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
Anyone try these with frozen shredded potatoes? Maybe nuke em for a bit so they are soft?
Hi Shena, I don’t think these would work as well with frozen potatoes because they don’t have as much starch to hold them together as regular potatoes.
Hi,
could you please improve the print version of your recipes?
If I wanna print them, the whole 51 pages (!) are printed.
Thank you!
I will look into it, sorry about that!
Tasted fine but what a pain. 4 ingredients, yes but balling them up is a huge pain. They also need something to bind them. They just fall apart when I flip them. I also tried deed frying them, which I do not recommend. The just melted into one big blob.
Hi Jeremy, sorry you found this recipe a pain but sometimes homemade from scratch recipes take much more time than buying frozen things and heating them up. I’ve made them a few times and have never had an issue with them falling apart, I’m sorry yours did not.
This recipe caught my eye in your blog’s sidebar – I love the idea of zucchini tater tots! Zucchini is one of my favorite veggies, and I pretty much always have a few in my fridge because I find them to be so versatile. I throw zucchini into so many dinners for an easy veggie boost. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe out soon!
It’s one of my favorite veggies too! You will definitely love these tater tots if you are a zucchini fan!
Oh no, it was a fail recipe. I tried to save it by reading your comments but was dissapointed because others too tried and didn’t manage even if they did everything right. :(( it was looking tasty in the pics, though. Now I have to cook quick smth else.
Hi Katrina, I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. It’s so hard to say what went wrong when someone has an issue because I’m not right there with you in the kitchen. I’ve made this recipe many times though and it has always worked out perfectly and many others have told me the same. I’m sorry it didn’t work out!
I usually just make zucchini boats. I’m going to try your tots!
I hope you enjoy them, Missy!
Nice recipe! You’re giving Arizona a bad vibe. I live in AZ too and you can grow an abundance of zucchini among other things. Check with the cooperative extension program. Raised beds would allow you to easily grow some pesticide free deliciousness for your family 🙂 I do not have a green thumb, but armed with healthy concerns for my family and the internet I am invincible!
Hi Christine,
I was mostly just kidding when I said I blamed the desert 🙂 I go to the farmer’s market a lot so I do know that there is a ton that can be grown here, I’m just haven’t had much luck myself!
Glad you like the recipe 🙂
These sound great! Has anyone figured out the calorie content of the zucchini tots?
Hi Laurie, Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to calculate the nutritional information for this recipe yet, but there are a few website that will do it for you if you put in all the ingredients. I hope that helps!
Is it possible to substitute in broccoli instead of zucchini? what do you think
I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it would work great as long as you steamed the broccoli a bit first 🙂
Hello!
I just realised I grated the potato before I boiled it …. do you think it will still turn out if I just bake longer??
Cheers, K
Hi Kristina, Sorry for the late reply. Unfortunately, I don’t think they will work with the uncooked potato. The main thing that allows them to stick together and form in to tater tots is that the cooked grated potato is kinda sticky.