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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Beyond delicious!! My kids devoured them straight out of the oven. I made them with egg replacer, vegan cheese, and gluten free bread crumbs (allergy family) and they still turned out perfect!
Yay so happy to hear that! My little ones love this too 😀
My family and I love these! Do you think they would hold up to being frozen before baking?
I’ve had this pinned for years and just now making them. SO happy I did! So fast. So good. So healthy. For kids and adults. Thanks!
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.
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.
IF using frozen broccoli, do you ley It thaw before blanching or put ot in frozen?
I made this last night thinking one tray would be enough for leftovers after dinner was done. Right. My toddlers and husband liked it so much that the entire pan was polished off in no time. Very tasty stuff!
I made a few changes: I dropped salt to 1/4 tsp. I replaced panko breadcrums with mashed up firm tofu. I didn’t have italian breadcrumbs on hand so I went with the unflavored breadcrumbs and added a few spices to my liking.
My older child has requested this dish to be made with cauliflower. So I will have to try that.
If you are in the NYc area i need help with Broccoli French fries and Tots please contact me [email protected]
How can this be keto if using bread crumbs?
Replace with almond flour to make them keto.
Or use pork rinds
Wax paper melts in the oven. I’ve made this mistake recently
I am allergic to eGgs. Is there anYthing i could replace the eggs with?
Thank you very much!
Is it possible to toll these “snake like” and cut into toTs? If you freeze them, do you thaw to room temp before baking?
If you freeze them, you can bake them straight from the freezer.
Okay. These are amazing. They’re fresh out of the oven, so too hot for my 18 month old to try, but I know she’ll LOVE them as well. I used Parmesan panko because it’s what I had on hand. I added extra cheese, because.. cheese. I added a little onion and garlic powder (no raw onion on hand). I wasn’t able to get 20, only 18. I’ll miss those two tots. I plan on freezing what’s left over and cooking them from frozen another night. These were definitely more labor intensive than buying a bag from the freezer section at the grocery store,and popping but they were a heck of a lot cheaper. I’d rather chop loads of broccoli by hand than pay $5 for a tiny bag.I plan on making a triple batch, freezing them, and always having some on hand.
I’d rather chop my own broccoli as well, Jessica! Your adaptions sound so yummy; I’m sure your toddler will love them <3
I cant wait to try these with my little guy for school. He is a pretty picky eater buT actually loves broccolI. Meal prep is going to be big for us this year with no time to make lunches in the morning. I’ll be trying your recipe soon and wanted to let you know that I’ve shared it over on my blog too. 🙂
I did them today and it was pretty good i will certainly do it again! But I added two eggs instead of one because it was pretty dry even with two eggs… But putting water on your hands help a lot to shape it.
how long are these good for after COooking and Storing in fridge?what about If frozen after cooked?
HAs anyone made the made the mixture in advance, freeze it and only take out to place in oven on the day of use. or has anyone tried making the tots, freezing them and heating again in the microwave oven?
;; I’ve done it. Works like a charm.
Just made these as finger food for my 9 month old and they are awesome! Gonna make a double batch and freeze them after i shape them so i have them to pop in the oven for snacks. Thanks for the recipe!
My daughters love them as well and they’re great for sneaking veggies into their diet. They do freeze well, enjoy! 🙂
Oh my! These are so tasty!! My husband does not like broccoli and could not Stop eating. Replaced flour and panko with almond flour and addEd extra egg. Came out great.
Almond flour is a great low-carb option! I’m happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed the broccoli tots, Sarah <3
These were easy to make and came out tasty! i’d like to cook these again, maybe there could be an alternative to the bread crumbs?
Yes, you can replace the breadcrumbs with almond flour if you’d like.
Can u prep these in advance and cook THEM after?
Yes, you can!
Can these healthy broccolI tots be made a day or two before and kept in fridge and heated when you need them? can you freeze them .?
DO NOT try these in a mini muffin pan. I have an expensive non stick one…. oiled it…. and still CANNOT get them out!!!! Time…effort….and $$$… down the drain on that suggestion!!!
I tried these in mini muffin pan and really like the result. I also double the recipe for a larger group and left out the salt (who needs extra?). A definite addition to the recipe book!
If we freeze them after, how should we thaw them?
Do you use frozen or fresh broccoli? If it’s frozen, do you have it before blanching it? I’m clueless in the kitchen and need a bit more detailed instructions 😂
Blanching or Partially cooking the broccoli helps with the texture of the end product, otherwise its stringy and does taste undercooked. I made this recipe with2x the cheese(by accident), and 1 extra egg. Replaced flour with vital wheat gluten for moRe ProtIen, 12 minutes each Side, came out perfect.
This is an excellent recipe. We do not make tots- we just spread it out on a cookie sheet WAY EASIER. Flip in sections after 12 min, then cook 12 min more. We also made with cauliflower instead of broccoli. That is our favorite. Then the broccoli recipe. Lastly, we made using potatoes instead of broccoli but that was our least favorite.
Spreading the batter on a cookie sheet sounds like a great idea! We also have a cauliflower tots recipe on the blog if you’d like to check it out https://gimmedelicious.com/2014/07/24/skinny-baked-cauliflower-tots/
Just made these and the reader who suggested a piping bag is a genius!!! In the oven as we speak, hopefully the family enjoys them!
For anyone who is made these already… Does anyone have any suggestions that I could use instead of breadcrumbs as we are gluten free in this house??!
Are used almond flour and Oates because that’s what I had in the house, I would’ve thrown some flaxseed and if I could. We’re not gluten-free, I was just trying to make it healthier. I also left out the salt. Kids don’t crave salt if we don’t give it to them all the time.
They look amazing, added to my recipe list, will define try them 😊
I am just learning how to successfully substitute keto friendly ingredients. Do you by any chance think almond flour can substitute for bread crumbs or if parmesan cheese can be substituted?
A mixture of almond flour and parmesan should be fine!
Can you freeze these? If so before or after you bake them?
I’m wondering the same thing…
You can freeze them before or after baking! Enjoy! 🙂
I make some adjustments due to sodium restrictions from having kidney disease. After pulsing the broccoli, I spread it in a Pyrex pie plate covered with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Then I mix in the remaining ingredients, using 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs and upping the amount of panko. I also substituted nutritional yeast for the cheddar, maybe a tbsp or so, I didn’t measure it. This gives the tots a cheesy flavor without the salt or protein of the cheese. I also add Mrs. Dash table seasoning with the dark green cap.
I put it all in a ziploc bag and into the freezer for about 10 minutes or so to get it firm, then snip off a corner of the bag and squeeze out the mixture into a line. They’re not perfect tots, but who cares, cause they are tasty! I have also used the recipe as a “crust” for breakfast muffins made in silicon cups. I literally just crack an egg on top and bake til the egg is set, sometimes adding half a slice of thin, low-sodium bacon on top. Great as a grab-and-go breakfast.
Can you freeze cooked tots?
Yes, you can freeze them before or after baking.
These are surprisingly great! I DID add an extra egg, a little paprika and oregano, and some extra cheddar and parmesan…
But I was pleasantly surprised at how great broccoli could taste in this form haha.
My husband ate about 15 of them for dinner, and my 2 toddlers also ate them.
Success!
where is the recipe for the sauce?
Um, ketchup? haha…