Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

21 Comments

3.67 from 3 votes
5 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Jump to Recipe
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots are an easy, kid-friendly snack packed with flavor and a lighter alternative to traditional tater tots.

If you’re looking for more family-friendly veggie recipes, try my Homemade Mac and Cheese, or Crispy Oven Roasted Broccoli for more simple, kid-loved options.

Sabrina’s Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots Recipe

Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots make a fun, flavorful side dish that easily replaces traditional tater tots in your family’s weeknight dinner rotation. They’re perfect for dipping and pair well with kid-favorite sauces, making them an easy and enjoyable addition to almost any meal. I even bake them into mac and cheese, turning a familiar favorite into a total parent win by getting kids excited about broccoli.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots Recipe

Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots are an easy, kid-friendly snack packed with flavor and a lighter alternative to traditional tater tots.
Yield 5 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Roundish vegetable patty on a white plate with a white bowl of red sauce
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups broccoli crowns , (try to avoid as much of the thicker stalk as possible)
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup yellow onion , minced and squeezed in a paper towel to remove juices
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons minced green onions
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • canola oil spray

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray a baking sheet with oil.
  • Add the broccoli to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes covered with a wet paper towel.
  • Mince the broccoli, yellow onions and green onions as small as you can and combine in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add in eggs, cheddar cheese, panko breadcrumbs and salt.
  • Using a heaping tablespoon of the mixture, roll it in your hands before pressing down on the top and bottom of the ball while pressing in on the sides and rotating to make a “tot” shape.
  • Place onto the baking sheet and spray the tops of the tots with an additional bit of canola oil spray.
  • Bake for 7 minutes, turn the tots and bake an additional seven minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 226IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Table of contents

Back to Table of Contents

About This Recipe

Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots are a kid-approved, veggie-packed side dish that’s perfect for replacing traditional tater tots in your weeknight dinner rotation. Crispy, and flavorful, they’re an easy way to get more green vegetables on the table—without complaints.

I’ve made these tots dozens of times because I am all about getting green vegetables into the little ones. They are and have always been obsessed with grape tomatoes, but broccoli has always been a struggle, that’s why this recipe has been such an awesome addition to our meal rotations.

Variations

Making these Baked Cheddar Broccoli Tots are a great alternative to regular tater tots, but you can also make them with other vegetables.

  • Carrots make a great alternative to the broccoli and look like sweet potatoes but with less carbs.
  • Cauliflower is an easy swap for the broccoli, just be sure to steam them a bit longer than the broccoli.
  • Zucchini! I LOVE making this with zucchini now and have also been experimenting with half zucchini and half broccoli.
  • Enjoy the fall season and make this with steamed and minced pumpkin or butternut squash!
  • Any vegetable you can steam to soften will work well in this tots recipe.

More Kid Friendly Dishes

Collage of broccoli tots with ketchup in the background

Photos used in previous version of this post:

Baked broccoli tot with ketchup on it
Broccoli tots next to a bowl of ketchup
Hand holding up a broccoli tot
Fingers holding cheddar broccoli
Broccoli bite dipped in ketchup
Broccoli and cheddar bites on a plate
Containers of lil' greens baby food

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Maximum file size: 10 MB.
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. Drop images here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. My kids loved this recipe! They are messy to hand roll out, but trust the process. I did add extra cheese (probably closer to 3/4 to 1 cup total) just to try to get them to bind together better after cooking. I also added garlic powder (1/2 tsp), and about 1 T canola oils. I sprayed my pan and tops of tots with olive oil. I did follow baking directions, but when they weren’t as done as I liked. I bumped my temp up to 450 and cooked an additional 5 minutes – when I remake, I will probably set my oven to 425 (but this could be a temp difference between ovens). Will definitely make these again!!!

    Reply

  2. I would not make these again. They were so messy to roll out, mainly because they just crumbled apart. I made a double batch to put in the freezer for my 2 year old who doesn’t eat veggies. I haven’t given him any yet so I’m not sure if he even likes them but even if he does, it’s not worth the mess and struggle of trying to roll them while they crumble.

    Reply

  4. I was making my 7 yr old waaaay to many tator tots for dinner now I can fuse his favorite veggie into a tot genius he loves broccoli so this would be a treat for both of us thank you!!!

    Reply

  5. Years ago a caterer served crispy bacon rolled around cheddar cheese, but it was not oozing or liquid. I think the bacon was partially cooked, then wrapped around a cube of frozen cheddar…but I don’t know. Has anyone ever heard of this recipe and can share how it was done>

    Reply

  6. Have you tried to eat these leftover from the refrigerator or after freezing? I’d love to make a huge batch of these and freeze!

    Reply

    1. Yes, you can freeze them. I would recommend flash freezing them on a try until frozen solid and then transferring them to a ziplock bag to keep in the freezer. It may take a few minutes long to bake once you’re ready to use them since they’ll be frozen. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  7. I am no expert chef and I was in a time crunch but I threw these together for my kiddos for a snack and I am SHOCKED at how fast I whipped them up and how delicious they are! We subbed Cauliflower for Broccoli and purple onion for yellow onion. I was working with what I had… like I said- time crunch lol

    Reply

    1. So glad you enjoyed them! They are so easy and quick….love the substitutions! Hey, work with what you have in a crunch, right?!

      Reply

    1. These seem like JUST what I’ve been looking for! My question is, how far in advance can I make them without freezing them?

      And also, have you tried cooking them from frozen? If so, how different do they come out compared to cooking from fresh?

      Reply

      1. I’m so glad you found this recipe. 🙂 Once made, I would either bake them or flash freeze them. You don’t want them to lose their shape and fall apart. They’ll take a few minutes longer to bake from frozen but will come out the same. Enjoy!

        Reply

  11. This looks super yummy! I’m always looking for new broccoli recipes to shake things up, and this looks fantastic!

    Reply