Baked Zucchini Tater Tots (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Baked Zucchini Tater Tots make for a veggie-friendly side dish, appetizer, or snack. Made with fresh zucchini and russet potatoes, these 4-ingredient zucchini tots are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Gluten-free, vegan.

Tater tots have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I feel strongly enough about this that they would beat out French fries any day.

But, as we know, the true “guilty” part comes from all the oil that those golden little nuggets are fried in. So to remedy this and make a feel-good tot, I’ve altered a few things.

First, combining fresh zucchini with potatoes ups the veggie factor. Potatoes get a bad rap and they shouldn’t. Packed with vitamins and minerals, protein, and fiber, there’s a lot more to the humble potato than it gets credit for.

Zucchini, a high source of vitamin C and antioxidants, also has anti-inflammatory properties and aids with digestion.

I find the step of mixing together the grated zucchini with the boiled and grated potatoes, along with the forming of the tots, to be quite therapeutic.

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.

Then, if you have little helpers in your household, forming the tater tots would be a fun job. I enjoyed it all on my own, but it certainly goes faster with an extra hand or two.

Once the tots are laid out in even rows on a baking sheet, they are brushed with a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with a touch of salt,  and transferred to the oven.

This brings us to the second part of making a feel-good tot: baked, not fried. These baked zucchini tater tots taste so good out of the oven, you’ll wonder why you ever had fried tots in the first place.

If you are in need of another easy, smile-inducing side dish that makes the gluten-free cut, definitely check out Cindy’s kid friendly pasta salad.

Other Zucchini Recipes:

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Socca Pizza with Summer Squash, Green Beans, and Pesto

4 from 2 votes

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Baked Zucchini Tater Tots Recipe

Baked Zucchini Tater Tots make for a veggie-friendly side dish, appetizer, or snack. Made with fresh zucchini and russet potatoes, these 4-ingredient zucchini tots are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Gluten-free, vegan.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Keyword baked zucchini tater tots

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Author Tessa Fisher

Ingredients

• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled
• 1 large zucchini (about one cup when grated)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (lessen or omit if not oregano fan)
• 1 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to a low boil. Boil potatoes for 20-30 minutes until they are soft. 

   You'll want the potatoes soft enough that once grated and mixed they have an almost gummy starchy consistency.

3. Once soft and cooled off enough to touch, grate potatoes and then place in a large mixing bowl. Grate zucchini (using side with smaller holes), squeeze out as much liquid as possible, and add to the mixing bowl. 

4. Add oregano and salt. Stir to evenly combine mixture, then use your hands to make sure ingredients are completely incorporated. 

5. 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 cookie sheet. With a pastry brush, brush olive oil over tops of tots. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. Gently turn tots over with spatula or carefully with your fingers (they may slightly stick and using your fingers is sometimes easier to avoid tearing). Bake for an additional 15 minutes. 

7. Serve zucchini tater tots immediately with ketchup or other dipping sauce.