These Zucchini Tater Tots are made with just 4 simple ingredients! They’re baked to crispy perfection and packed with zucchini. Great for a side dish or snack!
I think we all can agree that tater tots are the best use of potatoes in the world! They are crispy, salty and if you make homemade tater tots, like these Zucchini Tater Tots, you can put a bunch of awesome flavors into them. My first experience with homemade tater tots was with these smoked gouda and green apple tater tots I made last year. They were some of the best tater tots I’ve ever eaten and much easier to make than I had expected.
I’ve seen tater tots made many times on the Food Network and a lot of times they add extra things like eggs and breadcrumbs, but I’ve found that those additions aren’t really necessary.
Zucchini Tater Tot Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes – I like to use russet potatoes when making homemade tater tots. Any potato would work but I like to use russet because they are more starchy than some other potatoes, which allows them to hold together better and they have the most neutral flavor of all the potatoes.
- Zucchini – They sell zucchini in most stores year round but if you grown your own zucchini during the summer, this would be a great recipe for those big ones!
- Salt – I use salt to taste in this recipe. You can add as much or as little as you like.
- Olive Oil – I just use a little bit of olive oil to brush on the tops of the tater tots before baking. You could also use a cooking spray.
How To Make Homemade Tater Tots
There are a few steps to this tater tot recipe but they’re all easy!
- Start by par-boiling your potatoes. I keep the skin on and boil them until they’re just fork tender but still have a little bit of give in the middle. This will allow you to be able to grate the potato without it completely turning to mush.
- Once you’ve boiled your potatoes let them sit until they’re cool enough to handle. Use your hands to carefully remove the skin of the potato. It should come off easily once they’ve been boiled.
- Grate the potatoes on the large side of a box grater and add the grated potato to a large bowl.
- Next, grate the zucchini on the large side of a box grater. Place all grated zucchini into a clean dish towel and place over a bowl. Squeeze the zucchini until you’ve gotten as much water as you can out and add the zucchini to the bowl with the potatoes.
- Use your hands to mix everything together and try to make sure it’s evenly mixed. Add salt, to taste and mix again. Use your hands to form the potato mixture into little cylinders and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you want, you can spray the parchment paper with a little cooking spray.
- Place the tray in the freezer for at least 10 minutes and then brush the top of each tot with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake tots until golden brown, flipping once, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Zucchini Tater Tot Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this recipe vegan? Yes!
- Is this recipe gluten free? Yes!
- Can I use sweet potato instead of regular potato? Yes, I actually have a Sweet Potato Tot Recipe on the blog!
- My tater tots didn’t form at all until cylinders, what did I do wrong? I’m not sure as I wasn’t in the kitchen with you, but there’s a possibility that you didn’t cook the potatoes long enough, or that you used a type of potato other than russet. It’s also possible you didn’t squeeze all the water out of the zucchini.
- Can I add extra seasonings to the zucchini tater tots besides salt? Of course, add any kind of seasonings you like!
- Can I prep these ahead of time and bake later? Yes, you can freeze them until ready to bake or chill them in the refrigerator.
- Can I freeze them for a long period of time? Yes, I would recommend freezing them on a sheet pan until completely frozen and then you can add them to a freezer bag together and freeze up to 3 months.
Have a question that I didn’t answer? Ask me in the comment section below and I will get back to you ASAP!
Looking For More Delicious Zucchini Recipes?
The Best Roasted Zucchini Recipe
Lower Carb Zucchini Noodle Spaghetti Bake
30 Minute Orange Ginger Zucchini Noodles
SEE EXACTLY HOW I MAKE THESE ZUCCHINI TATER TOTS BELOW!
4 Ingredient Zucchini Tater Tots
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 40 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Zucchini Tater Tots only have 4 ingredients! They’re easy to make and great for a healthy side dish or snack.
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes, peeled
- 2 zucchinis, about 2–3 cups shredded
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and cook potatoes for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender but still have some give in the middle. Drain water and let potatoes cool until they are comfortable to handle. You want them to still be warm.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grate potatoes on the large side of a box grater and put into a large bowl. Grate each zucchini and squeeze out the liquid using a clean dishtowel. Place grated zucchini into the bowl with the potatoes and add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Use your hands to mix everything together.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to form small cylinders with the mixture. Use about 1 tablespoon per tater tot. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes to allow them to firm up.
- Brush the top of each tater tot with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle each one with salt. Bake tater tots until browned a crispy, about 30 minutes flipping halfway though. Serve with ketchup if desired.
Notes
Recipe makes approximately 40 tater tots.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Side, Gluten Free, Vegan
- Method: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Are the potatoes supposed to be firm or tender in the center? “Bring water to a boil and cook potatoes for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender but still have some give in the middle.” “Some give” means they DO yield to pressure but it seems like you are saying they should NOT yield to pressure. Don’t want to over or undercook them.
Hi Lolly, Sorry for the confusion! You don’t want them to be mashed potato soft, you want to be able to stick a fork into the outside, while the center is still pretty firm. You want them to be mostly cooked through, but still firm enough to hold in your hand and grate them. Does that make sense? They will cook for about 30 minutes in the oven so you don’t really have to worry too much about them being undercooked.
These look amazing! Such a great way to sneak in something good for my two year old too. 🙂 I’ll definitely be sharing this with my readers.
I’m so glad you like them, Loryn! I hope your two year old loves them 🙂
These were delicious. My teenage daughter and I loved them. I wasn’t concerned about keeping them vegan so I added just a bit of butter and sour cream. I was also too hungry to let them rest in the freezer, tossed them straight into the oven. 🙂
Hi Michelle! I’m so glad you guys liked them! The last time I made them I didn’t let them rest either because I was in such a hurry to eat them, haha!
I take it, this isn’t a high altitude recipe? Potatoes boil a lot differently at 5,000 feet than they do at 500 and they also bake differently 🙁 We enjoyed our Failure Tot Mash Piles though… maybe cut back on the salt a bit?
Hi Brian, yeah, I live in the desert so it definitely isn’t high altitude here! If you are familiar with boiling times and oven temps at your altitude then I would just alter them to fit your needs 🙂
Hello!
I have just found this recipe this morning and I’m now preparing some for lunch!
I have never heard of tater tots before (I’m from Spain) but I have no doubt we’re gonna love them. We really like zucchini, so, this is a good and different way to eat.
Thanks for the idea!!!!!
Hi Natalia! Now that you have been introduced to tater tots I think you will want to eat them all the time! They are the best! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
There are so amazing and just what I needed to use all of the zucchini my co-workers have given me.
And yes, they freeze well. We had to bake them for 30 minutes and I recommend that you not flip them for at least 15 minutes, because when I tried initially, they were sticking to the parchment paper.
I did all the prep work yesterday during my lazy Sunday and froze them overnight on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. We had dinner figured out last night, and needed something quick for tonight, so freezing them worked out perfectly for us. I ended up with over 50 tots, so it’s great that we could bake just enough for tonight and will still have more tots to enjoy them sometime later.
Thank you Izzy! We are so proud of all the work that you have done with this blog and we are even happier that you are sharing your amazing recipes with us.
Leigh!! This comment makes me so happy! I’m so glad you guys made them and that you loved them!! And good to know that they freeze well, although I always eat them up so fast, haha! It really means so much to me that you read along with the blog and actually make some of the recipes! That is awesome! If you and Adam come visit this winter I will cook for you!! 🙂 I hope you guys are doing well!
I have just made the tatatots and they are not looking like yours. They are too wet and not set, what have I done wrong
Hi Judy, I’m so sorry they didn’t quite turn out. Did you make sure to squeeze all of the water out of the grated zucchini before adding it to the potatoes? Did you change anything or did you go off my directions exactly?
Could also sprinkle salt on the grated zuchini in a colander and let sit 30 min. or so to get excess water out. Rinse or just squeeze out and not add more salt to recipe.
Sure!
I tried this recipe yesterday on a rainy afternoon. It took hours to make between the cooking of the potato’s, grating, and cooking the very moist mixture. They also stuck to my parchment paper when I tried to flip in the middle of cooking time, as noted in recipe. These little tater tots were also too salty for my taste as mentioned in those who made them. The amount of time and so so taste will unfortunately have to put this recipe as side.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it.
haha yeah we tried to grow zucchini one year and it was a hugeee bust! But that’s okay, I just buy crazy amounts at the store instead!
These tots sound awesome! Love how few ingredients there are!
Wow, those look awesome! I think I’m going to try making them with an infused olive oil! Rosemary comes to mind, but I only have garlic, mushroom & sage & basil…. Hmmmm, I think any of those would be good! Also they sound perfect for my daughter, who prefers to eat healthy, but has anxiety about eating at school. She told me last night that it might be easier if she had small pieces (like blueberries, raspberries,etc). Now I can try your recipe with all sorts of veggies & flavors!!!!!! I’m so excited, THANK YOU!!! ????????????
Hi Brenda! Making them with infused oil sounds like the best idea ever!! Rosemary would be so good! I hope your daughter loves them 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment!
These are delicious and adorable all at once! I love the simplicity, I love that they’re baked, and I totally want to pick one up and dip it in a big glob of ketchup right now <3
Thank you, Natalie! I love adorable food 🙂 I just started boiling some water to make more tonight!
These are amazing Izzy! I loooove tater tots. Even more than french fries. They are my go to when I make burgers or hot dogs. I must be a kid still, haha! Can’t wait to make this zucchini version!
These look amazing. I was wondering if you could roll the ingredients into a rope, like gnocchi, then cut into tots?
Thanks Julie! I haven’t tried that myself, but it might work! I don’t think they would stay together as well as gnocchi does though, so it might be easier to form them with your hands, it doesn’t take too long!
I am absolutely in LOVE with this recipe. It’s such a great idea and I have so much zucchini from my garden, it’s a great way to use it all up!
Thank you, Isabel! It is the perfect way to use up that zucchini 🙂
Yup, I think everyone loved these on finding vegan 😉 Glad your site is back up for everyone! And thank you for submitting to FindingVegan! These look amazing!
Hi Kathy! Haha, I am glad my site is back up too! That was a pretty exciting night! Thank you so so much for sharing them! That is by far the most page views I have ever gotten in one day 🙂
Hmmm… I love these! I will definitely give it a try today, I’m specially happy to see a recipe that doesn’t require flour to keep the mass glued together. Reminds me of gnocchi..
Thank you! I was excited to make a tater tot that didn’t have flour or eggs in it too! I’m so glad you like them 🙂
Hi they look yummy, just wondering do you know if they freeze well? I have a lot of zucchini/courgettes (that’s what we call them here in Ireland).
Many thanks Siobhan.
Hi Siobhan! I haven’t frozen them myself yet, mainly because I can’t keep myself from eating them, haha! But, I think they would freeze very well! Just freeze them before baking them and then throw them in the oven. They might need a little more time in the oven, but I think they would be good!
OMG! these look great! I might suggest a yogurt and dill dipping sauce instead for Mediterranean flare! thanks for the great and simple idea.
A dill dipping sauce would be so good! That is a great idea 🙂
25 year old guy who now must fend for himself in graduate school… (p.s. thanks to all the moms who make great food for their kids but do not get thanked for it.)
I made these and they turned out okay. I’ll likely make again, but it is won’t be a staple.
I suggest using some sort of non-stick pan or spray.
They taste great only thing is, obviously, this is a recipe that has very little protein in it.
With limited cooking skill it took about 2 hours to make.
Hi Nathan, did you use parchment paper when baking them? That should solve any tray sticking issues if you had them! Yes, not a lot of protein in the tater tots, but I’m not sure I would recommend making a meal out of just them, haha 🙂 They would go great as a side dish to a protein filled entree though.
I used wax paper. (I’m kind of new to cooking so I’m not sure if that is the same thing as parchment paper?)
I had the tots with eggs and sausage, which made for a tasty toast replacement.
Parchment paper is similar to wax paper but meant for the oven. It is great for baking things that you don’t want to stick to the pan! Wax paper isn’t meant to go in the oven, but I guess it is ok as long as it didn’t melt!
Ohhh, tater tots and eggs and sausage sound perfect together 🙂
Izzy these look like the best tater tots ever! I can’t believe there are just 2 main ingredients and no eggs or anything!
Thank you, Ashley!! I just ate the entire batch all by myself, ooops 🙂