Sweet Potato Tots (gluten free)

These delicious and healthy Sweet Potato Tots are a delicious finger food to add to your life! Gluten free, plant based, and nut free….they are going to be a new favorite veggie side!

A healthy twist on a nostalgic comfort food many of us grew up on, these Sweet Potato Tots a downright fun way to eat veggies!

Loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese and fiber from the sweet potato, these homemade tater tots are chocked full of protein, iron and manganese from quinoa. And just this sweet potato tots recipe is also egg-free, gluten free, dairy-free, nut-free and kid-friendly.

A Note from Taesha:

I first stumbled upon Kayla’s brilliant kitchen creations on Instagram . Creating recipes that were loaded with nutrient dense ingredients and aimed at empowering parents to raise little ones into healthy balanced eaters, Kayla instantly felt like a lady who spoke the same language as me…..and was on a similar mission! So when Kayla offered to create this truly amazing recipe for the TNN community, I was beyond dazzled! Enjoy, friends. Go give her a follow. And be as inspired as I always am by her ideas. 

Ah, quinoa: the only grain that makes you feel good even if you can’t pronounce it. 

Known for being a complete protein, naturally gluten-free and probably the messiest food you can hand to a toddler. It’s a staple food in my mostly meat-free home, but has been my arch nemesis when it comes to kitchen clean up, until now.

Hi, Im Kayla; mother of two, art therapist and nutrition nerd.  I am the woman behind The Family Food Project, my creative place to make food that my family loves while debunking the common misconception that children will not eat vegetables. Since my oldest was a year old (she is now 4), I have been documenting her meals and sharing tips along the way to inspire others to not only eat their veggies, but to love them too. I am thrilled to contribute this recipe to The Natural Nurturer community and hope that you give it a try.

As I stated above, the quinoa conundrum had been on my mind for some time.  I created a quinoa cake recipe that seemed to be the solution but required an egg to stick it all together.  When I came up with this recipe, my goal was to find a way to create a portable, lunchbox-friendly recipe without the use of an egg. Using the nutrient-dense and notoriously sticky sweet potato was the key to it’s success.

The other key player here is flax meal, which is simply ground flax seeds.  Flax seeds are rich in omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants.  What makes them fun to cook with is their ability to absorb liquid, creating a gelatinized (or egg-like) texture.  I like to store mine in the fridge as they can spoil quickly and grind them right before I use them as they oxidize once ground.  Also, fun fact: they are pretty indigestible if left whole, so they must be ground to be absorbed by the body. Told you: nutrition nerd, but I digress. 

Simply put, this recipe checks all the boxes for nostalgic, kid-friendly and nutrient-packed goodness.  It comes together easily with leftovers too.  It is naturally gluten-free, vegan and made with just a handful of simple ingredients. May their bellies be full and your floor be clean.

How to cook the sweet potatoes for this recipe:

There are oodles of different ways to prep the potatoes for these sweet potato tots! Here are a few easy ways to make them:

Slow cooker:

• Wash your sweet potatoes really well. Those little buggers can be quite dirty, so really scrub them clean. And leave them wet.  Not dripping wet, just however wet they are from washing them. The moisture will help in the cooking process. 
• Using a knife or fork, puncture the clean sweet potatoes skin multiple times. Don’t go crazy, but if you’ve had a rough day, feel free to take it out on your potatoes. Just try to leave the potatoes in one piece after you’re done.
• Arrange the sweet potatoes in your slow cooker in a single layer. This is a great opportunity to put those Tetris skills from your youth to good use in this practical, very adult manner (and your mom said you’d never learn anything form video games).
• Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. You’ll know they are done when you can easily puncture the skin of the potato with a fork

Instant Pot:

• Scrub sweet potatoes clean and use a fork or knife to poke about 6-8 holes in each sweet potato.
• Place steamer basket in your Instant Pot and pour in the water.
• Place sweet potatoes in a single layer in your Instant Pot. If they after on top of one another, they might not cook through.
• Lock lid on your Instant Pot and be sure that the valve on top is turned to sealing.
• Cook on HIGH for 20 minutes. It will take your pressure cooker about 10 minutes to reach pressure. This is normal.
• Once cooking time is up, carefully quick release the pressure.
• Once the pressure has been totally released, carefully unlock and remove the lid.

Oven:

1. Preheat oven to 425℉. Use a fork or knife to poke about 6-8 holes in each sweet potato and arrange them on a lined baking sheet.
2. Bake until easily fork tender, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Suggested adaptations for making sweet potato tots

• Make them into a patties!  If you prefer, you can skip the tot shape and makes these into patties for an easy mini veggie burger! 
• No rice flour? No problem! Sub the rice flour in this recipe with gluten free flour!
• Make them with canned sweet potato puree. The canned sweet potato puree tends to be much wetter than homemade baked potatoes, so you might need to add extra rice flour to this sweet potato tots recipes to absorb the extra moisture.

Other sweet potato recipes you are going to love

• Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins
• Sweet Potato & Salmon Poppers
• Super Duper Easy Sweet Potatoes in the Slow Cooker
• Sweet Potato Chickpea Blondies
• Baked Apple Sweet Potato Oatmeal