Now I don’t like to brag, and I generally am a very self-effacing person, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this recipe is possibly the most genius recipe I have ever formulated! It is just SO good. When my kids see me making these, they start JUMPING AROUND.
It meets all of my usual vegie-smuggling criteria – easy to make, full of all sorts of good ingredients, stores well and is tasty enough for kids and adults alike. You can eat them hot or cold – so whip up some for a side dish for tonight’s dinner and then pop the rest into tomorrow’s lunchboxes.
Did I mention that this recipe is from the complete Vegie Smugglers lunchbox planner? I like to give one recipe away for free (last term was the easy beetroot dip/sandwich spread). I know I’m banging on about the planner, but without a few sales here and there, the Vegie Smugglers blog ends up being a time-consuming and rewarding passion that I have to squeeze in between my other money-making commitments. But nearly every mum I talk to has some intriguing online venture going on, so you all know what I’m saying.
Anyway, enough blatant spamming. Here’s the recipe to enjoy.
Delicious. Yum. Easy. Yum. Lunchboxes. Yum.
Cheese Puffs
½ cup milk (soy is fine)
1 egg
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 zucchini, grated (peeled first if your kids hate green)
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cups grated cheese (cheddar is best)
1 cup self-raising flour
Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a baking tray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Add the paprika, zucchini, spring onions and cheese.
Sift over the flour. Mix well (it becomes a thick paste). Dollop out portions. Bake for 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown and cooked through.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for several days.
MAKES 16
Chris said,
October 12, 2011 @ 6:09 am
I am guessing the veges can be substituted a little? Is there anything that would work well or not so good?
wendyblume said,
October 12, 2011 @ 6:27 am
Grated carrot would work. So would a bit of finely diced capsicum. Try them with the zucchini though. You’d really have no idea it’s there.
Squee said,
October 12, 2011 @ 6:30 am
Do you think it would still work with gluten free flour and rice milk?
wendyblume said,
October 12, 2011 @ 6:44 am
Hmmm. Rice milk should be fine. Does your flour work in pikelets? It’s just a thick batter really, so whatever you would use for them should work. Let me know how it goes.
Squee said,
October 16, 2011 @ 6:38 pm
Rice milk and gluten free flour was a… FAIL! I’ve never seen anything flatter and they didn’t quite cook through 😦 They tasted good though. I think they may need more than a cup of flour to firm up the batter more and combat the moisture in the zucchini. Will try again next weekend!
wendyblume said,
October 17, 2011 @ 7:04 am
Thanks for letting me know – seems they do work best with regular flour – apparently wholemeal is no good either. Let me know if you do crack a good combination so I can post it up – so many people would be interested.
Amy said,
October 22, 2011 @ 7:20 pm
Did you use Gluten Free SELF RAISING flour? of GF plain flour?
wendyblume said,
October 24, 2011 @ 7:49 am
I would have to assume that it’s self raising flour? Otherwise it will be too dense in texture. cheers, Wendy
Squee said,
October 24, 2011 @ 10:43 am
Yep, GF self raising.
Aleesa said,
October 12, 2011 @ 11:12 am
This sounds like an easier/quicker version of a zuccini slice. Thanks!!! (and I’ve just bought the term 4 planner, all ready for starting school next year)
thanks
ps> some bacon pieces would be nice too.
wendyblume said,
October 12, 2011 @ 12:16 pm
Yes, a bit of bacon would be yum – but ham might be a bit less salty – the cheese already has quite a bit. Thanks for buying a planner! Always appreciated. x
Aleesa said,
October 12, 2011 @ 12:26 pm
yes ham would be better 😉
How long does it take to get the planner emailed through? Just curious…
Aleesa said,
October 12, 2011 @ 12:26 pm
oops got it 🙂
Kym said,
October 12, 2011 @ 12:31 pm
Just made these with carrot (as I had no zucchini!) and they’re delicious! My 20month old loved them!!! Thankyou!
Gen said,
October 12, 2011 @ 8:08 pm
I’m looking forward to trying them. I got the planner the other day. We grow our own vegetables and we have lots of zucchini at the moment, so this has come at a good time!
Megan said,
October 12, 2011 @ 8:43 pm
This is similar to a recipe my kids love. I always add fresh corn cut straight off the cob. Always a big hit with young and old 🙂
Karla said,
October 13, 2011 @ 11:07 am
This sounds yummy! Just one little question: What do you add to regular flour if you don’t have self-raising?
wendyblume said,
October 13, 2011 @ 11:33 am
Depending on how much ‘oomph’ you want it to have, just add 1-2 tsp baking powder for every cup of flour. Some people say to add a pinch of salt too.
Claire Bailey said,
October 14, 2011 @ 11:03 am
These are good, even if mine did conglomerate into one big one. Littlies hoed into them with great joy and ate more than half of them.
I added 2Tbsp of ground pistachios into mine after dolloping out the rest of the batch. These are on the regular lunchtime list.
Kristi Grigg said,
October 25, 2011 @ 1:55 pm
Yum, these were delicious!!!
Noelle (Fridge-to-go) said,
November 4, 2011 @ 7:45 am
We are LOVING vegie smugglers – THANK YOU – and we are sharing them with our FridgetogoOz Facebook friends too as everyone needs help to get our kids eating beautiful fresh food! Our bags can help make life easy so you can transport these tasty treats out for a day away and keep them fresh and tasty!!
{Meal Plan} Fried Rice + Giveaway » The Organised Housewife said,
November 7, 2011 @ 4:47 am
[…] – Cheese puffs – from the Vegie Smugglers Term 4 Lunchbox […]
Rachael said,
January 18, 2012 @ 10:34 am
Just making my first batch of these and wondering how they freeze for school lunches??
wendyblume said,
January 18, 2012 @ 10:50 am
Hi Rachel. I’ve never actually tried – they always disappear so quickly! They do store really well in the fridge for several days and i suspect freezing would be fine too. Just use them within a month or so.
Michelle said,
January 19, 2012 @ 7:05 am
Just wondering if the paprika could be left out or substituted for something else?
wendyblume said,
January 19, 2012 @ 8:29 am
Hi Michelle, You can leave it out – the cheese flavour will still be good enough. But maybe make a half plain batch and a half with some paprika – you really can’t taste it as paprika, more as yumminess. It seems to add a little magical something.
Michelle said,
January 25, 2012 @ 2:33 pm
Thanks. I made them without the papika (allergic) and they were a big hit!!!
Mel B said,
January 25, 2012 @ 11:20 am
I’ve just popped a batch in the oven now – I can’t wait! I had to substitute the paprika for black pepper as we have run out. So will try another batch once I have made a trip to the spice shop…
If we have any left I’ll try freezing 🙂
Karen said,
January 31, 2012 @ 9:31 am
do you think these would work with egg replacer? my children are starting school this week and the school has a nut free and egg free policy in place 🙂
wendyblume said,
January 31, 2012 @ 12:31 pm
Hi Karen, Luckily for me, I don’t have an egg allergy in my home so I’ve never tried them. Perhaps make a half batch and see how you go? I’d love to hear feedback. So far I know that gluten free and wholemeal flours DON’T work very well… sorry I can’t be more helpful! wendy x
Healthy Lunchbox Ideas | Natural New Age Mum said,
April 16, 2012 @ 8:49 am
[…] are loads of ideas around the web too. You could try Vegie Smuggler’s amazing Cheese Puffs, Mamacino’s Really Easy Banana Bread or Feeding Fussy Kid’s Iron Booster […]
Brooke said,
June 24, 2013 @ 6:55 pm
Success! A fussy little 3 year old just had cheesy puffs for dinner. Thank you- what a wonderful website you have
wendyblume said,
June 24, 2013 @ 7:06 pm
thanks for letting me know brooke!
Maree said,
July 29, 2013 @ 9:30 pm
Hi Wendy. Just wanted to say a big thankyou for this recipe. My girls loved the cheese puffs. I wrote about making them on my blog threefootcooks.blogspot.com and made sure I credited you and linked back to this post. Hope that’s ok.
wendyblume said,
July 29, 2013 @ 10:02 pm
That totally fine maree. Glad you found the recipe useful!
Jody said,
October 24, 2013 @ 1:43 pm
Hi Wendy I was wondering if I could use grated yellow squash instead of zucchini? I don’t have enough zucchini that’s all.
Jo said,
December 5, 2013 @ 5:33 pm
Just wanted to send you some great feedback… I’ve been making these for months and they’re always demolished by my 3yo and I. My very fussy 20mo won’t touch them. Until today. I changed the shape I make them in, instead of a circle today I made them in a sausage shape. He is on his third!
wendyblume said,
December 5, 2013 @ 5:48 pm
I love it! They’re such frauds sometimes, aren’t they! Thanks for letting me know – feedback like this always makes me smile.
Annika Coulson said,
April 27, 2014 @ 10:04 am
We LOVE these ‘puffs’ especially with a dollop of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce!
wendyblume said,
April 27, 2014 @ 2:03 pm
yummo-o! x
helend77 said,
April 27, 2014 @ 5:33 pm
My little one is allergic to egg so can i leave that ingredient out?
wendyblume said,
April 27, 2014 @ 5:59 pm
You might want to soak a tablespoon of chia seeds in 3 tbsp water for an hour or so – they form a gel which might be a good replacement (although I have to say that I’ve not tried this!)
Emily said,
May 8, 2014 @ 3:46 pm
My little boy loves these, we’ve had success with regular self raising flour and also white spelt flour with 2tsp baking powder, as well as regular milk and almond milk:-)
wendyblume said,
May 8, 2014 @ 5:24 pm
Thanks so much for reporting back Emily! I never have time to test all the variations, so I really appreciate it.
A Tuesday Treat | MiXx MODE said,
January 28, 2015 @ 12:29 pm
[…] I am constantly online trying to find recipes for my almost two-year old son. Instead of always giving him snacks from the grocery stores, I wanted to try making him some healthy, homemade snacks. Awhile back, I posted a recipe on my Instagram — Zucchini Cheesy Puff by Vegie Smugglers. […]
15 Non-sandwich Lunch Box Ideas - PLAYTIVITIES said,
August 20, 2015 @ 6:49 am
[…] Want to know how to have the kids beg for zucchini? Make these! […]