Bored of broccoli? Spruce it up by making some of these Broccoli Cheese Tater Tots! They're easy, healthy, cheesy and delicious and make a great snack, appetizer or side perfect for babies and toddlers!
1cupdiced white potatopeeled and diced into about 1/2 inch cubes
2cupsbroccoli florets
2tablespoonsfinely chopped chivesor sub in green onion
3/4cupshredded cheddar cheese
1/2teaspoongarlic powder
1eggbeaten
1 1/2cupshomemade or store-bought whole-wheat bread crumbs*can sub in gluten-free if necessary
1/2teaspoonsaltoptional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, bring about an inch of water to a boil. Place the steamer basket in the saucepan and fill with diced potato and broccoli. Cover and steam for about 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft enough to mash.
Add the steamed broccoli and potato to a large bowl. Mash until mostly smooth, leaving a few chunks here and there. You can also do this step in the food processor.
Mix in the chopped chives and shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, salt (if using), and 1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs until combined.
Using your hands, form the mixture into the shape of longer tots about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.
Beat the egg in a separate bowl. Coat each tot lightly in the egg mixture and then roll in the remaining breadcrumbs.
Place each tot on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes, carefully flipping tots half way through.
Notes
Chop the broccoli before you measure it. Try to use more of the florets rather than the tough stems.
You can either mash the broccoli and potatoes in a large bowl using a potato masher or transfer the steamed veggies to a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. You can also finely chop the broccoli and potato instead if mashing if you want the tots to have more texture.
If you find that the broccoli mixture is still too moist before forming it into tots, add some additional bread crumbs until desired consistency is achieved.
You can use homemade or store-bought bread crumbs for the broccoli tots. I’ve used homemade and store-bought whole-wheat panko bread crumbs for this recipe and both worked well. If making homemade, you’ll need about 3 slices of whole-grain bread.
If you want to keep these lower carb and egg-free, you can skip the egg/bread crumb coating.
If serving these tots to babies under the age of one, you may wish to reduce or skip the salt to reduce sodium intake.
To reheat, place in the oven at 400 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes or until heated through.