What can I say? I love casseroles. I love them any time of day. Recently I had a chicken pot pie, but this time I decided to go with something vegetarian! Yeah, I know. I looks like there’s meat in there, but really there isn’t! I used some vegetarian ground ‘meat’ in this Cowboy Casserole that takes no time at all to come together. There’s veggies, cheese, soup, ground ‘meat’ and then tater tots on top to round it out and keep it light but still hearty and filling.

When I saw the original idea for this Cowboy Casserole, I just knew that I wanted to lighten it up and put a little bit more of a healthified take on it. The first thing I did was to swap out the meat. I also halved the recipe and used a reduced fat version of not only the mushroom soup, but also for the shredded cheese too! As usual, I swap out sour cream with greek yogurt anytime that I can get away with it.

It turned out delish! Now, if you really wanted, you could swap the vegetarian ‘meat’ out for ground turkey, chicken, or a lean ground beef. No matter which way you go, meatless or not, you’re sure to love this casserole. It’s great for picky eaters since tater tots make everything better. Especially casseroles.

Step-by-Step Photos: