Zucchini Tots

These zucchini tots are among my all-time favorite snack food … and they’re healthy! 🙂 You can use a dairy-free “cheese” and dairy-free bread crumbs to make these non-dairy. You can also easily make them gluten-free by using gluten-free bread crumbs!

For the Love of Zucchini

I LOVE zucchini, so when I saw a zucchini tots recipe (and then another) show up in my facebook feed several months ago, I knew I had to give zucchini tots a try. As usual, I look at recipes as suggestions … so I have been working on developing my own recipe for a while. And here it is! If you love zucchini and/or want to find a way to work more veggies onto your family’s plates, you’ll want to make this!

Your Favorite Cheese

This recipe works well with dairy-free “cheese” shreds like the kind made by Daiya. Manchego (made from sheep milk – read the label to make sure) and crumbled goat cheese also work well, if you can eat cheese.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1 egg
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (I use dairy-free and/or gluten-free bread crumbs)
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese (I use dairy-free “cheese” shreds made by Daiya), but you can also use manchego cheese (made from sheep’s milk), crumbled goat cheese (only 1/4 cup if you opt for this) or your other favorite shredded cheese if dairy isn’t an issue for you or those you’ll be serving this to 🙂
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 -1/4 tsp salt (depending on your taste)
• olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
• Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet (or spray cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray)
• Spread clean dish towel into medium-large bowl
• Wash zucchini and cut the ends off; then grate the zucchini into the bowl, on top of the towel (you should have about 2 cups)
• Wrap up the towel, forming a tightly wrapped ball of zucchini
• Squeeze out as much liquid as possible into the bowl (or a sink); some zucchini are drier than others – if you don’t get most of the liquid squeezed out, the tots won’t crisp up as well.
• Empty liquid from the bowl and put the zucchini back in the bowl
• Add all the remaining ingredients
• Mix thoroughly
• Roll in hands and form into small ovals
• Place on cookie sheet
• Bake 18-20 minutes, until crisp on the bottom; flip and bake 5-7 additional minutes (can vary by oven; you want them to be crisp but not burnt)