Cauliflower Tots
on Sep 26, 2018, Updated Jan 28, 2025
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Make caulitots, win over the kids (and yourself), and become a card-carrying member of the Cauliflower Fan Club.
Cauliflower is taking over your tater tot! To start with, these are just plain delicious. (The cheese does not hurt.) Secondly, they are just plain fun. Thirdly, if you are in the bucket of parents wondering endlessly how to get more vegetables into your kids’ bellies, you may have found a go-to solution. Move over potatoes…make room for cauliflower tater tots!
“Ricing” cauliflower has been a thing for a while now — e.g., chopping it into tiny rice-sized pieces. Riced cauliflower can be used in stir-fries, pizza crusts, risottos, and meatloaves, and here in these lower-carb caulitots. Anywhere regular rice makes an appearance, you might find cauliflower edging its way in.
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These are delicious with Greek Turkey Meatloaf, Southwestern Vegan Black Bean Burgers, or Oven-Baked Hamburgers.
What's In This Post?
Cauliflower is taking over your tater tot! These are just plain delicious and fun. A great way to get more vegetables onto the plate.
There is no question that cauliflower has been having a long, popular moment. I was already a cauliflower fan, even a cauliflower lover, mostly in the form of sliced and broken chunks of cauliflower tossed with a generous amount of olive oil, sprinkled with a liberal amount of salt, and roasted to a deep caramelized brown in a fairly high oven. My family can eat a baking sheet of that before dinner even hits the table. These are more work, I’ll admit, but they are much more fun!
Ingredients
- Cauliflower florets – It wouldn’t be cauliflower tots without the cauliflower.
- Egg – This helps hold everything together.
- Shredded cheddar cheese – For tiny gooey pockets of melty cheese.
- Parmesan cheese – Adds a sharp and tangy flavor.
- Panko breadcrumbs – For texture and to hold everything together. You can use gluten-free panko if you want to keep these caulitots gluten-free.
Variations
- Try adding minced fresh chives or chopped parsley.
- Add a pinch of garlic powder, chili powder, or paprika.
How to Make Cauliflower Tater Tots
- Cook the cauliflower florets.
- Prepare the cauliflower: In a food processor, pulse the cooked cauliflower until it is in very small pieces. Squeeze it in a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.
- Make the tots: Mix the cheeses, Panko, the beaten egg, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir in the cauliflower. Form the cauliflower mixture into cylindrical shapes and place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Cook: Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy hot.
Storage
Store these cauliflower tots in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days and reheat at 400 degrees in the oven.
What to Serve With Cauliflower Tots
More Cauliflower Recipes
- Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Braised Cauliflower with Anchovies and Capers
- Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Tapenade
- Perfect Simple Roasted Cauliflower
Also read: How to Cook Cauliflower
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Cauliflower Tots
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups cauliflower florets
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the cauliflower florets with 1/2 cup of water in a medium saucepan, cover the pot, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and place the chopped cauliflower in a food processor. Pulse the cauliflower until it is in very small pieces, essentially a grated rice-like consistency.
- Place the cauliflower on a clean kitchen towel, roll it up, and twist and squeeze it over the kitchen sink until you have removed as much moisture from the cauliflower as possible.
- Lightly beat the egg in a medium-sized bowl, and mix in the cheddar, Parmesan, Panko, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower and stir to combine. Scoop out rounded tablespoons of the mixture, form them into cylindrical shapes, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until the caulitots are golden and firm. Serve hot.
Notes
- Try adding minced fresh chives or chopped parsley.
- Add a pinch of garlic powder, chili powder, or paprika.
Hi
I like your site but too many ads popping up.
I’ll use a site with less ads. The pop ups are the worst.
I’m adjusting the ad frequency – definitely don’t want too many ads, so thanks for letting me know!
Can you tell me if the nutritional values at the end of the recipe is for the whole amount please.
it’s for 1 serving, and the recipe serves 4!
Is the entire recipe 16 tots or does on serving equal 16 tots–Is a serving 4 or 16 tots?
it’s 4 tots per person, 16 in all!
You have alot of ads on your website. When I print one of your recipes I get a large blank spot in the middle of the recipe where the ad is. Sometimes it takes 2 pages for a 1 page recipe. I have your cookbooks and enjoy your blog but maybe your website could be improved. Sorry, just very frustrated!
I think we’ve fixed that! Sorry we’re trying to keep this all under control.
If you’re starting with cauliflower that’s already been “riced”, how much would you need?
…shoot, not sure — 2 – 2 1/4 cups? Next time I make them I will measure and let you know!