Have I told you about my cauliflower obsession? Seriously, I love cauliflower a lot. I also love tater tots – I can’t resist making a whole batch of them every weekend with a side of ketchup.
Today I decided to marry the two. I ran out of potatoes and thought I’d try cauliflower instead. After all, why not? It’s much healthier, plus I won’t feel guilty eating like a million of these little cauliflower tots. They are also baked so that’s another plus.
The mixture for this recipe is pretty simple and easy to put together. You’ll need 2 cups of cauliflower (obviously..), an egg, 1/2 cup of minced onions and 1/4 cup of bell pepper (I used red although, the bell peppers are completely optional), 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, cheese and salt + pepper to taste. Oh and I almost forgot, I also used 1/4 cup of minced cilantro but you can also use parsley instead.
The only pressure point to the recipe is chopping the cauliflower. I chopped it in the food processor but only pulsed it 3 or 4 times, no more than a few seconds because it can over process very quickly. If you are not sure or think you’ll mess it up, I suggest just chopping it up with a knife real quick.
Next mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, shape them into little tots and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with ketchup, eggs, for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup onion minced
- 1/4 cup bell pepper minced (optional)
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 minced cilantro or parsley optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking spray or oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a nonstick cookie sheet with cooking spray or lightly grease with oil. Set aside.
Steam cauliflower in hot water for 3-5 minutes or until nice and soft, drain and chopped with a knife or blend in the food processor ( just a few seconds.) - In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of mixture in your hands and roll into small oval shaped tots.
- Place on the cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart and bake for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking until golden.
Please advise HOW MUCH frozen cauliflower rice to use? It’s very convenient!
It would be the same amount called for the recipe 🙂
Made it, would cut salt by a bit, but totally bleeping awedome!
We LOVE these! However, I docked 1 star down because I cannot get it to not stick to the foil. This is the 2nd time i’ve made it and although I made sure to oil it real well, it still just gets stuck. Any tips???
Are the breadcrumbs used from fresh bread or the dried ones in a packet?
We used the super-market bread crumbs but the home-made breadcrumbs will also work.
Not sure why this is all caps but these are great. I actually added more liquid to make them more ‘spreadable’ and cooked them in a waffle iron to a very crisp and crunchy texture. The waffle iron quickly cooks both sides and the additional water ensures the mixture is well cooked on the inside.
Is there a vegan version of this. I really want to make this but I can’t eat cheese.
Replace the cheese with vegan cheese!
Use Nutritional yeast I’ve been using it in lieu of cheese and it’s been great. Can’t wait to try this recipe. I bought the green giant version. There’s so much crap ingredients.
HOW CAN WE MAKE THESE GLUTEN-FREE?
Sub egg with egg whites
Sub breadcrumbs with gluten free bread crumbs
May I ask why you eliminate the egg yoke for the gluten free version?
MY KIDS LOVED THEM! I HAVE ONE PICKY EATER WHO WON’T EAT VEGETABLE. LITTLE DID HE KNOW HE WAS EATING CAULIFLOWE! THANKS FOR A NEW FAMILY STAPLE.
Just yum! Thank YOU for sharing this incredible recipe. I served mine with SLAw and chilli aioli.
I used a whole medium cauliflower and JUST added more CHEESe and breadcrumbs. Excited to eat THe left overs.
Yummy, serving them with chili aioli sounds delicious! 😋
Anyone have the nutritional info on them?
Does anyone know The nutritional value of these Cau tots? Hiw much carbohydrates and fiber is in this recipe? I am a diAbetic and need to know this info and how many tots make a serving size?
I plugged it into an online calculator minus the peppers, parsley/cilantro and sauce, and got this, per piece based on 14 pieces:
Calories 76
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4.4g 6%
Saturated Fat 2.7g 13%
Cholesterol 26mg 9%
Sodium 186mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 2.3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0.5g 2%
Total Sugars 0.5g
Protein 5.4g
I am confused it is 76 calories per tot! That does not seem “skinny” to me. Am I interpreting that incorrectly?
76 calories per 14 tots
This is the second time I hav made these. They are better then potato tots! I added 1 tbsp. Egg beaters in addition to the one egg for better binding. I also added the optional ingredients as well.I baked 20 min THEN turned over and they stayed together perfectly.
New favorite appetizer!!
Just made these. My family loves them!!!! Instant hit. Woo hooooo. So glad I decided to give them a whirl. Next time I’m going to try what one person suggested in the comments and make the in muffin tins.
This was delicious! I made it with GF panko bread crumbs, and added a little spice with Cumin, a little chili powder and some roasted peppers from my farm share. Yum!
Dairy-free substitution for parmesan cheese is nutritional yeast. Braggs sells it in a shaker jar, and some stores sell it in their bulk section.
Is it a 1:1 ratio?
Good recipe! I had to increase the cooking time to get crispier. Also if you try to turn it half way through cooking will break apart. Next time I will cook for 20 minutes, turn, and cook for 10 more. Where is the serving size or nutritional information?
I made two batches of these. The 1st batch I made as per recipe. The 2nd batch I left out the salt and added 1 tbls of Fajita seasoning and 2 tbls of minced Jalapenos. There was no comparison. The first batch needed a dip, it was very bland, the second batch was very nice and flavorful. One tip: always keep your hands moist…makes less of a mess. Thanks for the recipe, I will make it again with different ideas.
I’m sure it’s a great recipe. But it would be nice if you included the nutritional values!! 🙂
Probably not too hard to figure out for yourself since the amounts of all the ingredients are listed…Great recipe!
mine Came out to around 712 calories.
Sadly, I’m unable to locate any of the recipes. I would love to try several. I’ve opened the page in different browsers and am still unable to find a recipe on anything. What am I doing wrong?
Sorry about that. We’ve fixed the issue. The recipe should show up now!
So delicious! All the kids at a pot luck gobbled them up. Muffin pans take MUCH less time then rolling! Just a little bit of oil (if even necessary) in each muffin spot, scoop with a 1/4 c. scoop, press into the pans, and pop into the oven. I have doubled the recipe, but quadrupled it today making about 20 “muffins”.
Next time I will press the excess moisture out of the cauliflower and onion after food processing!
Thanks for such a great recipe! We are just starting a vegetarian diet. I made these, however, I added a few extra twist. I didn’t make tots. I made nuggets. I added 1/4 cup more bread crumbs, and I breaded them lightly with panko. I’m sure they are not as “skinny” anymore, but they were delicious! After 10 days of vegetarian meals, some good, some I will never revisit again, these were the biggest hit at our table. They are wonderful with my homemade BBQ sauce!
I’ve tired these a couple times now and I really liked them. I’m always looking for new side dishes and this one wasn’t added to the list. YUM!!
TYPO*** WAS added to the list!!
LOL !! Thought that is what you actually meant.
Awesome! Whole family loved them. Omitted the onions and peppers so my four year old would eat them. Doubled the recipe and cooked half and stuck the second half of the batter in the fridge and cooked those later. Question….how do these freeze? Or can I freeze the batter for future use. If so, I would make jumbo batches at one time and freeze so we could eat these all month! Thanks for the recipe…. Great kid friendly snacks while making sure they get their veggies! Also, good for the rest of the family too… Good snack to manage blood sugar, and weight!
They’re very healthy in so many ways! as for the freezing, I like to freeze them either after shaping or after baking. I find it much easier to freeze after baking tho.
Can I substitute frozen cauliflower rice?
Yes! Be sure to defrost it first and squeeze all the water out of it.
Thanks. Will do.
If we use pre-riced cauli, about how much would we need?
Yes, following the question about using frozen cauliflower rice instead. Such a convenience, but HOW MUCH? Thank you! 😃