Baked Broccoli Bites, a deliciously healthy and low-in-calorie snack or appetizer that even broccoli haters will love. These balls can be enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike, and are super simple to make. 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 a crowd.
BABY LED WEANING FINGER FOOD
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.
I made these Baked Veggie Tots before, and they went down a treat too. For the 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.
the best broccoli bites
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!
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.
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.
Just spray them deliberately with cooking spray oil, and bake in the preheated oil at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes. Serve them with ketchup, or any sauce of your choice. Or just enjoyed them on their own, they are still super delicious.
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Baked Broccoli Bites, a deliciously healthy and low-in-calorie snack that even broccoli haters will love. These balls can be enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike, and are super simple to make. 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 a crowd. They have no salt added, and can be enjoyed on the baby led journey too. Quick, filling and delicious!
- 1 large broccoli head
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 spring onion
- black pepper to taste
- oil to grease the baking tray
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Break the broccoli head into florets, add them to a pan of boiling water, cover with a lid and leave to cook until soft, it takes about 10 minutes or less.
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Chop the broccoli finely, you should get about 2 cups of chopped broccoli. Leave to cool.
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Add the broccoli to a bowl, add the cheese, chopped spring onion, breadcrumbs, egg and black pepper, and mix everything well.
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Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
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Grease a baking tray with vegetable oil, then shape small balls out of the broccoli mixture, I ended up with 18 balls, but depending on the size, you might get more or less.
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Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown, turning them on the other side half the way through baking.
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Serve warm or cold.
