Crispy baked broccoli tots are loaded with nutrients and are fun to make and enjoy!
We made these healthy skinny broccoli tater tots yesterday and the entire family loved them.
If you’re a lover of broccoli then these are for you! if you’re not, well you still might like them because the flavor of the broccoli is not over-powering, nor is it lost.
These tots are very similar to the cauliflower tots recipe I shared a few months ago, except they are made with broccoli and are a bit easier to handle and shape. They are also MUCH MUCH tastier ( not that the cauliflower tots aren’t good, they are indeed! ).
To make these tots you’re going to need to blanch 2 cups of broccoli in boiling water, just for a few seconds. Then dice the broccoli into tiny pieces. You can also pulse the broccoli in a food processor for a few seconds but then you will risk turning them into a puree. If anything plus then no more than 2-3 pluses and stop once you reach a “rice” texture.
Next, after dicing the broccoli, combine it with an egg, cheddar cheese, diced onion, cilantro or parsley, and a mixture of Italian and panko bread crumbs. You can also use all Italian or all panko but I suggest a mix of both because the panko make the tots light and airy, while the Italian breadcrumbs give the tots flavor. But again, if you have only one type then go for it.
Shaping the tots might seem hard at first but after a few tries, you should get the hang of it! the trick is to firmly press the mixture into a small tiny ball then shape it into a tot.
You can also make these in a mini muffin pan!
Update: A reader suggested placing the whole mixture into a piping bag and pipe into a log then cut into tots or squeeze a little mixture out of the bag and cut into tots one by one.
Healthy Baked Broccoli Tots
Ingredients
- 2 cups or 12 ounces uncooked or frozen broccoli
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup diced yellow onion
- 1/3 cup cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup italian breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons parsley ( or cilantro rosemary,
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet with a thin layer of oil or line with parchment paper and set aside.
- Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 1 minute then remove and shock with cold tap water to stop the cooking process. Drain well.
- Chop broccoli finely and mix throughly with the egg, onions, cheddar, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. Scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of mix using a ice-cream scoop or your hands and gently press between your hands into a firm ball then shape into a tater-tot shape. It helps to wash your hands after every few tots to keep them from sticking onto your hands. Next, Place on your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until golden brown and crispy, 18-24 minutes, turning half way. Remove from the oven and enjoy hot with ketchup, sriracha, ranch dressing, or your favorite dipping sauce!
Video
Nutrition
Scoop into a mini muffin tin instead of shaping. Way easier.
I cooked these for my kids. For adults they are ok, but I would add in double the cheese. If anyone wants to make them for kids I would recommend adding more cheese, cutting out the pepper (I found the pepper to be very dominate), and would cut the onion as well. Just use the cheese, spices, egg, and broccoli.
I am glad i came across your recipe for these yummy tots. I used left over zucchini & broccoli. They were very
delightful. Thank you so much for sharing you recipe. I will love to make these again. God bless
Came out great! Added some cooked diced zucchini so added an extra egg and a bit of whole wheat flour. Kids, baby, and partner all fans!
Awesome! Very delicious and the tots kept their shape very well. No crumbly mess when you flip them halfway through.
The only changes that I made was that I added a clove of grated garlic and cooked them, flipping consistently, for an extra 10 mins. I also used hand shredded mozzarella instead of cheddar because I needed to use it up.
How many days can they (uncooked) sit if fridge before need to freeze? Thank you
I’m thinking 3 days in fridge because it has egg and cheese. Just my guess.
Can I make these ahead and freeze them. I am a real make ahead girl, especially for Thanksgiving dinner.
Too many things to do.
You can freeze them after shaping or after baking!
Made these vegan. Skipped the cheese and replaced the egg with applesauce. Very delicious
Is 2T parsley dried or fresh?
Fresh or a dash of dry!
I did it with a mix frozen broccoli and cauliflower. my husband and 11 years old kid loved it!! Thank you for the recipe!
So happy to hear that, Farah!
I made these and they are awesome. I would eat these over fries any day and I’m a fry junkie!
Am I able to substitute parm cheese (or more cheese) for the bread crumbs, for a lower carb option?
I haven’t tried with just cheese but for low carb, I would sub with almond flour.
These look incredible! Am I reading right that these are 95 calories per tot? Thank you!
I saw that they were 26 cal per tater tot. I believe that’s for a serving size of so many together which it doesn’t specify for some reason.🤷🏼♀️ I hope that helps some.
Not sure what went wrong. They came out brown and I had a hard time shaping them
Would putting the broccoli in the food processor work instead of chopping finely?
Yes, that works!
Can I make these without cheese?
Yes, they should work!
I’m going to try cooking these in my air fryer on 400 for 7-9 min (I’ll have to see on the time)
Hey, can you please tell me if you tried make this on air fryer and how they come out
How do you cook these from frozen? I cooked then froze the cooked tots. Just looking to reheat.
Any luck in the air fryer?
Hi, can I do this without using the breadcrumbs? Just to make it Keto friendly?
I’m making mine with pork rinds ,using them as the bread crumbs no carbs no them
Can I make these ahead of time? The night before or the morning of?
Yes, you can make the mixture ahead of time and shape as needed or shape ahead of time and cook as needed. They’re very forgiving! 🙂
my family is not much for veggies but when I made these they are now a big hit in my house. Thank you so much for this I will be making this allot in the summer time too. I think i will have to try and add some garlic to my next batch.
Can These be reheated or frozen? Thank you
Yes, they freeze and re-heat well!
What can we use to replace eggs please?
Try a flax egg!
Holy Hell! when I read the recipe, I thought these were going to be bland. I did use plain breadcrumbs because I didn’t want the Italian seasoning in them. They were so dang good. Definitely going to be adding this one to the rotation. I made them the size of crispy crowns, so I got 30 instead of 20, so the carbs for 9 crowns is the same as it is for 6 tots. WOW.
Enjoy! 🙂
LOVE THIS!
Can you use something oTher than bread crumbs? My husband is diabetic
CAN I USE the trader joe’s riced broccoli?
I put my own twist on the RECIPE and added onion powder,garlic salt, ROSEMARY, smoked paprika and garlic powder. I also usee Garlic and herb bread crums instead of both kinds and added cauliflower into the miX. I love love love the Outcome and wIll he doing it again!
Hi, is it possible to replace Panko with potatoes?
My first time trying these. I did use a piping bag and it worked out great. My husband actually kept asking if I had more even after I thought I was going to have to share with my friend because we would have too many. That in itself is a compliment.