond paste in place of the cashews.