Sheet Pan Tater Tot Taco Pizza with Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
The following recipe was created in collaboration with Lauren Schulte. To see more of her bites and meals, visit her Instagram @TheBiteSizePantry.
Tater tots, pizza and tacos? This recipe has comfort food written all over it!
Baked in a sheet pan, like a pizza, with layers of tater tots, and classic taco fixings including Mexican taco seasonings, ground beef, beans, cheese and red enchilada sauce, this dish cannot be simpler for feeding a busy family!
While traditional tacos are served with a generous dollop of cold sour cream, I changed it up with a Hatch Chili avocado dipping sauce. The creaminess and sweet heat of this sauce is a deliciously unique way to elevate a taco pizza. Hatch Chilies are in season right now and roasting them at home is an easy way to bring out their seasonal flavor.
Sheet Pan Tater Tot Taco Pizza with Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
Ingredients
For the Tater Tot Taco Pizza
- ¾ bag of Ore-lda Golden Tater Tots
- 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (sub with 3 ½ cups semi-firm ground tofu for meatless)
- 8 oz. can of refried beans
- 4 oz. of red enchilada sauce
- 4 cups of shredded Heinen's Mexican cheese
- 2 large flour tortillas
- 1 packet of Ortega taco seasoning (sub with homemade mix)
For the Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
- 2-3 Hatch Chiles, roasted (see roasting instructions below)
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ 0% fat Greek yogurt
- Juice and zest of one lime
- 1/3 cup salsa verde (avoid red salsa as it will dull the vibrant green color of the crème)
- Salt, to taste
Toppings
- Black olives
- Diced tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Salsa
- Avocado
Instructions
For the Tater Tot Taco Pizza
- Set oven to 375˚F and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a large skillet on the stove top, brown ground beef or tofu. Strain the excess liquids from the ground meat and turn off the heat.
Add taco seasonings. I find that adding the seasonings after the meat has cooked helps keep the flavor of the spices stand out. - Add frozen tater tots to the bottom of the baking dish and pack them down. Make sure to add enough to cover entire bottom of the dish but not up the sides.
- Spread a layer of refried beans on top of the tater tots. Add ground beef or tofu as the next layer and sprinkle with two cups of the shredded cheese.
- Cut the round edges off of the tortillas so that they fit the baking dish. Place the tortillas on top of the ground beef and cheese.
- Cover the tortilla layer with half of the can of red enchilada sauce and then top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
- Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has fully melted.
- Slice in squares and serve with additional toppings and Hatch Chile Avocado Crème for dipping. (See recipe below.)
For the Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. This will help evenly roast the Hatch Chiles.
- Place Hatch Chiles in the oven, on the middle rack, and roast for 10 minutes. Flip and roast for another 10 minutes. Chiles will begin to blacken and blister.
- Remove chiles from the oven. While they are still hot, place them in a bowl and cover with the tin foil. This is called “steeping.” Leave the chiles to rest in the covered bowl for another 5-10 minutes. This method makes it very easy to remove the outer skin.
- Once the chiles have finished steeping and are cool to the touch, the skin should peel off from the inner flesh. Massage the chiles to loosen the outside skin and discard. Scrape out the seeds from inside. The seeds are the hottest part of the chile.
- Add the hatch chiles and the rest of the crème ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
