with Sriracha Ranch Dipping Sauce … Adapted from Food Faith Fitness
These cute little cauli-carrot tots are fun to snack on, especially when dunked in spicy Sriracha Ranch dipping sauce. They are very tender, gentle, with subtle, soft flavors on the inside and just a bit of crunch on the outside, which is why they go so wonderfully with the spicy ranch that jazzes things up a bit. You can always go with the traditional ketchup for dipping if you prefer.
I’m a huge fan of little snacky things like tater tots, except not usually actual tater tots in the “pure” sense of the word because tater tots usually means mass-manufactured nuggets of shredded potatoes with added preservatives and stuff. To me, that sounds completely awful. BUT if the said tot is made with real food ingredients and it’s little (and preferably crunchy) and tasty, well yeah, then count me in! Even better if I can sneak some extra veggies in. Getting more veggies in my diet is always a good thing.
I’ve made many a fun tot recipe, and usually I use my mini muffin pan to “shape” them. I decided this time, since I was jagging off of Food Faith Fitness‘ (aka Taylor’s) recipe, to use Taylor’s method of shaping the tots. Next time, folks, I’m going back to the mini muffin tin. I usually enjoy getting my hands messy, but this time (not sure why) it just wasn’t really much fun … and yeah they’re cute and maybe they look a little more like the mass produced tater tots, but in my mind, it’s probably a good thing if they don’t. (However, I’m not sure if these would stick too much to the mini muffin tin … perhaps the hand shaping is necessary for these particular tots.)
Honestly, no, they don’t really taste quite like tater tots, but they are yummy and a great low-carb option to sneak more veggies into your life. As usual, I had to make a few changes to the recipe, since I wasn’t going to go purchase cottage cheese just to put a few Tablespoons in my cauli-tots, so I substituted Greek cream cheese in lieu of that … and I also added carrots, just because I thought carrots would give it a pretty color. Also, I never buy panko … I make my own breadcrumbs out of bread crusts that my kids won’t eat. Less money, less waste … it’s a good thing!
Here are a few other fun tot recipes you might enjoy … all made in my mini muffin tin:
- Ham & Cheddar Broccoli Tots
- Sweet Pepper Asiago Zucchini Tots
- Bacon Cheddar Zucchini Tots
- Cheesy Spinach Tots
- Dirty Tots (Cheesy Mushroom Tater Tots)
Cheesy Carrot Cauliflower Tots with Sriracha Ranch Dipping Sauce
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: About 30 tots 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 a head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 1/2 of a medium onion
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic
- 10 mini carrots or 2 large carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
- 1 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
- 1 egg white
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Robin Seasoning (or your favorite seasoned salt), or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Trader Joe’s 21-Seasoning Salute (or your favorite non-salt seasoning), or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Sriracha ranch dipping sauce recipe here
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray a baking sheet liberally with cooking spray. I used a silicon baking mat but I still sprayed it so that the bottoms of the tots would get crispy.
- Put the cauliflower, onion, garlic, and carrots in a food processor and pulse several times to chop everything up fine. Put in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir, then microwave another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the cream cheese until well mixed, then the egg white, cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs and seasonings. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
- To shape the tots: scoop up some of the mixture with a Tablespoon measure, gently roll the mixture into your hand and then shape into a “tot” shape. Set on the prepared pan. Finish until all the mixture is used up, then spray the tots liberally with cooking spray.
- Bake at 400 F. for 20 minutes, then spray them again and bake for another 10 minutes or until they are golden brown. While the tots are baking, make the dipping sauce-recipe here.
- Pull the tots from the oven and serve with the sauce.
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/
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This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friends Friday, Weekend Potluck, Sunday Fitness & Food, Pretty Pintastic Pinterest Party, Happiness is Homemade, What to Do Weekends and Home Matters.
