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Cheesy Broccoli Tots and Cheddar Onion Sauce

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Filled with sweet cheddar cheese, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil, these healthy cheesy broccoli tots will be a favorite at your next party!

Disclosure: I received free samples of Cabot Cheese mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe, I am entering a recipe challenge sponsored by Cabot Creamery and am eligible to win prizes. I was not additionally compensated for my time.

Cheesy Broccoli Tots with Cheddar Onions Sauce | healthynibblesandbits.com

It’s difficult enough to get picky eaters to stomach vegetables sometimes. Try getting them excited for greens on Super Bowl Sunday. Beer, burgers, carbs, chips, dips, cheese, and sweets are like the popular kids at a Super Bowl gathering. Fresh vegetables are the thick-eyeglasses, suspender-wearing nerds. Of course, there’s always that friend who contributes the token vegetable platter of baby carrots, celery sticks, sliced bell peppers, and cucumbers. Bless that friend. We all gingerly take a few pieces of vegetables and put it on our plates just to give the appearance of eating somewhat healthy. But really, we’re all eyeballing the junk food.

My goal is to get you to contribute a gameday-friendly dish with vegetables in it—a dish that even vegetable-averse eaters would venture to taste. Let’s talk cheesy broccoli tots.

Cheesy Broccoli Tots with Cheddar Onion Sauce | healthynibblesandbits.com

I’m of the belief that if you prepare vegetables in a way that’s bursting with bold flavors, picky eaters will give it a try. Well, these tots scream flavor. A whole lotta cheddar flavor.

The lovely people at Cabot Creamery sent me a selection of their cheeses and challenged me to create a healthy snack with it. Cabot Creamery is owned by over 1,200 dairy farm families located in New York and New England. To say that they produce a big line of cheeses and dairy products is an understatement. I went through their website to do some research and was mesmerized by their hand-rubbed everything bagel cheddar, hand rubbed Tuscan cheddar, and smoky bacon cheddar! I’m already on the lookout for them.

Cabot Cheese Legacy Collection

Every bite of these tots are infused with the sweet flavors of the White Oak Cheddar from the Legacy Collection. Fresh basil and chopped sun-dried tomatoes give the tots a big flavor zing, too. Are you ready for some chopping and grating?

First, throw in the raw almonds from the food processor and chop them until they’re tiny bits. Why almonds in tots? They add a nice texture to the tots, not to mention good fats and protein.

Ground Almonds

Then, you’ll want to make breadcrumbs. I used to buy breadcrumbs until I realized how easy they are to make at home. Just toast the bread and grind it all up. Just like magic: breadcrumbs. Now just chop up all the other veggies, grate the cheese, and we’re good to go!

Breadcrumbs
Cheesy Broccoli Tots Ingredients

Have your guests dip these cheesy broccoli tots into the cheddar onion sauce, and you’ll change the minds of vegetable naysayers, if only for 10 minutes. The best part? These tots are packed with protein from the cheddar cheese, almonds, and eggs. Your guests won’t believe that the tots are actually healthy!

Cheesy Broccoli Tots with Cheddar Onion Sauce | healthynibblesandbits.com
 
Cheesy Broccoli Tots with Cheddar Onion Sauce | healthynibblesnandbits.com
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Author: Lisa Lin

Cheesy Broccoli Tots and Cheddar Onion Sauce

Filled with sweet cheddar cheese, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil, these healthy cheesy broccoli tots will be a favorite at your next party! Makes 33 to 35 tots. Serves 8.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients

Cheesy Broccoli Tots

  • 3/4 cup (85g) raw almonds
  • 3/4 cup (60g) breadcrumbs
  • 4 1/2 cups (325g) broccoli florets
  • 1 1/4 cups (115g) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup (35g) chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped, 25g fresh basil
  • 3 large eggs, whisked
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

Cheddar Onion Sauce

  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 2 tsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (250ml) 1% milk
  • 1 cup (85g) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 tsp to 1/2 TBS onion powder, depending on how much onion flavor you want
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper, or cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  • In a food processor, chop the almonds in the processor until they turn into small pieces. You’re looking for some bits that are about the size of rice. It’s ok if some of the almonds have turned powdery.
  • Next, toast the bread. Rip it into smaller pieces and chop them in the processor until they’re about the size of peas or smaller.
  • Chop the broccoli florets in a food processor until they turn into small pieces. This shouldn’t take too long.
  • In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the tots together.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). You can prepare the tots two ways. Either line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray a 24-hole mini muffin tin with cooking spray. I found that the muffin tin creates rounder tots, but the tots are more brown when cooked on the baking sheet.
  • Shape about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the broccoli mixture, and shape the into a ball. Repeat until all the mixture is rolled up. Set the tots into the muffin tin or on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 to 23 minutes, or until the tops are browned.
  • While the tots are baking, prepare the cheese sauce. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil. When the saucepan is hot, add the all purpose flour, and stir it with the oil immediately. The flour should start to bubble. Add the milk and let it boil. Reduce the heat to a medium low, and stir in the cheddar cheese. Remove from heat and mix in the onion powder, white pepper, and salt. The cheese sauce may harden as it cools, but just stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds, and it should be good to go.
  • Enjoy the tots with the cheese sauce!

Notes

Cheesy broccoli tots lightly adapted from the Broccoli Parmesan Meatballs recipe from Oh My Veggies.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @hellolisalin or leave a star rating and comment on the blog!
Category: Appetizer, Vegetarian

Lisa Lin Head Shot

Hello! I’m Lisa Lin

Here, you’ll find well-tested Asian recipes, pantry guides, and recipes from my sassy mother, Mama Lin. Through my recipes and cooking videos, I hope to honor the food and traditions that surrounded my Chinese American upbringing.

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  1. Karen @ The Food Charlatan says

    Um, I’d be happy to dip anything in that sauce, sister. These tots are so cute!! They look sufficiently unhealthy for a Super Bowl spread (I mean, they have toothpicks in them, someone might mistake them for meatballs), yet they have broccoli in them. You are amazing. I must try these!

    Reply

  19. Arman @ thebigmansworld says

    YOU’RE BLOG IS BACK UP 😀

    Dude, no joke- This is hands down my absolute favourite picture you’ve taken- Incredible. The vegetable twist on this is even more so.

    Pinning. I am going to make this (when i’m off this paleo month blergh)

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      YES!! I’m so happy it’s working now!

      Oof, I really admire your ability to stay on the paleo diet. I had considered doing it once. But then, I think about all the bread and dairy I’d be missing out on!

      Reply

  24. Amy says

    Wow, I am totally craving these! Broccoli and cheddar are meant for each other, one of my favorite flavor combinations. Great idea for parties!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      I don’t see why not! I would probably pay a little more attention to the cooking time though, in case the pepitas burn a little faster than almonds. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply

  27. lauryn says

    Would these freeze alright do you think? Would be great to have them stashed in the freezer and grab them out for an occasion…!

    Reply
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