Zucchini Tots Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jan 27, 2026 
When I want to sneak extra veggies into my kids, I serve them my stealthily-healthy zucchini tots recipe that both kids and adults go crazy for. They are crispy on the outside and packed with sweet, tender shredded zucchini on the inside. These easy and cheesy baked tots are delicious, nutritious, and great for dipping.
These zucchini tots are satisfying, bite-sized, and so damn cute! If you’re a zucchini lover like me, then you’ve got to add these tots to your healthy snack roster alongside this zucchini chips recipe. Every little bite is packed with fresh shredded zucchini, herbs, cheesy goodness, and serious crunch. Great things really do come in small packages, and kids loooove these tots. They’re perfect for dunking into sauces, or fabulous just on their own.
Dyedreamer – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I wish you all could have seen my sons eyes light up after his first bite. This ones a winner for sure! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Nutritious and Baked – These gluten-free tots are so crispy that you’d think they were deep-fried. But no, these are packed with nutritious vegetables and baked to perfection.
Kid Approved – Kids can be picky eaters, so the fact that they love these veggie tots says a whole lot. PLUS, it’s a great way to sneak in those greens!
Quick and Easy Snack – I love that these tots come together with just a handful of simple ingredients and in a few easy steps. In just 30 minutes, you’ll have crispy, bite-sized treats to snack on! Just make sure to make plenty of these because they disappear fast.
Key Ingredients and Tips
- Zucchini – Shredded and squeezed, fresh zucchini is the main star of this recipe.
- Eggs – I add eggs into the batter because they help hold everything together.
- Italian blend cheese – For some added flavor and cheesiness, I use an Italian blend of provolone, parmesan and asiago. This also adds some healthy fats to the tots.
- Rice cereal – If you don’t need to make this gluten-free you can use regular panko breadcrumbs here.
- Aromatics – I use a blend of Italian seasoning and garlic powder to boost the savory flavors of these tots.
How To Make
Find the full recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Prep the zucchini – The first thing I do is shred the zucchini. Then I pack it tightly into two cups and drain it really, really well using paper towels to press out the moisture. It’s super important to drain out all the water, otherwise you’ll get soggy tots. Once that’s ready, I place the drained zucchini in a large bowl where I’ll add everything else.
Make the batter – I make “breadcrumbs” by crushing rice cereal into really fine crumbs. I add those into the bowl and mix them with eggs, cheese, and seasonings.
Scoop and bake – I like to use a cookie scoop to make evenly sized tots. I place them onto a parchment lined baking dish and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they’re golden and crispy.
Recipe Variations
- Squash – If you prefer yellow squash, swap it for the zucchini.
- Veggies – Add in corn or red bell pepper for an extra pop of color and crunch.
- Cheese – Swap the Italian blend cheese with feta cheese or chunks of mozzarella cheese for a more serious cheese-pull.
- Bacon – Mix cooked, crumbled bacon into the batter for a smoky and meaty twist.
Serving Suggestions
These nutritious vegetable poppers make a wonderful side dish or snack for kids and adults alike, and they’re great for dunking and dipping. Here are some of my favorite sauces to pair them with:
- The classics like ketchup, honey mustard, ranch, or blue cheese
- Homemade Yum Yum sauce
- Avocado crema
- Magic aioli sauce
- Tzatziki sauce
- Marinara sauce
- Comeback sauce
Once baked, they have the consistency of tater tots yet offer a lot more punch, including zesty flavor, protein, vitamins, and minerals! They are like mini zucchini cakes or zucchini fritters you can pop with your fingers. Here are a couple of main dishes that these tots go so well with:
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is lower in carbs than traditional potato tater tots. However, it is not low carb, keto, dairy-free, or vegan. You can make some minor swaps for a dairy-free recipe, using plant-based cheese.
To save time, you can use store-bought shredded zucchini or even zucchini ribbons, roughly chopped.
Yep! Air fry these at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until they get nice and crispy.
Storing
If you have any leftover zucchini tots, store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days! You can reheat them in a microwave; however, they won’t stay crispy. To keep them crispy, reheat in an oven or air fryer.
As a bonus, these are easy to freeze! Just bake them according to the recipe, place them in a zip bag, and freeze. When you’re ready to use them, warm them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes! Or, you can use the air fryer to warm them up until heated through.
Looking for More Nutritious Zucchini Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
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Baked Zucchini Tots
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed shredded zucchini
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (could use low fat cheese)
- 1/2 cup crushed rice cereal, such as Rice Chex or gluten-free rice puffs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Shred the zucchini and measure out 2 cups tightly packed. Dump the zucchini onto a paper towel. Then use another paper towel to press out as much moisture as possible. Discard the paper towels. Place the zucchini in a large bowl.
- Crush the rice cereal into fine crumbs. Add the eggs, cheese, crushed rice cereal, herbs, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Using a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop, spoon out tightly packed portions of zucchini mixture and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
Yes, it’s really yum. Thanks for this recipe!
These are DELICIOUS! Fun and easy to make. My grandkids will love them too!
Thank you!
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! PERFECT low carb snack fresh from my garden. Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe is fantastic! I have a 7 year old boy who absolutely loves these, so it’s a home run in my book!
Do they freeze?
Hi Angela,
Yes! Just freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, then place them all in an airtight container and place back in the freezer. This will allow you to take a few out at a time.
Fantastic treat! I used panko crumbs and added fine chopped sautéed sweet onions with fresh dill, basil and parsley from garden. These were great additions! Thank you for the great recipe, loved by many!
Oh so good! It tastes like sausage. I made a few changes ( used sharp cheddar cheese instead of Italian blend and crushed town house crackers instead of rice cereal) because I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand. I should have placed the pan in the oven immediately after placing the batter on the pan to avoid some of the draining of the liquid from the zucchini (had to go attend to baby), but still tastes amazing!
My trick for getting more/most water out of the zucchini is to lightly salt the zucchini once grated, mix well and allow to sit in a colander while gathering/prepping other ingredients. Then place the zucchini in a clean kitchen towel twist to release the liquid. The light salting does the trick every time. Remember to adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly :) :) :)
The nutritional value reads that this has no carbs, but every dry oz. of rice cereal contains 3 grams of carbs. I love the recipe, the idea and the results. But for no carb diets, this is incorrect. Just low carb(:
My boyfriend is diabetic and carbs turn into sugars, so that’s the only reason I thought i’d mention it. For someone who is insulin dependant or who has liver cancer, they would have to inject themselves accordingly. This doesn’t take away from how simple, eletant, healthy, creative and TASTY this dish is though!!
These are so good!
I made one change, I used a ninja to chop up the Zucchini. I think that made them more liquidy. So, I put then in a six muffin pan. Fit perfect and they came out great. A definite keeper.
I love these! They are so tasty and such an easy recipe to make. I have lots of zucchini from my garden and have made them twice already. I am still trying to perfect them. I think the variable is how much one squeezes out their zucchini. I will definitely be making these for Book Club and other parties because I can see it will be super easy to have them made up and then just scoop them out and bake them up when everyone arrives. Thank you for such an easy and tasty treat!
Omg….never Tasted anything better..Sooooo amazing…easy to make and delicious
Can I use something other than the cereal? I have no dietary restrictions and Chex seems like it would add sweetness I don’t necessarily want.
Thanks!!
Hi Brandy,
If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, and don’t want to go with rice cereal, I would use panko bread breads in equal portion. The tots will turn out great! :)
Sweet! Thanks! I’m making them to go along with wings :)