Match Made in Heaven
My last memory of eating tater tots is getting tachos (tater tot nachos) in a dingy bar in San Francisco, and the experience was glorious! The combination of spices, cheesy goodness and tots is a match made in heaven. Naturally, you’re wondering how to re-create this experience on a keto diet… and the answer is cheesy cauliflower tots!
This is one of my favorite recipes to make because it is very hands on. You get shape the tots any way you like which means you can make smaller balls, large squares (like hash browns!) or stick to the original tot shape. We wanted to create as authentic of an experience as we could to our San Francisco tachos experience so we stuck to the tot shape:
The Fun Part:
Placing them in the heated coconut oil and watching them cook up is the real fun part! Although they shrink a bit they hold their shape perfectly. They crisped almost immediately and as soon as I saw the golden brown color my mouth began to water! Just from the color you’ll know when to flip them, but incase you are unsure give them about 3-4 minutes on each side. If you feel like going the extra mile you can stand them up on their sides to crisp up every inch of cauliflower!
Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
As I’m sure you guessed, the best part was actually eating them while they were still hot. The cheesy cauliflower tots tasted as good as they looked and probably even better than you’d imagine so do yourself a favor and go make them! Let us know what you think and share with us any variations you make on this recipe – we’d love to hear from you
If you’re ever in San Francisco and want to check out the bar that inspired this recipe head to Bullit for a good time! 
This recipe yields 20 tots at 2 servings(Calories include 2tbsp coconut oil used for cooking)
Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cauliflower, pulsed
- 1 large Egg
- 1/4 cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Onion powder
- salt/pepper (to taste)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (for skillet/pan)
Instructions:
- Break up cauliflower into chunks and pulse in a food processor
- Place pulsed cauliflower into a bowl and microwave the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Let cool and squeeze out excess water using hand towel.
- Now, combine all the ingredients.
- Using your hands create tots to your preferred size
- Heat skillet or pan to medium-high heat and drop in two tablespoons of coconut oil
- Gently place all your tots in the heated oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy.
- Enjoy while still warm!
Notes
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
Can you tell me if its 2cups pulsed cauliflower or 2 cups cauliflower before its pulsed. That’s a big difference. I wonder if that is why some are having issues.
I just bought an Airfryer so was wondering, what temp and time do we think if I airfryer’ed these bad boys?
I can’t wait to try these, they look devine.
When you say 2 cups of cauliflower, how small is it cut? That is a huge indicator of how much is in the recipe. Do you have a weight equivalent?
Thank you.
Hi! Since you pulse it in the food processor first, they will be pretty small, similar to riced cauliflower. Hope that helps!
Is it 2 cups of already pulsed cauliflower or 2 cups of pieces and then you pulse?
You’ll want to pulse it first, then measure. I’ll edit the recipe for clarification!
After reading all the recipe fails I was a little hesitant to try this recipe! So glad I did, they were delicious! One or two of my double recipe fell apart – what yummy mistakes…..after I microwaved the cauliflower I thought “there is no water in this???” Boy was I wrong. I had my strong husband ring it out in a dishcloth and I could not believe how much water came out. I can see why others had problems if they didn’t “see” water and skipped this step. Being a Keto cook & baker I thought I would try to add 1 package of Knox gelatin to the mixture. It has zero carbs, is tasteless & colorless. I figured why not – might help them stay together when forming them. I think it worked because I had cute little tots! Thanks for the recipe, I will share!
Cathy
I make mine in mini muffin tins. Also I don’t cook the cauliflower. They hold together better. Add Cajun seasoning for a kick instead of the other spices. They are great with sour cream and chives ?
I had similar issue with them falling apart so I improvised. I formed them by using an ice cube tray and baked them instead. They came out great!
Soooo Good!
Pretty bad sticking and falling apart factor. Followed every step ?
Just gave these a try and mine fell apart while cooking. I don’t think I had enough cauliflower after pulsing which made the mixture a little more wet, but after they started falling apart I just stired it all together. Best accidental cheesy grits ever! I’ll be trying again soon for the tots, but I’m happy to have found a new southern comfort food in the ‘grits.’
Anyone ever try freezing something like this? I’d like to just have some on hand to pop in a fryer like fries.
do you think these would freeze well?
I’m thinking it would be convenient to have them prepped ahead?!
Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas and recipes!!!
You could definitely try it!
Made these last night! I baked them in the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes. They were delicious and crispy!
Tried this recipe— all steps. Including squeezing the excess water out of microwaved cauliflower. The “tots” still fell apart during cooking 🙁
oh no! I’m not sure what happened here, are you using frozen bagged cauli or fresh? Inquiring minds want to know. We’ll get to the bottom of it!
Instead of shaping them into tots by hand, could I use a plastic ice tray to form them into tots? (I saw this used in another recipe)
Absolutely! Great idea.
“Place pulsed cauliflower into a bowl and combine all the ingredients”
“Microwave the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Let cool and squeeze out excess water using hand towel.”
Microwave cauliflower separately, cool, and THEN mix in the remaining ingredients?
Hi Jen! Yes, I apologize and have corrected the instructions to reflect the mistake. Microwave pulsed cauliflower, let cool, squeeze out excess water, and then combine all the ingredients! Thanks for reaching out 🙂
Megha- Can I bake them instead?
Yes, you definitely can!
what temp settings for baking?
Try 400 for ~20 minutes. We’ve never done it before so that’s just a guess.