Broccoli Bites

Baked Broccoli Bites or broccoli balls, a deliciously healthy meal that is perfect for toddlers and older kids alike. Whether you make them for a picnic, kids' school lunch box, or simply a healthy snack in between meals, my fantastic cheesy broccoli bites are sure to please the whole family.

If motherhood has taught me something, it's that the kids' taste buds are forever changing. If they don't like something from the first try, just try again, and you will be surprised how quickly they can go from hate to love.

Greens are not quite a child's favourite veggies, but it doesn't have to be this way. Fun, yummy-looking finger foods can be enjoyed by little ones too, if cooked the right, tasty way.

For these broccoli bites, all you need are a few simple ingredients: cooked broccoli, grated cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, spring onions and seasoning to taste. No need to fry at all, they can be baked to perfection with very little oil.

Jump to:

• Ingredients needed to make baked broccoli bites
• Step-by-step photos and instructions
• Easy swaps
• Expert tips
• What to serve with broccoli balls
• Other baby-led weaning recipes
• Broccoli Bites

Ingredients needed to make baked broccoli bites

• broccoli head - cut into florets
• breadcrumbs - either regular breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs
• cheddar cheese - or any other hard cheese
• egg
• spring onion
• black pepper to taste
• oil to grease the baking tray

Step-by-step photos and instructions

These bites are really easy to make, and you can use either fresh or frozen broccoli - both need to be cooked beforehand:

• break the broccoli head into florets and cook in a pot of water until tender - it shouldn't take more than 5-7 minutes
• rinse the broccoli with cold water, and use your hands to squeeze as much liquid as possible
• chop the broccoli finely
• chop the spring onion finely too, and add them all to a bowl together with the breadcrumbs, cheese, egg and black pepper
• mix everything well, and, with wet hands, shape balls out of the mixture
• arrange them on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, spray them with plenty of cooking oil spray, and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden, turning them around half the way through

Easy swaps

Spring onions are for added taste, but you can safely omit them. I do like spring onions though, so I wholeheartedly recommend using them. I used regular breadcrumbs, but panko breadcrumbs can be used as well.

The egg gets to bind the mixture together, so not to be missed here. If you are not a fan of Cheddar cheese, feel free to use anything else you like, grated mozzarella should do too.

Expert tips

So, no frying needed here, we are talking healthy food only. No added salt either, although I guess it could be argued that the Cheddar cheese is already salty. Not massively salty, anyway. I only added a tiny little bit of black pepper, and that's pretty much it.

Yet, you get the most amazing broccoli balls, perfectly baked, with just a tablespoon of oil to grease the pan to prevent them from sticking. And that's it!

As for the texture, they hold their shape amazingly well, but they are soft on the inside, while the outside slightly browns beautifully in the oven.

What to serve with broccoli balls

Serve them with ketchup, tzatziki, garlic yogurt sauce or any sauce of your choice. Or just enjoyed  them on their own, they are still super delicious.

Other baby-led weaning recipes

Banana Muffins -No Sugar

Savoury Muffins

Veggie Tots

Greek Courgette Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce

If you’ve liked my BAKED BROCCOLI BITES or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.