These egg free Baked Veggie Tots are a fun finger food option for my veggie-loving toddler! My simple baked veggie tots are egg free as-is, and vegan if you substitute nutritional yeast for the parmesan cheese (also so tasty!). This Veggie Tots recipe is also mixed with cracker crumbs, giving them a nice crunch out of the oven.
2022 Update – check out my new Egg Free Air Fryer Veggie Tots option in the recipe notes!
I wanted a fun, toddler friendly side for my son as he’s just learning how to take bites (rather than shoveling entire items into his mouth…), and of course it had to contain vegetables. Most of the nugget-style recipes I could find contained egg, and with my son’s egg allergy, that was a no-go. So I decided to wing it and start from scratch…. and they turned out great!
We have since made these eggless veggie tots many times, and while they take a little time to form, they’re always delicious.
Looking for more allergy friendly kids’ favorites?
- Egg Free/Dairy Free Fish Sticks
- Baked Apple Cinnamon Fries (Top 8 Free)
- “Battered” Crunchy Baked Fries (DF, Egg Free, Vegan)
- Eggless Sausage Breakfast Bites or Sausage Hash Brown Bites
- Egg Free Mini Corn Dogs (DF)
- Egg Free Baked Veggie Tots
- Eggless Pizza Puffs (with Vegan option)
Egg Free Veggie Tots Allergen Information
These easy baked veggie tots are allergy friendly, and are:
- Egg free / Eggless
- Peanut free
- Tree nut free
- Dairy Free (just use nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan – it’s so good!)
- Vegan
- Fish and Shellfish Free
Why Make Eggless Veggie Tots?
These tasty little bites contain a full serving of vegetables, and are like tater tots without the “taters” (although you could try using precooked potatoes as one of the vegetables!). They’re baked instead of fried, and the Ritz crackers give them a great outer crunch after they come out of the oven. I gave a few to my son for the first time after he was about halfway through his dinner, and he gobbled them right up!
Veggie Tots are especially easy to make using leftover cooked vegetables. I used broccoli and carrots here, but feel free to mix it up! Update: I now often use a frozen California blend to keep it extra simple. I love how easy these are to mix up using a single bowl!
Make These Veggie Tots Vegan and Dairy Free!
For a dairy free and vegan option, simply substitute nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan cheese. The eggless veggie tots pictured below were made completely dairy free and vegan this way. This version is also delicious, and I honestly couldn’t tell you which version I liked better (and I do eat dairy)!
On that note, did you know that Ritz crackers are egg and dairy free? Otherwise, if you prefer – panko, breadcrumbs, or any other type of crushed cracker would likely work just as well in this recipe.
Baked Veggie Tots (Egg Free, with new Air Fryer Option!)
Ingredients
- 16 ounces frozen California blend vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), or about 4 cups of bite-sized fresh veggies.
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 8 crushed Ritz crackers (about 1/3 cup), or breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (may substitute nutritional yeast for a vegan/dairy free option)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Grease baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
- Cook/steam veggies until tender. Once cooled slightly, pulse cooked vegetables in a food processor until they're in very small pieces (it's about 10-12 pulses in my Ninja food processor).
- Place veggies and all remaining ingredients (flour, crushed crackers or breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese/nutritional yeast, oil, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, and salt) in a large bowl, and stir until combined.
- Using your hands, form mixture into individual tots (a little less than 1 tablespoon of mix each) and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-24 minutes at 400F until golden brown, flipping halfway through bake time. Air Fryer Option: Set air fryer to 400F and bake for 10-12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
Notes
Looking for more allergy friendly kids’ favorites?
Egg Free/Dairy Free Fish Sticks
Baked Apple Cinnamon Fries (Top 8 Free)
“Battered” Crunchy Baked Fries (DF, Egg Free, Vegan)
Eggless Sausage Breakfast Bites or Sausage Hash Brown Bites
Egg Free Mini Corn Dogs (DF)
Egg Free Baked Veggie Tots
Eggless Pizza Puffs (with Vegan option)
These are so yummy!! Made them with nutritional yeast. Me and my two toddlers are enjoying 🙂
Thank you! I really liked how ours turned out when we made it with nutritional yeast, too – the flavors work well together. I’m so glad you guys are enjoying them!
Hello, do you think that these would still turn out well if I flash froze them unbaked? Then baked from frozen? Or would you suggest baking and then freezing? I am trying to do a little meal prep for my daughter and thought freezing a big batch would be nice, thanks!
Hello! That’s a good question – I haven’t tried either way yet, so I’m not exactly sure how they would turn out. I would probably try baking them first, then thawing and re-heating in the oven when you’re ready to eat. However, I can see how freezing them pre-baked may also work out. I’ll have to try it and report back!