Vegan Broccoli Tots – Air fryer Recipe

You don’t need to have a child to enjoy these broccoli tots.  We love broccoli at our house, and the idea for these broccoli tots came because I had some broccoli to use up, and I was in the mood for something more fun than just a stir-fry. These broccoli tots are much healthier than traditional tater tots made with potatoes. I hope you will enjoy watching the video on my YouTube channel.

These healthy little morsels come together with a few simple ingredients and are super flavorful.  Thus, they’re perfect snacks or appetizers for you to share with friends and family. The recipe is kid friendly and is the fun and tasty way to pack more nutrients into your kid’s diet.

I am using broccoli and green garbanzo beans as the base and incorporating pantry staples like flax egg, quinoa flour, and nutritional yeast to add both texture and flavor while keeping the recipe gluten-free and vegan. Preparing them is a simple process. First, you blanch the broccoli florets until just fork tender. Then coarsely grind thawed green garbanzo and broccoli in the food processor. The very important step after that is to squeeze the excess liquid from the veggies through a piece of cheesecloth or a thin (clean) dish towel. Then you’ll combine the squeezed-dry veggies mixture with other ingredients.

Flax egg – The flax egg helps to bind the mixture. It is made from a combination of ground flax seeds and water. Alternatively, you can also use ground chia seeds, instead of flax, for a similar result.

Quinoa Flour –  Quinoa flour absorbs the moisture and ensures that your broccoli tots hold together as they cook. Personally, I like to roast the quinoa flour before using it to remove its bitterness. You can also sub breadcrumbs or chickpea flour or oat flour for quinoa flour.

Nutritional yeast –  It’s a deactivated yeast that has a cheese-like flavor. It comes in the form of dry flakes, or a powder. Nutritional yeast is low in calories, has no fat, cholesterol or sodium, and is a friendly option for the lactose-intolerant. If you don’t have nutritional yeast on hand feel free to use Parmesan cheese instead. I have not tried it with Parmesan, though I read that it totally works.

Once the broccoli mixture is well mixed, it is then shaped into tots. The mixture is sticky, so shaping them may feel a bit tricky at first, but you will get the hang of it! I found that forming the mixture into a ball in the palm of my hand first (covered with cling wrap or use latex gloves) and then shaping the ball into a tot was easy. Alternatively, you can keep scraping the mixture from your hand after making two or three tots. Just remember, even if they aren’t perfectly shaped, they will still taste delicious!

These broccoli tots are prepared in Air fryer and they cook up beautifully. If using the oven, set it to convection mode at 400 degrees F and turn them over halfway though. It is similar to an air fryer!  You can shallow fry these in a large skillet. Just make sure not to overcrowd the pan. You’ll want to fry them until golden brown all over.

The broccoli tots come out slightly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with deliciousness in every bite.They are great served as a side dish to my chicken skewers, Tandoori Paneer kebab, or salmon steaks.

If you make this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below! Plus If you post any photos on Instagram or Facebook, make sure you tag me @simpleglutenfreekitchen so that I don’t miss it, I love seeing your photos!