Healthy Baked Zucchini Tater Tots make for a veggie-friendly side dish, appetizer, or snack. Made with fresh zucchini and russet potatoes, these 4-ingredient tasty zucchini tots are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Gluten-free, vegan.
Traditional tater tots are a favorite but sometimes, tater tots are not gluten-free.
This easy recipe is a veggie-heavy side dish that is baked not fried. No bread crumbs, no eggs, no flour. And completely gluten-free. This is a perfect way to sneak in some extra veggies!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Only 4 simple ingredients
- Gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free
- Baked, not fried!
Ingredients and substitutions
Here are a few quick notes about the ingredients in this recipe. You can see a complete list of ingredients and instructions in the recipe card below.
Russet potatoes - Potatoes get a bad rap and they shouldn't. A great source of vitamins and minerals, and fiber, there's a lot more to the potato than it gets credit for.
Zucchini - This humble veggie is a good source of vitamin A, antioxidants, and high in fiber, it aids with digestion and is low in calories, fat, and sugar.
Olive oil - A little goes a long way. This helps create a bit of crispy texture and brown. Use quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
Avocado oil is a good substitute.
Oregano - A bit of oregano helps flavor our zucchini tater tots nicely.
Step-by-step ingredients
Before you start: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Step 1: Bring a large saucepan of water to a low boil. Boil potatoes for 20-30 minutes until they are soft.
Step 2: Grate potatoes and then place them in a large bowl.
Shred zucchini (using side with smaller holes), squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible with a clean dish towel, and add to the mixing bowl.
Step 3: Add oregano and salt. Stir to combine. Use your hands to make sure the ingredients are completely incorporated.
Scoop out slightly heaping teaspoons, then roll into a cylinder tater tot shape. Place tots in single layer even rows on a lined baking sheet.
Step 4: With a pastry brush, brush olive oil over the tops of the tots. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake for 20 minutes.
Gently turn tots over with a spatula or carefully with your fingers. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Tips
- Try to squeeze as much water as you can out of the grated zucchini. You can use paper towels, a clean kitchen towel, or a cheesecloth.
- While you can mix it with a large wooden spoon or spatula, I like to use my hands to make sure the two vegetables are evenly incorporated.
- If you have little helpers in your household, forming the tater tots would be a fun job.
- Lightly spray your parchment paper with cooking spray to avoid sticking.
Serving suggestions
Want to elevate these veggie bites even more? Here are some ideas:
- Load them up with your favorite toppings and make totchos!
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce to add extra flavors like a sour cream dip, red pepper dip, vegan queso blanco, marinara sauce, or ranch dressing!
- They make a great side dish to sandwiches, burgers, or hot dogs
- Incorporate zucchini tots into your breakfast or brunch menu. Serve as a side to quiche, frittatas, and more!
- Add as a side dish to a cheeseburger bowl!
Equipment
A box grater is a great way to shred both vegetables. Use the small grate size for the zucchini and the large grate side for the potato.
FAQs
Use them as a base for tater tot nachos, serve them In place of hash browns at breakfast, stuff them in a burrito or wrap, or use them in a casserole.
Zucchini tots are generally considered a healthier alternative to traditional potato tots because zucchini is lower in calories, and carbohydrates, and is nutrient rich. This is also dependent on how they are prepared.
Make sure to squeeze out as much excess water as possible from the shredded veggie before adding to the other ingredients.
Removing as much moisture as possible will help the tots from becoming soggy. Baking for a few extra minutes can help too
Love zucchini? This squash and zucchini casserole is easy to add to a meal. And use this sauteed zucchini recipe to turn this summer squash into a delicious side dish.
If you are in need of another smile-inducing side dish that makes the gluten-free cut, definitely check out Cindy's kid friendly pasta salad.
Want more? Check out this recipe for zucchini boats and the links below!
More zucchini recipes
📖 Recipe
Baked Zucchini Tater Tots
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled
- 1 large zucchini (about one cup when grated)
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano (lessen or omit if not oregano fan)
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a low boil. Boil peeled potatoes for 30 minutes until they are soft. You'll want the potatoes soft enough that once grated and mixed they have an almost gummy-starchy consistency.
- Once soft and cooled off enough to touch, grate potatoes on the large grate side of a box grater. Place in a large mixing bowl. Grate zucchini (using side with smaller holes). Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the zucchini with a cheesecloth or clean dish towel and add to the mixing bowl.
- Add oregano and salt. Stir to combine mixture, then use your hands to make sure ingredients are completely incorporated. Mixture should be mostly smooth and slightly gummy.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop out slightly heaping teaspoons, then roll into a cylinder tot shape. Cylinders should have a mostly smooth texture.
- Place tots in even rows on prepared baking sheet. With a pastry brush, lightly brush olive oil over tops of tots. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Gently turn tots over with spatula or carefully with your fingers. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Serve zucchini tater tots immediately with ketchup or other dipping sauce.
Faith
I was wondering if I could make these oil-free and they still be crispy. Thanks so much for the comment! Can't wait to try.
Kacie
Can these be frozen either before or after baking?
Ellen
Bummer. This was a flop for us. They tasted fine, but didn't hold up to baking. There wasn't much "tot" to these tots for us. We did better with frying them, in terms of shape. Maybe longer in the over would help.....like doubling the bake time?
Tessa
Hi Ellen! I made them tonight to help troubleshoot and they came out as directed. I have a few ideas that might help...1.) there still may have been extra liquid in the zucchini causing it not to bind well with the potato mixture, 2.) the potatoes should be soft enough that they are a gummy starchy consistency once grated, so that the tots form nice and mostly smooth cylinders, and 3.) it is possible that if the tots are too big that they can have a hard time binding and fall apart. I've added these notes to the recipe in case they are helpful.
Cindy
These tots look GREAT! I have some zucchini lovers in the house, I am trying this for sure!
Ido
You are comparing this as being better than fried but you still use oil. GOOD NEWS! No oil is needed at all!
You can bake these on parchment paper and they will turn golden brown and crunchy without any oil at all. They need to bake a little longer in the oven, but skip that unnecessary added fat and calories. These are soooo good! :)
Faith
I was wondering if I could make these oil-free and they still be crispy. Thanks so much for the comment! Can't wait to try.