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
we really enjoy this recipe tonight. My 4 year old never suspected she was eating zuchinni. 🙂 Thanks
That is great to hear, Gen!! They are a great way to sneak in some extra veggies 🙂
I was wondering if anyone had issues with gas from these. They turned out great and our whole family gobbled them up because they were so yummy, but today we are all very gassy. I don’t know if I didn’t cook the zucchini long enough or it’s something else.
Hi Stacy, I’m sorry that you are your family felt that way afterward but I’m glad that you guys enjoyed them! I’ve never ran into that issue after eating these, but you never know. Was there anything else you had for dinner that could have caused it?
These look awesome. Instead of using a hand grater, can you use a food processor or will the consistency be different?
Hi Amy, I think that would work fine as long as it doesn’t make them too mushy and still holds up the grated texture!
Well made these for the Super Bowl and they were a total disaster. What a great idea, but no. I failed. I followed directions exactly. I think you need to add a little olive oil to the mix before shaping them. They all stuck to the parchment paper and did not take to “flipping” after 15 minutes. Piles of mush. I had to salvage them and fry them in a pan to make them edible. Bummer, such a cute idea!
Hi Dina,
I’m so sorry to hear they didn’t turn out. I’ve made them a few times and have never had to add olive oil to the mixture before shaping them. Did you make sure to cook them until the center was just fork tender so they didn’t get too mushy?
I am always looking for Vegan recipes for my teenage daughter and this was a hit. I baked them and couldn’t get them to crisp up as much as I would like (texture issues for her :P) so I finished them in a pan with a little olive oil. Very good!
I’ve re-heated mine in a pan a few times and they were so good that way! I’m so glad you and your daughter enjoyed them! 🙂
Such a simple recipe! I love it. I will definitely make these one day and come back and rate it 🙂
I hope you enjoy them! And, definitely let me know what you think once you’ve made them 🙂
Made these today- these looked amazing, but I am sad to say I was extremely disappointed. As other reviewers mentioned, they never held their form and remained as mushy balls of zucchini and potato- with good flavor, at least! But they just made piles of mush, and I cooked them FOREVER and still nothing happened.
Hi Brooke, I’m so sorry they didn’t work out for you. Where the potatoes still warm when you grated them and formed them into tater tots? I’ve only made them when the potatoes were still warm and they’ve always stayed together really well. I’d be more than happy to help you troubleshoot it over e-mail if you would like!
you have to put pressure when forming the tots in order to make it a very tight hard little package. I know this from personal experience 😀 it is VERY important to really make the tots hard and give it a toast in the oven till its got some of that browness
I made these tonight and measured 3 cups shredded zucchini, squeezed out the water, etc. Used 3 large potatoes, but it was really mushy. It was hard to form together and after baking 15 minutes, they stuck to the parchment paper and were mostly mushy still. Not sure what to do different? Maybe because the measurements aren’t exact and likely different from what you actually used? I had such high hopes for this recipe, the photo looks amazing!
Hi Andrea, I’m sorry they didn’t turn out for you. Were the potatoes still a little warm when you formed them into tater tots? I find that it helps them stick together better if they are warm. I’ve made them a few times and the mixture definitely wasn’t mushy. I would be happy to talk over e-mail if you want to troubleshoot this some more.
This recipe looks great, and I’m going to try it. A quick question for you, though. Have you ever tried making the tots with cauliflower instead of potatoes? Do you think I could substitute the cauliflower for the potatoes and make cauli-zucchini tots? Would they stick together or would I need to add an egg or something else to have them stick? Thanks!!
Hi Monika! I haven’t tried substituting cauliflower for the potatoes myself, but I’m guessing that you would definitely have to add an egg in there to get it all to stick together. I’m sure it would taste really good though!
Can I use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes? Would that taste bad?
Hi Kelly, I don’t think they would taste bad at all, but sweet potatoes aren’t as strachy as regular potatoes so I don’t think they would hold together without adding an egg and possibly some bread crumbs. But you could try it out!
I planned to cook these tonight. I boiled my potatoes last night, but I over boiled them. They are too mushy and soft. Is this still okay to form the tot with the zucchini? 🙁 and if not then any other suggestions to use my potatoes?
Hi Brenda! Do you mean just using the zucchini by themselves? I don’t think they would stick together if you only used zucchini, but you could try mashing the potatoes and trying to form them into tots once they have cooled!
hi there, was wondering if you could tell me in weight how much potato? I need to sub the potatoes and the ones I’ve got are on the small side.
also, is the 2-3 cups of zucchini before or after squeezing?
Hi Caryn, with these tater tots I don’t think the measurements are super important as long as the ratio of zucchini to potato is about 1 to 3. I don’t think I weighed the potatoes before I bought them, but I would guess 1 1/2 – 2 pounds of potatoes. The zucchini measurements are before squeezing. I hope they work out for you!
Has anyone tried freezing these in bulk for cooking at a later time? I have a LOT of potatoes and zucchini this year and my girls love tater tots! It would be fantastic to do up an army’s worth and freeze them!
Hi Alison, I haven’t frozen them myself, but one of the commenters a few weeks ago said that she froze a bunch and cooked them a few days later and it worked great!
I just stumbled on this recipe and your blog. I LOVED THESE TOTS! I made them last night and they were perfect! I hate eggs and feel that most recipes with them, they overtake everything. So this was perfect! The only adjustment I made (out of laziness) was I used a food processor instead of hand grating. Worked PERFECTLY! I just pulsed until the zucchini (and then potatoes when they were done cooking) were small uniform chunks similar to the potatoes in actual tots. So easy! I also used garlic salt in place of salt to add a little something.
I definitely recommend these! I know I will be making them again!
Hi Melissa!! Yah! I’m so glad you loved them! That is a great idea to grate the potatoes in the food processor because I almost burned my hand trying to grate them when they were still hot, haha! And i bet adding garlic salt makes them taste even better! Thank you so much for your lovely comment and feedback 🙂