Broccoli Tots

These Broccoli Tots are very delicious and packed with Parmesan and feta cheese for tangy flavor and crispy texture. The air fryer makes these broccoli tots crunchy and golden brown with minimal oil. They’re the perfect side dish or snack for both adults and kids!

Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies to add to a meal because you can use it as a mix-in, side, or part of your main dish and also because it has a good sour of vitamin C that helps to boost progesterone levels and sulfur that reduces estrogen dominance by supporting the liver’s detoxification and helping to filter estrogen metabolites from your body.

What are Broccoli Tots?

If you love tater tots, then these broccoli tots are for you! If you have some broccoli on hand, then you definitely need to try these. You mix some cheeses with seasonings, an egg, and some riced broccoli, and voila! You are ready to pop these in the air-fryer and get them nice and crispy to add to your meal.

This recipe is a quick and easy snack or appetizer that can be served with your favorite dip. They go great with Creamy Rosemary Chicken, Lamb Meatballs or Pan-Seared Salmon as a side dish.

These broccoli tots have the same consistency as tater tots (crispy on the outside and soft on the inside), but they are air fryer instead of fried. They are also gluten-free due to the fact we’re using almond flour to give structure to these delicious tots, you MUST TRY them!

INGREDIENTS

With just a few basic ingredients you can easily make a batch of broccoli tots. Essentially the tots are made with broccoli, cheese, egg and a flour to bind them.

Broccoli: You will need to pulse it in a food processor before you can make these tots.

Egg: The egg will bind all of the ingredients together alloweing you to shape them into a tot.

Feta cheese and Parmesan cheese: The cheeses not only add a great flavor but they make the texture soft.

Almond Flour: For a gluten-free option and to add some nutty flavor.

Eggs: The eggs help bind the mixture so it holds together.

Dijon mustard: to imbues this recipe with a nice tanginess

Onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper: These will finish off the tots with some great flavor!

Steps to make Broccoli Tots

1. Preheat Air fryer: Preheat the oven to 350°.`
2. Cook the broccoli: If using frozen riced broccoli, prepare it according to the package and let it cool until it is cool enough to handle. If using fresh broccoli, prepare a pot of boiling water. Cut the broccoli into florets and place it in a steamer basket over the boiling water. Cover and steam for 5 minutes until the florets are fork-tender. Alternatively 1, the broccoli can be steamed in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl with a bit of water in the bottom for 5 minutes. Alternative 2, make tots with raw broccoli (precooked).
3. Pulse the broccoli: Once cooked, place the steamed florets in a food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds until you get a nice riced consistency.
4. Add ingredients and mix: Transfer the riced broccoli to a tea towel or several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. There is more liquid than you’d think, I’m usually able to squeeze out nearly a cup of liquid. Measure out 4 cups of broccoli and add to a large bowl. Add the egg, both cheeses, Dijon mustard, almond flour, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and mix together.
5. Form tots and cook: Using your hands, form the tots (about 35) that are about 1.5x.5 inches, grease them with olive oil and line them up on the air fryer leaving space between them. Cook for 5 minutes before removing from the air-fryer, flip them over and then cook for another 5 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Serve: Enjoy with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce

Final tips

• If you’re short on time, you can use frozen broccoli “rice” as it’s essentially finely chopped broccoli. 

• While I haven’t tried to make a vegan version of this, you could in theory swap the egg for a flax egg and nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan cheese.
• Don’t forget the flip: When you are cooking these in your oven, you will need to flip them halfway through. This makes it so that they cook evenly and get nice and crispy all the way around.
• You also can bake these tots instead of using an air-fryer. Preheat the oven to 400° and spray a baking sheet well with pan spray.`Bake for 20 minutes before removing from the oven, flip them over and then bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

How to Store Leftovers

These broccoli tots make fantastic leftovers. In fact, you can make some ahead of time and freeze them to cook up later! Here is how you can store and reheat them for another day.

• Refrigerator: Once the tots have cooled then store them in an airtight container. Put them in your fridge and they will last about 5 days.
• Freezer: Double the recipe so that you can have some on hand to freeze. Place them in and airtight container, label it with the date and put it in your freezer. They will last for up to 3 months.
• Reheat: The best way to reheat your tots will be in an air fryer or an oven. This will make them taste crispy and fresh again! Preheat your air fryer or oven to 400 degrees and cook them for 3-5 minutes or until heated through. You can take frozen ones and put them directly in your oven (no need to thaw them) They will just take couple minutes longer to cook.

You’ll like every bit of it. It’s finger-lickin’ good! Enjoy it, friends!🌞

For more delicious appetizers or sides, you might like these:

Easy Peasy Falafel

Goat Cheese Balls

Jeera Aloo Recipe

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