Homemade Kid Friendly Veggie Tater Tots
Crispy golden tater tots made with – broccoli, potato, sweet corn and cheddar cheese. Crispy on the outside, soft and flavourful on the inside, these tater tots make for irresistible bites. Serve it with a dipping sauce and watch them disappear fast! Oven and Air Fryer method also provided.
Say goodbye to those frozen bags of tater tots. These Homemade Tater Tots are way easier to throw together than I expected them to be, and my family just loved them! This homemade version is super easy to make, is budget-friendly and taste way better than store-bought!
Tater tots are a crowd favourite! They are a huge hit among kids, teens and adults and can be served with anything and everything any time of day. They are crispy, cheesy and addictive. Who thought eating broccoli could be so much fun!
Fun Fact About Tater Tots
Before beginning the recipe, here’s a very interesting insight about Tater Tots. Tater tots were invented by an American frozen food Company, Ore-Ida, in the year 1953. Tater is short for potato.
This recipe came into being when the founders were trying to figure out what to do with the leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes. They chopped up the slivers, added flour and seasoning and the product was first offered commercially in stores in 1956.
Now, what I found most interesting is that, originally these tots were inexpensive. People didn’t buy it because they thought it’s cheap. It is only when the company raised it’s prices, people began buying it. Human psychology can really be weird! How we associate quality with price. 😄 Today, Americans consume approximately 70 million pounds of tater tots. Can you imagine!
Overtime recipe was developed further and potatoes were substituted with other nutritious vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Broccoli: You just need broccoli head and crown for this recipe and not the stems.
- Parboiled Potatoes: Parboiling the potatoes means partially cooking the potatoes until just tender. This will help ensure the tater tots to cook evenly, holding their shape with a fluffy interior and crispy golden exterior. If you cook potatoes too much they will hold in extra moisture and the final mixture will be mushy.
- Corn Kernels: I have used frozen sweet corn kernels for this recipe. You can also use fresh corn. Just boil the kernels until they are just soft.
- Cheddar Cheese: I have used mild cheddar cheese here. However, this recipe works great with smoked or aged cheddar cheese as well.
- Breadcrumbs: I have used panko breadcrumbs for extra crispyness. You can also use regular dried breadcrumbs.
- Egg: Egg helps to bind the mixture so it holds well. You can also make these tots eggless. Just substitute egg with 1/4th cup rice flour or all purpose flour.
Step by Step Instructions
For detailed recipe, jump to recipe card below
- Grate parboiled potatoes in a bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup frozen sweet corn kernels in boiling water. Keep aside for 10 minutes. You can use boiled fresh corn too.
- Grate 1 large head of broccoli. Add 1 tsp salt to it and keep aside for 20 minutes.
- Squeeze out as much water as you can from the broccoli.
- Coarsely blend corn in a blender. Just blitz for 10 to 15 seconds. (DO NOT ADD WATER). Add both broccoli and corn to the potatoes.
- Now add minced garlic, salt & pepper to taste, egg, bread crumbs, chilli flakes, Italian seasoning and grated cheddar cheese. Mix everything well and form a thick paste. If it feels sticky, add more bread crumbs.
- Check for seasoning. Once ok, give it a cylindrical shape or any shape you like. Refrigerate it for 30 minute.
- Heat any neutral oil which has a high smoking point in a wok on a medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, work in batches, add tots in oil and fry on medium heat, until crisp and golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper lined plate.
- Serve immediately with ketchup, mint chutney or tzatziki (hung curd dip). I personally enjoy them with tzatziki.
Pro Tips
- Prevent Sticking: Lightly oil your hands while shaping the tots to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Fry in batches. If too many tater tots are added at once, the oil temperature will drop and the tater tots will absorb too much oil, resulting in soggy tots.
- Refrigerate before cooking: Refrigerating before cooking is preferred to preserve texture and for optimal freshness.
- Mix it up: You can swap broccoli for zucchini or cauliflower, potatoes for sweet potatoes or make it just with broccoli. You can also add minced red onions or shallots to this recipe. To spice it up you also add very finely chopped jalapenos.
Baking In Oven
If you don’t want to shallow fry the tots, you can totally bake them in the oven for a healthier version. Though the only drawback of baking in oven is that the tots will not be as evenly crisp as they will be while deep frying. But they will still be delicious!
Preheat oven at 200 °C. Grease a baking sheet with a thin layer of oil or line with parchment paper and set aside. Place on your prepared baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown and crispy, 18-24 minutes, turning them half way. Remove from the oven and enjoy hot with your favorite dipping sauce!
Cook in an Air Fryer
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 360 F or 180 C. Brush the basket with little oil and gently add the tots. Do not crowd the basket. Do few batches of a single layer.
Brush or spray a little oil over the top of each tot. Cook for 4 minutes, shake the basket. Spray or brush it again with some oil. Cook for another 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
Homemade Broccoli, Potato & Corn Tater Tots | Easy Recipe | Kid Friendly
Ingredients
- 3 large Parboiled Potatoes
- 1/2 cup Sweet Corn Kernels or fresh boiled corn
- 1 Large Broccoli Head approx 350 grams
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs or regular dried breadcrumbs
- 1 large Egg substitute; 1/4th cup rice flour or all purpose flour
- 90 grams Cheddar Cheese grated
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Red Chili Flakes optional
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Oil for Deep Frying
Instructions
- Grate parboiled potatoes in a bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup frozen sweet corn kernels in boiling water. Keep aside for 10 minutes. You can use boiled fresh corn too.
- Grate 1 large head of broccoli. Add 1 tsp salt to it and keep aside for 20 minutes.
- Squeeze out as much water as you can from the broccoli.
- Coarsely blend corn in a blender. Just blitz for 10 to 15 seconds. (DO NOT ADD WATER). Add both broccoli and corn to the potatoes.
- Now add minced garlic, salt & pepper to taste, egg, bread crumbs, chili flakes, Italian seasoning and grated cheddar cheese. Mix everything well and form a thick paste. If it feels sticky, add more bread crumbs.
- Check for seasoning. Once ok, give it a cylindrical shape or any shape you like. Refrigerate it for 30 minute.
- Heat any neutral oil which has a high smoking point in a wok on a medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, work in batches and add tots in oil and fry on medium heat, until crisp and golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper lined plate.
- Serve immediately with ketchup, mint chutney or tzatziki (hung curd dip). I personally enjoy them with tzatziki.
Notes
- Prevent Sticking: Lightly oil your hands while shaping the tots to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Fry in batches. If too many tater tots are added at once, the oil temperature will drop and the tater tots will absorb too much oil, resulting in soggy tots.
- Refrigerate before cooking: Refrigerating before cooking is preferred to preserve texture and for optimal freshness.
- Mix it up: You can swap broccoli for zucchini or cauliflower, potatoes for sweet potatoes or just make it just with broccoli. You can also add minced red onions or shallots to this recipe. To spice it up you also add very finely chopped jalapenos.
I’d love for you to give these yummy veggie tots a try. 🙂 Let me know in the comments how they turned out. Can’t wait to hear what you and your crew think!
