Broccoli Tots and 4 other Healthy Veggie Tots Recipes
on Mar 26, 2018, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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Recipes for Healthy Veggie Tots including broccoli tots, cauli-tots, sweet potato tots, zucchini tots, and mixed veggie tots! Perfect for making veggies fun for both kids and adults. This healthy tater tot recipe is the best side to virtually any dinner!
Healthy Homemade Vegetable Tater Tot Recipe
Broccoli tots are the most obvious vegetable tot in the bunch but my kids still loved them. The cauliflower and zucchini tots taste the most like a classic tater tot and those sweet potato tots are such a fun sweet and savory treat that we all loved. I’m positive you are going to find one you love even if you don’t make all 5 vegetable tot recipes. I think the fact that there is cheese included in these veggie tots is what sold my kids on them. Cheese goes really well with vegetables and when it’s all baked together into fun little dip-able pieces, they just can’t say no.
These are also a great recipe to prep ahead and stash in the freezer. I like to make them from start to finish (including baking them). Then just let them cool, pop them in a freezer safe container, and stash until you need a healthy side dish for dinner. I just pull them out and reheat them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Works every time.
Vegetable tots are the perfect side to just about any meal. I like to serve them with baked chicken legs, grilled fish, or Slow Cooker Honey Teriyaki Meatballs. Just add a side of fresh fruit and call it a meal.
Broccoli Tots and More! Tips and Tricks for Success:
- You can use frozen cauliflower or broccoli in this recipe! Just run the frozen veggies under warm water to thaw before “ricing” and sticking them in the microwave.
- If you don’t use/have a microwave you can steam the veggies, though I find it hard to steam vegetables that have been riced/grated. You can also bake the potato for 15-20 minutes to partial cook it.
- The amount of moisture in your veggies is going to affect the finished product the most. If you ended up with more water in your zucchini then I did, then your tots will be mushy and not hold together. One way to prevent that is to be sure to remove as much of the water as you can. Another helpful tip is that you can add a little more almond flour or bread crumbs as needed. You should be able to form your vegetable mixture into tots with your hands without making a total mess before they go into the oven. When in doubt, add a little more flour or bread crumbs.
- I used almond flour in this recipe because it has a great texture and because it’s gluten-free. If that isn’t a concern, feel free to use the bread crumbs (and you can always make your own whole wheat bread crumbs from homemade bread if needed); both work great.
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Broccoli Tots and 4 other Healthy Veggie Tots Recipes
Ingredients
- 2 cups "riced" cauliflower, broccoli, par-cooked shredded sweet potato or 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour or bread crumbs, use almond flour if going for gluten-free
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For broccoli or cauliflower tots
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Process fresh broccoli or cauliflower in a food processor until it is “riced”, meaning you have pieces about the size of rice. You can also grate/chop to attain the same texture though it takes a little longer.
- Place two cups of the riced cauliflower or broccoli in a microwave-safe dish (Pyrex measuring cup works great) and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes.
- Dump the hot “riced” veggies into a medium bowl and allow them to cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the almond flour or bread crumbs, cheese, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to the bowl and stir well to combine. The mixture should hold together when you press it in your hand. You can add a few more tablespoons of almond flour or bread crumbs as needed to help the mixture come together.
- Use your hand to form the veggie mixture into “tot” shaped pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet until you have used all of the vegetable mixture.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, flipping the tots over half way through baking, until the tots are golden brown.
- Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
For the sweet potato tots
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash a large sweet potato (about 12 ounces) and poke it a few times with a fork. Microwave it for 4 minutes so that it is easy to peel but under cooked. It should not be cooked through.
- Remove the skin from the potato and then grate the potato on the largest holes of your box grater. Measure out two cups of shredded potato and place it in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the almond flour or bread crumbs, cheese, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to the bowl and stir well to combine. The mixture should hold together when you press it in your hand. You can add a few more tablespoons of almond flour or bread crumbs as needed to help the mixture come together.
- Use your hand to form the potato mixture into “tot” shaped pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet until you have used all of the vegetable mixture.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, flipping the tots over halfway through baking, until the tots are golden brown.
- Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
For the zucchini tots
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Grate the zucchini (two small or one large) on the largest holes of your box grater.
- Measure out 2 1/2 cups of grated zucchini and place it in a microwave safe dish (Pyrex measuring cup works great) and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
- Allow the cooked zucchini to cool for 5 minutes.
- Place the cooked zucchini in a clean dish towel or a few layers of thick paper towels and squeeze it to help remove the water. Your goal is to remove as much water as you can so that your tots hold together.
- Place the zucchini in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the almond flour or bread crumbs, cheese, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to the bowl and stir well to combine. The mixture should hold together when you press it in your hand. You can add a few more tablespoons of almond flour or bread crumbs as needed to help the mixture come together.
- Use your hand to form the veggie mixture into “tot” shaped pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet until you have used all of the vegetable mixture.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, flipping the tots over halfway through baking, until the tots are golden brown.
- Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
For the mixed veggie tots
- Follow cooking direction for each individual veggie (being sure to remove extra water from zucchini and partially cook the sweet potato) and then combine 2 cups total of cooked veggies in the bowl and proceed as normal. You can use any combination of veggies that you like. We liked sweet potato + zucchini a lot!
Notes
- You can use frozen cauliflower or broccoli in this recipe! Just run the frozen veggies under warm water to thaw before “ricing” and sticking them in the microwave.
- If you don’t use/have a microwave you can steam the veggies, though I find it hard to steam vegetables that have been riced/grated. You can also bake the potato for 15-20 minutes to partially cook it.
- The amount of moisture in your veggies is going to affect the finished product the most. If you ended up with more water in your zucchini then I did, then your tots will be mushy and not hold together. One way to prevent that is to be sure to remove as much of the water as you can. Another helpful tip is that you can add a little more almond flour or bread crumbs as needed. You should be able to form your vegetable mixture into tots with your hands without making a total mess before they go into the oven. When in doubt, add a little more flour or bread crumbs.
Nutrition
Seriously though, who’s making some cauli-tots or broccoli tots tonight for dinner?! I can’t wait for you to try them. Enjoy from my kitchen to yours!
Hello! These look amazing, but my son is allergic to eggs. Any suggestions for a different binder? I’ve tried a flax egg with fritters and they didn’t turn out great.
Have you used an egg replacer? Bob’s Red Mill sells one that I’ve had great luck with (I use it when I run out of eggs from my hens in the winter!) I have found it binds really well for stuff like this (meatballs and meatloaf too).
I make these at least once a week now for my kids! Thanks for the great recipe! The broccoli version is our favorite.
Can you use regular flour instead of almond? Or semolina?
Yes, I think any would work find. You’ll probably need a bit more of either or those compared to the almond flour, just add it until they stick together well.
Just popped them in the oven. Had half a costco sized bag of broccoli florets that needed to be used. Also added half a bag of matchstick carrots I had and half a red onion. I did find I had to add more egg to get them to stick together. It’s probably close to a triple recipe. Fingers crossed they turn out 🙂
How’d they come? What you did sounds amazing!
These turned out great! super tasty and a good consistency!
I’d like to make them in the future for a crowd but have a few allergic to almonds, do you think coconut or garbanzo flour would work??
I do think they would! You might need to add a bit more than the coconut since coconut seems to absorb a ton of moisture.
Any ideas for dipping sauces?
My kids are not adventurous with dips, we just tend to stick with ketchup and homemade ranch…
Can these be frozen? Thx
Yep, after you cook them let them cool and then freeze as needed. They reheat best in an air fryer in a hot oven.
This is such a great healthy alternative to fries! I love all of the variations with the different veggies…I can’t wait to try these!
This looks so good! I love how vegetables can be incorporated in such a fun way!
What an awesome idea! These sound delicious, and I’m thinking they would be a fun way to add some veggies into my toddler’s meals. Thanks for the idea, Melissa!
Yessssss, seriously the easiest way to get some veggies in the little people #whodoesntlikeketchup?
Just made the cauliflower tots w/o the salt for my 9 month old. Totally approved. My husband couldn’t stop eating it. Next time I’ll make 3 batches at once. I can’t wait to make it with other veggies.
So happy to hear this! They are a crowd pleaser for sure.