Tater-Less Cheesy Zucchini Tots — You’ll never miss the taters! Crispy, crunchy, and sooo good! You’ll forget you’re eating zucchini!
Recipe for Zucchini Tater Tots
I have fond childhood memories of tater tots. What kid doesn’t love tater tots?Submerging and smothering them in oodlesof ketchup is the best.
It’s amazing how closely the texture of these baked zucchini tots resembles real tater tots, and after being dipped inketchup you’ll totally forget you’re eating zucchini.I did as I proceeded to eat half the batch.
Bite-for-bite zucchini has far less calories and carbs than potatoesso you can eat way more of it.Nevermind that it’s breaded inParmesan, but at least it’s baked rather than fried.
The tots are surprisingly crispy and crunchy on the outside, while the zucchini inside softens butretains some texture.
Best tots ever. You’ll never miss the taters!
Zucchini Tots Ingredients
To make the zucchini tater tots, you’ll need:
- Zucchini
- All-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper
- Jerk or Creole seasoning (optional)
- Eggs
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese
How to Make Zucchini Tots
This cheesy zucchini tots recipe is easy to make, although coating the zucchini chunks in the breading mixture does require some patience.
Here’s how the lower carb zucchini tots are made:
- Slice the zucchini (I quarter it into long spears, then slice the spears into 1-inch long segments).
- Sprinkle the zucchini with flour, salt and pepper, any optional seasonings or spices, and toss to coat evenly; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs.
- In a separate large bowl, add the Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and stir to combine.
- Using your hands, add about half of thefloured zucchini pieces to the eggs fora quick dunk.
- Remove zucchini from eggs and transfer to breadcrumb mixture. Toss with hands or a spoon to coat evenly.
- Place zucchinion parchment paper-lined baking tray, spaced evenly and without touching.
- Repeat battering process with remaining zucchiniand place on baking tray.
- Bake until lightly golden brown.
What to Serve with Zucchini Tots
These cheesy zucchini tots pair well with lots of different dipping sauces, including:
- Ketchup
- Parmesan dip
- Ranch dip
- Wasabi dip
Can You Freeze Zucchini Tots?
Yes, but I recommend baking the tots, letting them cool to room temp, and then freezing them. Don’t freeze them prior to baking as the zucchini will release moisture once frozen and change texture.
Tips for Making Zucchini Tater Tots
I used and recommend Panko breadcrumbs. They’re Japanese-style breadcrumbs and are sold next to regular breadcrumbs, but they’re larger, coarser, and get crispier in the oven.
Youcan spice up thebreading mixture with jerk or Creole seasoning, or add chili powder or cayenne for extraoomph.
There aremild Parmesan undertones in these cheesy zucchini tots, and you could make Creamy Parmesan Dipto intensify the Parmesan flavor, but I love the tots with good old-fashioned ketchup.
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5 from 2 votes
Tater-Less Parmesan Zucchini Tots
By Averie Sunshine
You'll never miss the taters! Crispy, crunchy, and sooo good! You'll forget you're eating zucchini!
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 medium/large zucchini, sliced into tot-sized pieces, about 1/2-inch diameter and 1-inch long (I didn’t peel)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
- pinch Jerk or Creole seasoning, cayenne, chili powder, etc. optional and to taste
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, fresh or green can
- ketchup, for serving (or Creamy Parmesan Dip, Creamy Wasabi Dip, Spiced Ranch Dip
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with aSilpat, parchment,or spray with cooking spray.
Slice the zucchini (I quarter it into long spears, then slice the spears into 1-inch long segments) and transfer zucchini pieces to a large bowl.
Sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper, any optional seasonings or spices, and toss to coat evenly; set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs; set aside.
In a separate large bowl, add the Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and stir to combine; set aside.
Using your hands or a slotted spoon, add about half of thefloured zucchini pieces to the eggs fora quick dunk.
Remove zucchini from eggs and transfer to breadcrumb mixture. Toss with hands or a spoon to coat evenly.
Place zucchinion prepared baking tray, spaced evenly and without touching. You want the oven air to circulate freely on all pieces so they get as crispy as possible.
Repeat battering process with remaining zucchiniand place on baking tray. The process is messy and not every piece will be evenly coated and breaded.Overall, if most pieces are coated, you’re fine.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Start watching closely and checking after 9 minutes. Watch so the undersides don’t become overly browned or burn. Because all ovens, size of the tots, thickness of coating mixture, and personal preferences vary, cooking times will vary.
Tots are best warm and fresh. Serve with ketchup or your favorite dip.
Notes
Adapted fromBaked Parmesan Edamame Bites with Creamy Wasabi DipandCrispy Roasted Parmesan Chickpeas with Spiced Ranch Dip
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 755kcal, Carbohydrates: 91g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g, Cholesterol: 227mg, Sodium: 1948mg, Fiber: 19g, Sugar: 12g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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