Mafioso Hotdish is an easy tater tot casserole designed by my husband, an unholy alliance between Minnesota cuisine, and a popular local pizzaria's offering!
It was their “Mafioso” Pizza: Black Olives, Green Olives, Hot Banana Peppers, Italian Sausage, Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato Sauce.
We also happened to be on casserole recipes kick, mostly inspired by what was going down in Minnesota at the time - and the governor’s hotdish recipes suddenly being everywhere.
He got it in his head to come up with “sacrilegious” hotdish recipes, just completely bastardizing this traditional comfort food from his home state, inspired by flavours that are far more commonplace in his new home, here in Canada.
So, we had some fun designing a casserole recipe around that pizza, and ended up with a really great recipe.
Messing with Tradition!
This recipe veers pretty far from the most common hot dish - which usually consists of ground beef, green beans, - or combination of vegetables - a cream sauce made of some kind of cream of soup - usually condensed cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery, or cream of chicken soup.
Some kind of starch - usually - a whole bag of frozen tater tots - are piled on top of the beef mixture, and it’s baked. If you’re feeling fancy, you can top it with fresh chopped parsley, but I don’t think that’s super common.
Rather than using the usual frozen vegetables, this tater tot hotdish recipe uses canned. The veggies used are fairly controversial - olives and hot peppers.
As far as I’ve ever seen, there seems to be a general consensus that hot peppers do NOT belong in hotdish, and olives tend to raise an eyebrow - as we’ve seen over public response to some of Tim Walz’s recipes!
In this case, the canned soup portion only accounts for half the binder - the rest is tomato sauce.
We kept the crispy tater tots, though!
Says he:
“It tastes like a calzone! Which makes sense, given that it was based on a pizza.
It’s got a lot of zip and flavour, that little bit of vinegar tang from the peppers really makes the filling bright and fun.
The texture is great, I love the amount of cheese - a nice amount, without drowning everything else. I think the tater tots work really nicely as a pizza crust substitute, too.
Leave me alone with my food!” (That last bit was said with mouth full).
So. Let’s get to that hotdish casserole recipe, eh?
Ingredients
The ingredient list for this casserole recipe may look a bit involved at first glance, but they’re all pretty simple ingredients. You should be able to find everything you need at any larger grocery store.
A few ingredient notes for you:
Italian Sausage
While this recipe does call for hot banana pepper slices, it ends up more *zesty* than *hot*, in terms of spiciness.
So, feel free to use Mild or Hot Italian Sausage... just go with one you like the flavour of!
Need to make a vegetarian version? Use your favourite plant based sausage or grounds, and just add a bit of seasoning if desired.
A bit of dried oregano, dried basil, thyme, and fennel seed goes a long way to making any meat - or “meat” taste like Italian sausage.
Grated Mozzarella Cheese
I like to use a relatively low moisture “Pizza Mozzarella” cheese for this. It IS inspired by a pizza flavour, after all!
One of these days, I think I’ll swap a bit of the Mozzarella out for from freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Tomato Sauce
The tomato sauce is acting like a binder in this recipe, rather than anything resembling a stand-alone sauce... so you can really use whatever tomato sauce you like.
We tend to go with the cheapest, most plain option - anything premium or with specialty ingredients is just going to be wasted.
Everything Else
Rounding out the recipe - well, really... for the BULK of the recipe - you will need:
Tater Tots
Sliced Green Olives
Sliced Black Olives
Hot Banana Pepper Slices
Condensed Cheese Soup
Small Onion
Garlic Cloves
Olive Oil
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Ground Black Pepper
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How to Make Mafioso Hotdish
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:
Personally, I like to get all the ingredients prepped and laid out before starting - things move quickly once you start cooking!
In a large skillet, saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to soften,
Slice the sausages open, and squeeze the meat out of the casings, into the pan. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break them up into bite sized pieces, cook until browned all over.
Stir in condensed soup, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, and pepper. Mix well to combine and coat everything evenly.
Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish or baking pan.
Arrange tater tots in a single layer on top of the cheese. We usually do columns of tater tots, but feel free to go more freestyle with it, if you prefer!
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until tots are golden brown and cooked through.
Serve hot, topped with fresh parsley or extra shredded cheese, if desired!
Leftovers
Once cooled to room temperature, leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap - or transferred to an airtight container - and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
We’ll usually divide it out into individual portions, if we’re feeling industrious.
More Casserole Recipes
Looking for some more hotdish recipes? Here are a few family favorite recipes for you!
BBQ Chicken Hotdish
Best Shepherd's Pie Ever! (Cottage Pie)
Breakast Bagel Strata
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Hotdish
Deluxe Pizza Strata
Doubles Hotdish
Gluten Free Tuna Casserole
Ham, Swiss, and Kale Strata
Keto Funeral Potatoes
Keto Shepherd's Pie (Cottage Pie)
Scalloped Corn Casserole
Southwest Hotdish
Spinach Noodle Lasagna
Sushi Bake
Sweet Potato Souffle
Tim Walz' New Ulm Hotdish - Upgraded!
Mafioso Hotdish [Italian Tater Tot Hotdish]
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 Baking Dish
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion chopped
- 1 ½ lbs Mild or Hot Italian Sausage
- 1 cup Black Olives Sliced
- 1 cup Green Olives Sliced
- 1 cup Hot Banana Pepper Slices
- 6 Garlic Cloves pressed or finely minced
- 1 can Condensed Cheese Soup
- 1 ½ cup Tomato Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 lb bag Tater Tots
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F, spray a 9 x 13" baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large nonstick pan, saute onion in olive oil until it starts to soften,
- Slice the sausages open, and squeeze the meat out of the casings, into the pan. Use a spatula to break them up into bite sized pieces, cook until browned all over.
- Add the garlic, olives, and banana slices, stir well and continue cooking until sausage pieces are cooked through.
- Stir in condensed soup, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, and pepper. Mix well to combine and coat everything evenly.
- Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish or baking pan. Sprinkle shredded cheese over mixture.
- Arrange tater tots in a single layer on top of the cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Serve hot, topped with fresh parsley or extra shredded cheese, if desired!
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for Reading!... and hey, if you love the recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment! |
Marie Porter
One of the best hotdish recipes we've come up with - hope you love it too!