Nutrition Snapshot

Each serving uses about half a pound of cauliflower, in a shape most children already eat without argument.
A serving carries about 17 grams of protein and about 5 grams of fiber from the cauliflower and the cheese.
The cheese makes these higher in saturated fat, so the notes give a version that uses less cheese.

Cauliflower tots are riced cauliflower squeezed dry, bound with cheddar, Parmesan, egg, and a little oat flour, then baked until the edges brown. They taste like a cheese crisp with a soft middle. They hold their shape when you wring enough water out of the cooked cauliflower and leave room between them on the pan. Frozen florets work and skip the steaming step.

Why These Are Great When You Have a Picky Eater

A child who pushes cauliflower to the side of the plate is usually refusing the form it arrives in. Steamed florets are wet, strong-smelling, and unfamiliar. Grate that same cauliflower fine, bake it into a small crisp shape, and it tastes like food the child already eats. Changing the form is what raises a picky eater’s vegetable count for the week.

Cauliflower is the entire body of these tots, about half a pound per serving. The cheddar and Parmesan supply the flavor a child will accept, and their protein and fat firm the tots up once the egg sets. The oat flour takes up the last of the moisture so the outside crisps.

Cauliflower carries about 2 grams of fiber per cup, so a serving of eight tots comes to about 5 grams, a real share of a child’s day. The arithmetic for a full day of fiber is in Fiber Math: Getting to 30 Grams a Day Without Trying.

Frozen Cauliflower Skips the Steaming Step

A 24-ounce bag of frozen cauliflower florets replaces one large fresh head and arrives already blanched. Thaw it fully in a colander, then squeeze it dry. Fresh cauliflower needs seven minutes of steaming first. Buy block cheddar and grate it yourself where you can, since pre-shredded cheese carries a starch coating that keeps the outside of the tots from crisping.

One Tray Feeds the Picky Eater and the Adults

Serve the child’s portion plain, with ketchup on the side. For the adults, leave the tots in for two extra minutes and spoon over plain Greek yogurt stirred with lemon juice, garlic powder, and black pepper. A teenager who eats twelve tots instead of eight takes in about 25 grams of protein from the same tray.

Freeze the Tots Raw and Bake Them From Frozen

Shape the whole batch, freeze the tots on the sheet pan for an hour, then move them to a freezer bag. They keep about three months. Bake from frozen at 425 degrees for 28 to 32 minutes, turning once. Baked tots hold four days in the refrigerator and crisp again in a hot oven or an air fryer; a microwave leaves them soft.

Riced cauliflower squeezed dry, bound with cheddar, Parmesan, and oat flour, then baked on one pan until the edges brown.

Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cauliflower, cauliflower tots, freezer friendly, gluten-free, high fiber, kid-friendly, Vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings servings (about 8 tots)

Calories 295kcal

Equipment

Sheet pan (rimmed
13 by 18 inches)
parchment paper
Steamer Basket
Colander
Food processor
Kitchen Towel
Mixing Bowls
Spatula

Ingredients

2 pounds cauliflower florets fresh or thawed from frozen
1 egg large
1 cup cheddar cheese sharp, shredded
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese grated
1/3 cup oat flour organic, labeled gluten free
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper ground
1 tablespoon olive oil extra-virgin

Instructions

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and rub the olive oil over the parchment.
Steam the cauliflower florets in a steamer basket for 7 minutes, until a fork goes in with light pressure. Skip this step if you are using thawed frozen florets.
Drain the cauliflower in a colander and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor 8 to 10 times, until it looks like coarse rice.
Pile the riced cauliflower into the center of a kitchen towel, gather the corners, and wring it out over the sink until no more water runs.
Put the squeezed cauliflower in a mixing bowl. You should have about 2 cups.
Add the egg, cheddar, Parmesan, oat flour, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
Mix with a spatula until the mixture holds together when you press a spoonful in your hand.
Scoop a rounded tablespoon of the mixture, press it firm in your palm, and roll it into a short cylinder. Repeat to make about 32 tots.
Set the tots on the sheet pan with half an inch of space between them.
Bake for 15 minutes. Turn each tot and bake 8 to 10 minutes more, until both sides are brown.
Let the tots sit on the pan for 5 minutes before serving. They firm up as they cool.

Notes

One serving is about 8 tots, roughly 175 grams.

Less saturated fat. Use 3/4 cup cheddar and 1/4 cup Parmesan, and add 2 tablespoons more oat flour to replace the bulk. The tots still hold together and each serving drops about a third of its saturated fat.

No food processor. Grate the raw florets on the large holes of a box grater, then steam the gratings for 4 minutes instead of 7.

Oat flour swap. Almond flour works at a third of a cup for a third of a cup. Anyone with celiac disease should buy oat flour labeled gluten free, since oats are often milled on equipment shared with wheat.

Frozen cauliflower. A 24-ounce bag of frozen florets replaces the fresh head. Thaw it fully, drain, and squeeze. No steaming needed.

Freeze them raw. Shape the batch, freeze the tots on the sheet pan for an hour, then move them to a freezer bag. They keep about three months. Bake from frozen at 425 degrees for 28 to 32 minutes, turning once.

Reheat. A hot oven or an air fryer crisps baked tots again. A microwave leaves them soft.

Dip. Plain Greek yogurt stirred with lemon juice, garlic powder, and black pepper. Ketchup for the child’s plate.

Leftovers become a side for eggs at breakfast, or a lunchbox item eaten at room temperature.

Nutrition

Gluten Free

Nothing in these tots contains wheat. Oat flour is the line to check, because oats are often milled on equipment shared with wheat, so anyone with celiac disease should buy oat flour labeled gluten free. If you avoid gluten by preference, ordinary oat flour is fine. Almond flour swaps in at a third of a cup for a third of a cup.

Go deeper

Fiber Math: Getting to 30 Grams a Day Without Trying (food.nutriscape.net)

Fiber (supplement-sciences.nutriscape.net)

Primary

Baked Cauliflower Tots With Cheddar