What Is Hotdish? Minnesota’s Most Famous Food, Explained

Minnesota’s popular hotdish typically includes vegetables, a starch, a protein, a canned soup base, and a crispy topping, such as tater tots, all cooked together in a single dish.

However, there’s no specific recipe for hotdish; it serves more as a template. Ingredients can vary, with some cooks using rice instead of pasta and a tomato base instead of soup.

Per the documentary short “Minnesota Hotdish: A Love Story,” the dish’s earliest ancestor was the hot pot, developed in 1910 to aid those struggling during World War I rationing.

It wasn’t until the 1930s that the dish known as hotdish fully developed as a Minnesota staple. This was because of the financial constraints brought on by the Great Depression.

The hotdish completely came together in 1956, when tater tots were first released. Tots became a key ingredient in many hotdish recipes, serving as a staple in the one-dish dish.

While often confused with casseroles, hotdish, unlike casseroles, is always a main dish, generally following a similar format and featuring the same core ingredients.