Zucchini Tots

Zucchini Tots are a fun and healthy play on tater tots with a crispy outside and tender inside.

Zucchini Tots

Okay, so when I saw this recipe I said to myself, surely Zucchini Tots can't be a play on Tater Tots.  Or can they?  I was definitely intrigued.

Upon further investigation discovered that a Zucchini Tot is, indeed, very similar to the delicious little Tater Tot.  I knew I had to try these.  Especially since zucchini is one of those special vegetables that my three year old WILL NOT touch, no matter how I cook it.  I've tried to give her zucchini raw with a dip, sauteed, stuffed, fried...yeah, not happening.

The preparation instructions sounded super easy, the ingredients were simple and basic and, best of all, I had them all on hand.  Not to mention the fact that I was lacking a side for that night's Buffalo Chicken Strips, so it was decided.  Zucchini Tots were a go.   

The outcome?  Let's just say that I had to make another batch the next morning because we (and yes, my daughter is included in this "we"!) scarfed them all down the night I made them!


Simple ingredients for Zucchini Tots
 Preheat oven to 400°.  Grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.


Wring out excess water from zucchini
 Grate the zucchini into a clean dish towel.  Wring all of the excess water out of the zucchini that you can (it won't be much, but every little bit counts).


Combine all Zucchini Tots ingredients in a bowl
 In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.


Healthy and delicious Zucchini Tots
Fill each muffin section to the top, pushing down on the filling with your spoon so it's nice and compacted (otherwise they'll fall apart more when you try to take them out of the tin).


Bake in a mini-muffin tin for crispy edges
Bake for 15-18 minutes in preheated oven.  The top will be starting to golden.  To easily remove from the pan (without scratching it to death), run a plastic knife around the edges of each tot and they should come right out.


Zucchini Tots


Yields 12 mini tots

Ingredients  
  • 1 cup zucchini, grated (for me this was one zucchini, about 7 inches in length)
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ of an onion, diced
  • ¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.  Grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
  2. Grate the zucchini into a clean dish towel.  Wring all of the excess water out of the zucchini that you can (it won't be much, but every little bit counts).
  3. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Fill each muffin section to the top, pushing down on the filling with your spoon so it's nice and compacted (otherwise they'll fall apart more when you try to take them out of the tin).
  5. Bake for 15-18 minutes in preheated oven.  The top will be starting to golden.  To easily remove from the pan (without scratching it to death), run a plastic knife around the edges of each tot and they should come right out.

Notes
  • The sharp cheddar can be substituted with whatever cheese you have on hand.
  • Source: Adapted from Zucchini Tots on The Curious Country Cook.

59 comments

  1. Thanks for the recipe! Making these tonight.

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  2. Can these be frozen, do you think?

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    Replies
    1. You can cook them according to the directions, then freeze them fully cooked. Just pop in them oven and reheat at 325° until they're heated through. :)

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  3. Adding cilantro to these beautiful little works of art is extra delicious!!

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    1. Adding cilantro to ANYTHING is extra delicious!

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  4. We made these tonight, and they were a hit! I was only able to get 6 out of the recipe. Did you double it for the pictures? Very good.

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    1. Or, did you use a mini-muffin tin? That would explain it.

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    2. Yup, mini muffin tin. Glad you liked them!

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    3. They are tasty served with a basil aioli. I stretched the serving amount by using a small ice cream scooper and baked them on a cookie sheet. Delish!

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  5. Can you suggest a substitute for cheese?

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    1. The cheese acts a bit like a binder. You could try it without, but I think they's fall apart a bit.

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    2. Try soy cheese, or any other non-dairy variety. There's cheese made from rice milk, cheese made from almond milk, and chevre (goat cheese). You can also learn to make Kefir milk and make cheese from that. I don't care for the taste, personally, but many people love it!

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  6. I made these a few weeks ago and thought they needed a little umph to them. Tonight I'll be adding some jalapenos to the mixture!

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  7. Just made these. Fabulous!!! They are supposed to be part of my breakfast tomorrow morning. I don't know if I can stop eating them!! I think I'll try adding some chopped, cooked sausage or bacon next time! Thanks for a great recipe!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you enjoyed them! Everything's better with bacon, right?!

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  8. My husband gets three of these for his breakfast every morning (he also gets yogurt and a banana).
    I make them with Egg Beaters and omit the breadcrumbs. Sometimes I add tomatoes,
    turkey, or even substitute the zucchini for broccoli. I make one dozen at a time and freeze them in
    ziploc bags - in the morning he just pops them in the microwave and eats them on the way to work.
    Healthy; low in cholesterol - high in fiber - and they fill him up!!

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  9. Hi Becky, do you know h ow many WW points these zucchini tots are. Thank you in advance.

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    1. For 4 tots (and using reduced fat cheddar) they are 2 pts (old points) of 3 pts (points+). :)

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  10. Hi Becky, do you know how many calories in each tot?

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  11. Different and easy... We liked them. Good dipped in ranch dressing. Reminded me of a hush puppy. Thanks!

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  12. I just tried this recipe for brunch today but I used green paprika instead of zucchini. Very easy to bake and absolutely delicious. Great recipe, thanks again!

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  13. i made them with crushed ceasar salad croutons because i had no breadcrumbs... they are awesome!

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    Replies
    1. Way to be resourceful! I bet the seasoning from the croutons made them extra yummy.

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  14. Your print button sucks , It prints all the lame comm

    ents as well as the recipe .. ??

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    1. Apparently there does seem to be a problem with the code attached to my print button. It's NOT supposed to be that way. I appreciate you pointing it out to me and I'm working on correcting the issue!

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  15. Adding cilantro to these beautiful little works of art is extra delicious!! yuumy

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    Replies
    1. That does sound delicious! We've got some zucchini and cilantro in the garden, so I think I'll be trying that out this summer.

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  16. As of June 18, 2014 Print button still doesn't work! I got 7 pages when I only needed page #3. This sounds good will be trying it soon. Thanks for posting.

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    1. It should be working! Make sure to check the box for removing images and it will print one page. Let me know if you are still having trouble!

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    2. Try copying and pasting JUST THE RECIPE to a Word file... I do it all the time, and save it to my computer, because I don't have a printer. Just click and drag to select the text of the recipe, like you would for any other copy and paste. Then print out your Word file.

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  17. Have you ever tried these with potatoes instead of the breadcrumbs?

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  18. Could you recommend a replacement for the breadcrumbs? I'd LOVE to make these but don't do breads. Thanks, in advance!

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    1. I've never subbed out the breadcrumbs, but you could try ground almonds or crushed pork rinds and it might work. Let me know how they turn out if you try them with a substitution!

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    2. I always substitute wheat germ for bread crumbs. The taste and texture is the same in the finished product, but the wheat germ is more nutritional and less calories :)

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  19. Hi Becky - These look great. I am thinking about making a large batch - like quadruple - maybe more - for an event this weekend. They don't look too labor intensive at all - if I use my food processor to grate - but - I am wondering if they would be okay at room temp. They will be sitting awhile and will not be warm. Do you see this as a problem? Thank you!

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  20. Love these! And my 1 yr old loves them too! We call them quiche-ees and he gobbles them up. Thanks for sharing!

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  21. The print button still has not been fixed! I printed 10 pages to get a one-page recipe.

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    Replies
    1. You should be able to subtract any text or images you want on the print friendly page pop up to print JUST the recipe. :)

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  22. These are delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  23. I have a question...I have a wonderful zucchini patties recipe with zucc., cornbread mix, egg, onion and milk. I'm wondering if I could substitute the bread crumbs with equal amount of cornbread mix?? What do you think? Want to try it your way also, but I was just wondering. Pam

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  24. The flavor is excellent!

    These are made in a mini-muffin tin, and I didn't have one of those, so I used a regular-sized muffin tin and cooked them for 21 minutes. I ran a knife around the side of each "muffin", and they came out pretty easily. I think these turned out more like mini-quiches, without crust.

    One thing the recipe DOESN'T say -- you have to wring out the moisture from the zucchini (it does say that), but from our experience in fermenting foods, we learned that salt makes the veggie turn loose of its moisture, so you get more water out of them if you sprinkle with salt before you squeeze them out in a dishtowel. Do not rinse the salt out, but when you add salt to the mix, maybe add a bit less.

    Next time, I'll do them with bread crumbs and we'll see if there's a difference. We loved them, and will do them again. Thanks for sharing!!

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  25. I used yellow squash and Mexican blend cheese and they were awesome!

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  26. http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2010/07/summer-zucchini-bites-webisode-22/

    Here is The original recipe, actually...

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  27. Curious country cook plagiarized my recipe....

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  28. I made those and they were really nice! Thanks for the recipe :)

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  29. Could u sub egg whites for the whole egg?

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  30. Humm, I'm wondering if instead of salt & pepper, I can add sugar to make it a sweet bread bite ???

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  31. I'm wondering is instead of salt and pepper, I can add sugar to make it a sweet bread bite ?

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  32. I've been making these for years.....always a favorite.....

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