Vegan Tater Tot Pizza

This comfort food recipe with a healthy twist uses tater tots to make the crust and piles on a perfect balance of flavors with sun dried tomatoes, kale, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and tangy marinara.

Tater Tot Crust

If you take anything from this recipe, know that you can use tater tots in a cast iron pan to make a crust.  Obviously, you can take this recipe in a bunch of different directions based on your personal tastes.  The same rules apply, just the toppings change.

I like to make sure to get as many tots into the pan, laying on their sides, leaving as few gaps as possible.  That’s because after baking them for 12 minutes at 425F, they’ll be soft. Taking the back of a spoon, you can smash them down into one another to form a solid crust.  If they’re spaced too far apart, the tots won’t fuse into one giant tater tot crust.

After the smashing, you’ll continue to make it for another 12 minutes at 425F to lock in the crispy factor. Then top it all off and bake for 8 more minutes until the cheese is bubbling, the kale is crisped, and the edges of the artichokes are slightly browned.

The Key to Toppings

Just like building any flavor combination, the rhyme and reason to building a perfect pie includes a harmonious balance of toppings.  A mix of textures, tastes and ultimately seeking balance.  My combo included:

• Sweet = sun dried tomato
• Tangy = marinara sauce
• Savory = mushrooms
• Richness = cheese (in this case, to keep it vegan, I used Daiya mozzarella)

So, what’s goin on your tater tot pizza?

Vegan Tater Tot Pizza

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4.9 from 7 reviews

• Author: Joanie Simon
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

This comfort food recipe with a healthy twist uses tater tots to make the crust and piles on a perfect balance of flavors with sun dried tomatoes, kale, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and tangy marinara.

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Ingredients

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• 16 – 20 oz of frozen tater tots (the amount you’ll need will vary based on the size of your pan)
• 1 Tbs oil
• 1/2 cup chopped kale
• 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
• 3 – 4 artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1/3 cup pizza sauce or marinara
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 5 leaves of fresh basil

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425F
• Arrange frozen tater tots in a cast iron skillet, long side down and fill the pan as much as possible leaving as little of a gap between tots as possible (read explanation in post above).
• Bake the tater tots at 425F for 12 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a spoon to smash them down so that the gaps are filled and you’ve created a solid crust with the tater tots.  If they don’t smash and are still slightly frozen, bake for another 5 minutes and then try again.
• Place the smashed tater tot crust back in the oven for another 12 minutes at 425F to crisp it up.
• While the crust is baking, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and cook down the kale until it’s soft, occasionally stirring, and then add in the mushrooms until they’re soft, then add in the sun dried tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes to let the flavors meld.
• Once the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven and top it with the pizza sauce, the sauteed vegetables, and cheese (or your desired toppings) and then place back in the oven to bake for another 8 minutes at 425F.
• Garnish with fresh basil. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• This recipe was prepared with a 9in cast iron skillet

• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Category: entree
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: vegan