Healthy Baked Cheesy Zucchini Tots

A plate of zucchini tots with text overlay.

These cheesy zucchini tots are a low-carb twist on popular Tater Tots made with russet potatoes. They're made with with grated zucchini, onion, Panko bread crumbs, cheese, and herbs and baked in the oven for an easy vegetable side dish or party appetizer. The estimated cooking time is for air frying.

Course Appetizer, Vegetable Side

Cuisine American

Keyword Zucchini tots

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings Tots

Calories 29.6kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Equipment

box grater
Chef's knife
Large mixing bowl
baking sheet (if baking in the oven)

Ingredients

1 cup shredded zucchini
1 large egg
¼ cup small-diced yellow onion
⅓ cup grated Asiago Cheese see the Ingredient Notes in the post for more cheese ideas
¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs or regular bread crumbs
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Zest from ½ lemon

Instructions

Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Foil is not a good option in this recipe.
If using an air fryer, preheat to 400˚F and spray the air fryer tray with oil.
Shred the zucchini. Slice off the top and bottom of the zucchini. Use the large holes on a box grater to shred the zucchini. Roll the grated zucchini in paper towels or a clean dish towel, and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. There's a lot of moisture in zucchini.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Pro tip: If the zucchini is too moist, it will not be able to crisp up while the tots bake.
Grate the cheese. Use the small holes in a cheese grater to grate the Asiago or Parmesan cheese. If you use a softer cheese such as mozzarella, Pepperjack, or cheddar cheese, use the medium-sized holes.
Add the the bowl with the zucchini.
Combine. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add to the bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well using a large metal spoon.
Form the tots. Using a soup spoon, scoop the zucchini mixture into mounds, and gently shape using your fingers. Arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet or prepared air fryer tray.
Each tot will measure about 2 tablespoons, and you should end up with 10 tots.
Bake (oven). Bake for 10 minutes, gently flip over, and bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Air fry. Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping over the tots halfway through cooking.
Serve. Serve warm with dipping sauces recommended in the post.

Nutrition