A creamy Seafood Pot Pie made even more mouthwatering when topped with Tater Tots! It’s a comfort food dish that never disappoints.
It’s no secret guys. I’m a huge fan of comfort foods, with rich and delectable pot pies at the tippy top of the list. So today’s Tater Topped Seafood Pot pie is YUM!
I don’t usually indulge in comfort foods as much during the summer as I do during the fall and winter seasons, but this Tater Topped Seafood Pot Pie is one tasty exception. Living at the beach, we’re surrounded by fabulous seafood all summer long. If we’re not catching it on our own boat or crab trap behind the house, we just pop into one of the fabulous seafood markets in town or right off the boats in Cape May to grab what we need.
For this seafood pot pie, I basically use my favorite chicken pot pie recipe with a few minor tweaks here and there. And instead of topping it with a puff pastry crust I decided to give tater tots a go this time. Woohoo for tater tots, because they make this pot pie even more hearty and comforting! The filling is a creamy mixture of onions, mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, peas, garlic, bacon, shrimp and crabmeat with a touch of fresh thyme. Folks this dish is an absolute winner! I mean just look at that filling. ↓
I also decided to make one big pot pie this go around instead of individual servings. Simply add all the filling to a large baking dish, top with the tater tots, then bake. How easy is that? And no sides are needed since all the veggies are right in the pie. Just serve with a nice glass of your favorite wine. It’s summer seafood at it’s best and most indulgent. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 3 carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 small red pepper seeded and chopped
- 8 oz. white button mushrooms stems removed, caps sliced and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 lb. large shrimp peeled, deveined and halved
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups clam juice
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
- 2 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- 1 32 oz. bag Tater Tots
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Reserve fat in skillet. To the skillet, add carrots, onions and red pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the mushrooms and season with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and cook for 5 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add the shrimp, garlic and thyme and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until shrimp are firm.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the peas. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large saucepan, melt 4 Tbsp. butter over medium-low heat.
- Add the flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the white wine and continue to cook for 1 -2 minutes until almost evaporated.
- Gradually add the cream and the clam juice. Raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the vegetables and shrimp. Fold in the crabmeat and season with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and parsley.
- Remove from heat.
- Pour mixture into 3-quart oven proof baking dish and top with frozen tater tots. (as pictured)
- Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.
- Serve immediately.
When this popped into my In-Box this morning I got super excited, Mary Ann! I love anything tater top! And as a former pescatarian, anything seafood makes me swoon!! This pot pie is GENIUS, my friend! JUST GENIUS! Unfortunately my kitchen is in boxes, or I’d be making this for breakfast! I’m not even kidding, this has my name on it and WILL happen soon!! Pinned! Cheers, dear!
You’re so sweet Chey! If you’re calling me a genius, I know it must be good! You know I’m always trying to up my creative game to get into your league! Have a great week and thanks for pinning! XO
I have a weak spot for tater tops, combining them with your delicious looking seafood pot pie makes them irresistible. Have a wonderful week Mary Ann.
Don’t we all Gerlinde?! They remind me of my childhood! You have a wonderful week too!
I’m a huge fan of comfort food too, Mary Ann. And, like you, though I may not have as much during the summer I still enjoy on the regular. What a brilliant idea topping this one tater tots (and making one big pot)! So easy to prepare and even easier to eat ;) Pinned! Have an awesome week! xo
The tater tot top is heavenly Dawn! It’s delish on my chicken pot pie too. I hope you and the hubs give this one a try! Thanks for pinning love!
Fantastic Mare!! You know I love this one! Being married to a foodie has its Perks!
Yes it does! Don’t worry, I’ll keep reminding you! Mwah!
Absolutely love the look and sound of this Mary Ann! Being a weight watcher I’m gonna switch it up and use cauliflower mash for the topping, but those tater tots look amazing. And that filling is perfection.
Great idea Debs! That would work out great too! I need to be more of a weight watcher too and try that!
Holy heck Mary Ann. This sounds (and looks) amazing. I lovelovelove that you used tater tots! Is there anything that screams comfort food more than those nuggets of deliciousness?
Lol Kelsie! This one is a definite winner. Perfect for company during the summer!
Love this pot pie idea. Creamy sauces are such a favorite and the combo you have going on here is very tempting with the mushrooms, crab and bacon. Will not refuse the tater tots, how could I? Pinning and will enjoy with a crisp Pilsner instead of wine:)
Who can refuse tater tots?! I think no one! Perfect with a nice beer too Milena! Enjoy!
Using tater tots to make pot pie is absolutely genius! I’ve only recently started adding potatoes to my pot pie, but I love the idea of putting them on top instead of biscuits or what have you. This looks phenomenal!
I decided on the tater tots because I add potatoes to my seafood chowders, so I figured it was the logical topping! Hope you give it a try Mara!
Love this and so jealous of your easy access to seafood! It can be hard to find nice seafood here in the middle of the continent, but I can’t wait to round-up what I can find and try this one :)
I know you’ll just love it Jennifer! Enjoy!
This looks so delicious and your pictures are gorgeous!!!! xo
Thanks so much Rebecca! This dish is a summer favorite. We love seafood and are so fortunate to get it fresh all the time!
Sounds good, but I don’t see the shrimp listed in the ingredients. How many are you using? Thanks!
You’re a doll for noticing that Colleen! I use one pound. I just added it! Thanks!
Well if this isn’t summertime comfort food at its finest! I’d love a big heaping ladle of this right about now! Delicious!! Pinned!
Thanks Annie! I hope you give it a try! It really is delicious!
This is freaking genius!
Ha! No, I think your mashed potato dip is GENIUS!
Tater tots just make everything more fun (and delicious!)
I agree Gina!
What a fabulous summer dinner and the tater tot topping is just brilliant!
Thanks Laura! It’s really delicious!
This sounds so good! Love some good summer comfort food!
Thanks Tieghan! Me too! It’s really easy!
Summer comfort food? Absolutely love this!
Yes! Thanks Matt!
Mary Ann, I’m a fan of your recipes in general, but this one has my name all over it! I love (LOVE!!) seafood, and this fabulous combination is making me swoon! Pinned (to three different boards) and looking forward to having this lovely dish on my table very soon. Cheers!
Yay! Thanks so much for pinning Michele. This one is an absolute favorite. I hope you and your family enjoy!
Mary Ann, this sounds to die for!!! I love all those veggies and the tater tots on top are perfection :-) Bookmarked for sure!
You’d love it Lindsay! My husband grew up eating tater tots, so it’s a favorite!
Oh man, this is straight-up amazing comfort food!! There’s nothing better in summer than a good seafood pie, but topped with tater tots?? Holy moly!
Thanks so much! The tater tots push this one over the top! Hope you enjoy it if you give it a go!
Tater tots are a thing right now, Mary Ann! I just went to my nephew’s wedding and they served tater tots as a side – and they were delicious. This recipe is such a great and inventive way to use them. I forgot how good tater tots were! Have a great week.
What a fun side for a wedding!! My husband would be all over it! Hope you’re having a great week too!
I saw those tater tots and was all in a tizzy! GAH – Mary Ann, ultimate comfort, yes! I admit to having a problem with tater tots.. like wanting to eat a whole bag of them! Isn’t it the best to be close to fresh food? This looks fabulous my dear!
Tom does too Traci! I don’t buy them too often, but when I do he throws all caution to the wind! I always opt for the seafood pot pie over the chicken during the summer, because of all the fresh seafood we can get our hands on at the beach. Hope your week is going great!
I freaking LOVE this idea!!!! Totally going to try this! love the tater tots on top!
Great Alice! You’ll love it!
I’m jealous of all of that seafood you have access to! That’s one downside about living in the High Desert – when you want fresh fish/seafood, you’ll pay through the nose for it! No joke, about $50 a pound for Copper River salmon right now! But I look for knock-out recipes like this for a splurge. This looks decadent delicious!!
What?! OMG! That’s terrible. This dish is totally decadent. You’d love it.
This would disappear so quickly in my home. We love recipes like this!
Hope you give it a try Naomi!
What a perfect beach house dish Mary Ann! I am always so jealous of you living at the beach. I’d be eating stuff like this every day!
I LOVE the beach Karen! The summers here are amazing. I always look forward to what Tom and the boys bring back!
Love a one-dish meal!
Me too Jennifer!
This is gorgeous!! Love how you changed your chicken pot pie recipe to produce this masterpiece! I was a little intimidated by the size of your ingredients list, but reading through it, I mostly have all the ingredients. Maybe I’d try it as chicken ;)
My recipe for chicken pot pie with a puff pastry top is also on the blog Cathleen! Both are actually quite easy. Hope you give them a try! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment!
This filling looks AHHHHHMAZING! I’m not one for tater tots (I know, I know, I’m sorry! lol) so if I used puff pastry how would that change as in cook time? Thanks!
No problem Liz! I have another recipe on my site for Puff Pastry Topped Chicken Pot Pie. Type that in my search bar on the blog and you will see the cooking directions for individual portions. If you want to make one large portion like the seafood pot pie just place the puff pastry over your casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy and thanks so much for following!
Thank you for the instructions!
Love your blog, have made several recipes and they always turn out great, Can’t wait to try this one too!
You’re quite welcome. I’m so glad Liz!! Happy 4th!
You are so genius. My kids love tater tots, and this is a great way to have them eat a pot pie type of dish. Genius. It is beyond me how they don’t love a good old pot pie, but this dough compromise will make us all happy.
That filling looks divine! You always have great seafood ideas, and this crab pot pie is such festive summer food. I imagine it’s such a wonderful combination of textures too with those crunchy tater tots. Hope you are having a wonderful summer. xo
I hope you’re having a wonderful summer with the kids too Emily! This pot pie is so indulgent. It’s not something I make every week, but it’s always a hit when I do.
Do the tater tots need to be defrosted? Thanks
Hi Kimberly. No, just put them on top frozen. This is such a great comfort food dish! Enjoy!
This looks like comfort food at its finest! I love chicken pot pie. Hanifia
Thanks so much! It’s a favorite!
I just saw this article. I plan to give this a whirl this Lenten season (but will have to leave out the bacon).
Sounds good Steve! Hope you enjoy it!