Carrot and Cheddar Bites
These cheesy little carrot and cheddar bites are the perfect finger food for a vegetarian party buffet – or just a mid-afternoon snack!
Sometimes it’s nice to cook something fancy, to make you feel super grown up and posh. Other times… party food is where it’s at. Eating like a toddler at a birthday party can be so satisfying – a few of these carrot and cheddar bites dipped in ketchup makes the best snack.
Bonus points if you serve them on a cocktail stick with a stripy paper napkin.
Cheesy carrot bites
These carrot and cheddar bites are brilliant. Little bites that are crispy on the outside, and soft and cheesy in the middle – the perfect combination.
The carrot gives them a slight sweetness, and having a veggie in there makes you feel a little better about eating party food – but they still remain a fun, cheesy treat.
They’re easy to make, utterly delicious, and very toddler-friendly!
Simple recipe
As always, the recipe for these cheesy bites is incredibly straightforward. Just mix some breadcrumbs, grated carrot, and grated cheese in a large bowl.
You can add whatever additional flavourings you fancy. I added a bit of my beloved smoked paprika (I will post a recipe without it one day, I promise), but you could use whatever ground spices you like – a bit of chilli powder if you’d like some heat, some garam masala to add an Indian vibe, dried herbs… whatever you fancy.
Then, just crack in a couple of eggs to help hold everything together.
Baked carrot bites
Form the cheesy carrot mixture into little balls, and lay them out on a baking tray.
The balls are baked in the oven, so that’s the entirety of the hands-on work done. They really are quick to prepare – grating the cheese and carrot is the job that takes the longest, and even that only takes a couple of minutes!
Just pop the carrot balls in the oven until they’re golden brown and crispy, and you’re all done!
How should I serve these carrot and cheddar bites?
These carrot and cheddar bites would be perfect served up as finger food at a party – either for kids, or grown ups (just like a good outfit, you can dress them up or down!).
Alternatively, if you don’t have any parties coming up, they’re great nibbled on their own as a snack. I think they’re best eaten warm, but they’re totally yummy eaten cold too.
We actually had ours for dinner, served on top of a big salad (and I don’t just mean a pile of lettuce – I’m talking lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pickled onions, feta cheese, creamy Caesar dressing… the works). I just plonked a few carrot bites right on top of each bowl – they were just the thing to turn a simple salad into a really irresistible dinner.
Other vegetarian party food ideas
One item on a buffet table isn’t much of a party, so here are a few more vegetarian party food ideas to serve alongside your carrot and cheese bites:
- vegetable sticks and some kind of vegetarian dip or hummus
- vegetarian samosas
- coleslaw
- beetroot nuggets or any other kind of breaded veggie
- lentil sausage rolls
- bruschetta or crostini
- slices of vegetarian tart or quiche
- veggie-based salads
- pasta salad / potato salad
- bowls of crisps (chips)
- bowls of spicy nuts
- crackers or breadsticks
Stick all of that on a table next to your cheesy carrot bites, and you’ve got yourself an amazing vegetarian buffet!
Carrot and Cheddar Bites
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Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 100 g bread (~ 2 medium slices)
- 1 large carrot, grated (~ 185g / ~ 6 1/2 oz)
- 100 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 cup when grated)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 eggs
- Oil, for greasing the tray
Instructions
- Use a food processor to blitz the bread into breadcrumbs (or just crumble it finely if you don’t have a food processor).
- Add the breadcrumbs to a mixing bowl, along with the grated carrot and grated cheese. Mix to combine.
- Add the remaining ingredients (apart from the oil), and mix thoroughly.
- Use clean hands to shape the mixture into balls – I ended up with 15 balls in total. Place them on a well oiled baking tray, and bake at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 30 minutes, or until crispy and slightly browned.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Hi. Great recipe but have you a suggestion on how to make it vegan (ie egg replacement)?
Hi Thelma, I’m sorry but I haven’t tested this recipe using an egg replacement. If you have a favourite egg replacer that you are familiar with, feel free to give it a go and let me know how they turn out :)
Very enjoyable appetizer that I served at a card party. I used dried breadcrumbs instead of fresh and reduced it to 80 g. I whipped the eggs first and added the breadcrumbs and seasonings to it while I grated the carrot and cheese, this provided enough time for the breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture from the eggs. I found that I needed to put my hand right in the mix after adding the carrot and cheese to be able to blend the ingredients completely. I did not use any oil on the tray, but instead lined the baking tray with parchment paper.
Ah just seen this comment! So glad they worked well for you, thanks for the info about the dried breadcrumbs :)
can you please mention substitute of eggs in your recipes
I plan to serve these at our card party on Friday and wonder if I can use Panko breadcrumbs or do they need to be fresh bread?
I haven’t tried with panko breadcrumbs, did you give it a go?
I added chickpeas and it was still really good! thanks!
Good idea! Thanks Dorothy :)
Can these be frozen please?
I haven’t tried but definitely worth trying! My only concern would be that they might dry out a little after they’ve been frozen – but probably nothing a dipping sauce couldn’t fix :)
Could you make the balls ahead of time and bake later?
Yes!
Looking for something easy, and thought, yes I have all those ingredients. Took just a few minutes and was really tasty! I added a little bit of chilli as well as paprika for a bit of spice. So good that I’ve just made a second batch in a week👍.
Thanks so much Jenny!