Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
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These Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Tots are gluten free, low carb and totally delicious! These tots are the perfect little healthy snack that will please even the most picky eaters.
Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
If you guys love my cheesy cauliflower breadsticks, you will love these cauliflower tots. They’re such a perfect substitute for the real thing and way healthier too! Such a low carb high fiber, mild tasting alternative. I like to pack these snacks full of cheesy and dip them in a tangy pizza sauce.
Sometimes I whip these up for a big hungry group and none of them are any the wiser that I’ve packed an entire head of cauliflower in these little snacks. The flavor is just that convincing. So let’s get into it, get prepared to be blown away by the flavor, and how satisfied you’ll feel afterwards.
Why Cauliflower?
Cauliflower crust or breadsticks have been insanely popular over the past few years, mostly because they’re gluten free and low in carbs. If you’re trying to cut back on carbs then this recipe is a perfect snack for you or the whole family. I’ve had readers write me in response to my cheesy cauliflower breadsticks recipe and share with me that their family had no idea they were made from cauliflower, which is amazing!
Is Your Cauliflower Mixture A Bit Too Liquid?
One of the biggest issue you guys have had is saying that there is too much liquid in the mixture. I wanted to address that concern and tell you that it’s ok, the cauliflower tots will still hold their shape as you bake them. In the video you can even see that there is some liquid in my mixture as well, but because of the eggs, they will not break apart.
Ingredients In Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cauliflower – Approximately 1 entire head riced. I’ve included a section below explaining how to rice cauliflower.
- Cheese – Cheddar and mozzarella shredded, something that melts well and has a mild flavor.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is always best but if jarred is all you have on hand keep in mind that 1 1/2 teaspoons equals 1 fresh clove.
- Spices – Italian seasoning is all we need today.
- Eggs – We need 4 entire eggs for this recipe. They’re key for binding our entire recipe together.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
How To Make Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
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Preheat your oven: To 425 F degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Rice the cauliflower: Chop the cauliflower into small florets and add them to your food processor. Pulse a few times until the cauliflower resembles rice.
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Prepare the cauliflower: Place the cauliflower in a microwavable container and cover with lid. Microwave for 10 minutes. Place the microwaved cauliflower in a large bowl and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
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Combine the tots: Add the cheeses, garlic, Italian seasoning, eggs, salt and pepper to the cauliflower and stir everything together until well incorporated. Take about a tablespoon of the cauliflower mixture and form it into little tots, then place them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all the remaining cauliflower.
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Bake the tots: Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. I usually place them under the broiler for a couple minutes to get that nice golden color.
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Finish the dish: Serve with pizza sauce, sour cream, ketchup or ranch dip.
How To Prepare Your Cauliflower
Some find that after microwaving their cauliflower that there is still just too much liquid for their liking. If that’s the case then pack the riced cauliflower into a kitchen towel and squeeze the excess liquid out before incorporating it into your dish.
Are Your Tots Too Eggy?
Some of you may find the mixture a bit too eggy, I have no issues with it being eggy and I didn’t find it eggy at all, but if you do or don’t like the taste of eggs, you could just use egg whites. But again the eggs are an important ingredient here, so I wouldn’t skip the egg whites as you will be risking the tots or cauliflower crust not holding its shape at all.
Looking To Cut Down On Calories?
The other concern is the amount of cheese increasing the calorie count, and yes I totally agree with you. You can always cut back on the cheese, you don’t need to use as much. You could even just use some Parmesan cheese instead, or whatever low fat cheese you prefer.
However, these cauliflower tots are only 39 calories per tot, so not too shabby if you ask me. And wouldn’t they make an awesome snack for game day? Trust me, those guys would never guess they’re eating something healthy!
Don’t Have A Food Processor?
If you don’t own a food processor, you can grate the raw cauliflower using the coarse side of the grater. It’ll just take more elbow grease and time.
Don’t Have A Microwave?
If you do not have a microwave, I’d recommend cooking the cauliflower first either in your oven or on the stovetop and then ricing it. Easiest would be to steam it and then ricing it.
Storing Leftover Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
You can store this dish in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You may find that they have gotten a bit soggy in the fridge so if that’s the case then just reheat the recipe in the oven.
Want To Make This Dish Ahead?
To freeze this, prepare everything up to and including step 5, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap. You can also place the cauliflower tots in an airtight container. Before baking, thaw them out on the counter for a couple hours then proceed with baking as instructed.
More Must Try Recipes:
- Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
- Indian Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken and Roasted Chickpeas
- Cauliflower Poppers
- Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks
- Baked Breaded Cauliflower Florets
- Cucumber Sandwich Bites
- Bruschetta Salmon
- Avocado Tomato Salad
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Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Total: 50 mins
Serves: 30
These Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Tots are gluten free, low carb and totally delicious! These tots are the perfect little healthy snack that will please even the most picky eaters.
Ingredients
- 4 cups riced cauliflower about 1 large head of cauliflower
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 F degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop the cauliflower into small florets and add them to your food processor. Pulse a few times until the cauliflower resembles rice.
- Place the cauliflower in a microwavable container and cover with lid. Microwave for 10 minutes. Place the microwaved cauliflower in a large bowl and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
- Add the cheeses, garlic, Italian seasoning, eggs, salt and pepper to the cauliflower and stir everything together until well incorporated.
- Take about a tablespoon of the cauliflower mixture and form it into little tots, then place them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all the remaining cauliflower.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. I usually place them under the broiler for a couple minutes to get that nice golden color.
- Serve with pizza sauce, sour cream, ketchup or ranch dip.
Video
Recipe Notes
- If you don't own a food processor, you can grate the raw cauliflower using the coarse side of the grater.
- If you do not have a microwave, I’d recommend cooking the cauliflower first either in your oven or on the stovetop and then ricing it. Easiest would be to steam it and then ricing it.
- To freeze this, prepare everything up to and including step 5, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap. You can also place the cauliflower tots in an airtight container. Before baking, thaw them out on the counter for a couple hours then proceed with baking as instructed.
- Nutritional information is for 1 cauliflower tot. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1totCalories: 39kcal (2%)Carbohydrates: 1gProtein: 2g (4%)Fat: 2g (3%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Cholesterol: 28mg (9%)Sodium: 98mg (4%)Potassium: 58mg (2%)Vitamin A: 95IU (2%)Vitamin C: 6.9mg (8%)Calcium: 54mg (5%)Iron: 0.2mg (1%)
Tracy Westmeier says
I am hoping to make both the cauliflower breadsticks and the tots this weekend. But had to ask, can I use the bagged, frozen, riced cauliflower? Guess I’m really lazy, but they’ve been running on sale for $1 per bag.
Jo Cooks Team says
Yep! Make sure to get rid of as much liquid as possible as frozen will have a lot more water loss after thawing.
Karen Teeling says
Thank you!!! First one to list cups of “riced” cauliflower, to talk about cooking/not cooking cauli (riced or florets). Again, Thank you, can’t wait to try them
Angie says
I was being lazy and used frozen cauliflower rice instead of fresh. Also I only used 2 large eggs. The eggs kept separating so I added some almond flour .. now I have 2 different kinds and honestly as for me I don’t any different but was easier to form and stick together.. thank you very much for this recipe it taste great . I’m having them with sugar free ranch dressing .. yummy
Alexia says
I made these tonight except used broccoli instead of cauliflower only because I didn’t have any on hand haha, but they were absolutely delicious and will definitely be making again and again!
Joanna Cismaru says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Sam says
Been on a low carb diet for about a week and was looking for a good snack. These are amazing and I will be making them regularly. They turned out perfect – not too soggy since I dried with a paper towel prior to microwaving the cauliflower. The texture of them is better than I thought – I think I was thinking they would be “squishy” but they had a little crunch to them and went great with some Lite Ranch dressing 😀
Thank you for sharing!
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure! So happy you liked these!
Kevin says
Agree with others. Squeeze out water in cauliflower after nuking, and use less eggs! I followed original recipe only I squeezed out the the water, added the rest. After it spreading like crazy, I put the whole mixture in a strainer and then squeezed as I made the tots. Tasted good, but now I know 4 eggs is waaay too much!
Tabitha says
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe, following the recipe exactly, except this time I squeezed as much water out as I could and they still have egg pooling on the pan really bad. The flavour is great, even my picky, barely eats veggies, 4 year old LOVES them. I feel like I’m missing something and that’s why they’re going super runny. Any suggestions??
Nicole Beaulieu says
Hmm that’s interesting, you can try using 3 eggs instead of 4 and see if that helps!
Tabitha says
I actually did it where I added 1 egg at a time to see how many it would take to bind without adding too many eggs. 2 is all I needed. 🙂 thanks for the suggestion!!
Tracy says
The egg pooled on the bottom when I cooked these so they had kind of a flat egg base. Is that normal? Any way to prevent it?
Joanna Cismaru says
Was it more so than what you see in my pictures? I’m not sure what caused, maybe it wasn’t stirred enough.
Darlene bourne says
Hi I was wondering if you could mix everything up the day before and leave in the fridge then baking them Thankyou
Joanna Cismaru says
I think so but they might release some liquid as they sit in the fridge, perhaps it’s best to put them on some paper towels so the paper towels can soak up the liquid if any.
Heidi says
I made this for a party. I increased the recipe by half and used 3 cheeses – 1 c. mozzarella, 1c. cheddar, 1 c. fresh parmesan. Mixed it all together and put it in a 9×12 glass baking dish (used cooking spray so it wouldn’t stick). Cooked it for about 20 minutes. It was gorgeously browned. Cut it into 10 or 12 squares and served it with pizza sauce. It was delish! I’ll definitely cook it again. Do you think you could do this with broccoli, too?
Joanna Cismaru says
For sure, or maybe combine cauliflower with broccoli together. 🙂
Peggy says
You think I could add some cooked sausage crumbs to this recipe and it would still work?
Joanna Cismaru says
Hmm…sure, you would turn them into breakfast tots! 🙂
Tammy says
My mixture is WAY too runny. I dried the cauliflower as much ad possible before hand. How can I save it??
Joanna Cismaru says
If you microwave it it shouldn’t have been that runny. You could try squeezing the water out of it, paper towels work or if you have a cheese cloth is even better.
Renae says
Mine was very runny too but not due to water in the cauliflower. I think it was because of
1. too many eggs and 2. I put the cheese in while the cauliflower was hot, maybe? Any thoughts?
Naina says
Hi,
i’m thinking of trying the cauliflower tots this weekend. I’ve some follow-up questions after reviewing the recipe. I use jumbo eggs so can use 2 of those (also i don’t like the smell of the eggs and anyways would like cut back on them). Can you also share info if i want to cut back on the quantity? (particularly because its the first time and i’m not sure how they’ll turn out to be and if my husband will enjoy it. I don’t like wasting food and a big advocate of saving food 🙂
Fenne Kieken says
The recipe has a slider feature you can use and hover over the servings and adjust the amounts to make it work for you. The cheesy cauliflower tots are such a fun thing to make and make a great snack or even breakfast dish.
Sabrina says
I’ve been looking for some lower cal recipes to offset the higher cal ones I’ll be forced to make this time of year, and this looks perfect! I’ll bet some won’t even know it’s cauliflower unless I tell them. Thank you for this.
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure, hope you like them!
Ruth @ Home Nursing Services says
These recipes look fantastic, Cant wait to attempt them.
Janine says
I have just done these and found the ‘dough’ very runny to form so added some flour. Now cooking in the oven and they have flattened rather than staying ‘sausage’ like. I am wondering if I can use the cauliflower raw, ie no need to microwave first ? Might that solve the problem with them going too liquidy ?
Fenne Kieken says
The cauliflower can be more moist than you want although mine due hold their shape. I do shape them a few times to make sure and in the recipe I do suggest removing some moisture with a cheesecloth if you find them too moist so this is an option for you.
DaMarcus says
How much POWAH does the microwave need to be at? Big difference between 600 or 1400 watts!
Fenne Kieken says
You could set it as you like. I usually just use medium level . Every microwave is a bit different so you could try it a few different ways and see what would work best for you. Hope you like the Tots when you try them….
Tonya says
Just a comment on the wax paper. The problem is more than likely the quality/brand. The first brand I bought you could barely see through and nothing stuck to it. The second brand (Reynolds)was noticeably thinner and everything sticks to it. Unfortunately I didn’t pay attention to what brand the first one was.
Looking forward to this recipe. I love cauliflower. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Joanna Cismaru says
There’s a difference between wax paper and parchment paper though, I would recommend parchment paper since wax paper isn’t meant to be used in the oven, trust me I’ve tried and almost caused a fire, but yes you’re right the brand probably matters.
Tonya says
I didn’t realize there was a difference between wax and parchment paper. That is probably my problem. I’ll stop hatin on Reynolds and go buy myself some parchment paper. Thanks for the clarification!
Marsha Byron says
These recipes look fab, cant wait to try them.
Tricia says
Can this be made with frozen cauliflower that is “riced” from frozen? I kinda went crazy when was on sale over the summer and have a lot frozen for the fall/winter. Thanks!
Fenne Kieken says
You could try as it may end up mushy. Would recommend squeezing excess moisture out of it before you add it to the recipe. Let me know how it goes and thanks for the comments.