Baked Vegetable Bird’s Nests
Baked Vegetable Bird’s Nests are loaded with zucchini, carrots, onion, and baby spinach. The carrots and zucchini are julienned and then combined with sliced onion and baby spinach to form these cute little vegetable bird’s nests, then baked until golden and crispy.
Tasty vegetable-filled bird’s nests are not only very appealing and colorful, but they’re also ideal to serve as a festive appetizer!
A few years ago, one of our loyal followers contacted me to ask me if I could replicate Trader Joe’s Vegetable Birds Nests to make them healthier. I said of COURSE!
I never had them before, so I picked up a box from Trader Joe’s freezer section and took them home to see what they were all about.
Trader Joe’s Vegetable Bird’s Nests are very tasty, loaded with mostly onions and with only a few shredded carrots and a touch of kale. So I decided to make my own version of these vegetable bird’s nests.
First, I added more vegetables to balance out the flavors, adding more zucchini along with some baby spinach.
Next, I had to figure out how to bind these vegetable bird’s nests, and after 2 attempts and 2 flops, I called my sister Liz for advice and some tips.
She recommended I mix the vegetables with egg whites, but I realized that wasn’t enough and needed to combine the eggs with something else. Parmesan cheese, flour, and panko bread crumbs were added to do the trick, they worked very nicely.
I have to tell you, my version of Baked Vegetable Bird’s Nests turned out fantastic!
Moist on the inside with crunchy edges on the outside, and another bonus to these baked vegetable birds’ nests is that they’re baked and not fried!
Since I made them without any butter or oil, I found them not to be greasy either.
They definitely burst with flavor!
You can actually taste the zucchini, the carrots, and even the onion, but neither is overpowering. They’re festive enough to serve at a party as appetizers or serve as an elegant vegetable side dish for a dinner party.
A great idea to make these little bird nests for Easter dinner!
I bet the kids will enjoy them too!
Ingredients Needed for Baked Vegetable Bird’s Nests:
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panko bread crumbs
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or Gluten-Free Panko bread crumbs
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organic olive oil cooking spray
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vegetables: carrots, zucchini, onion, and baby spinach
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dairy: eggs and grated Parmesan cheese
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all-purpose flour
How to Make Baked Vegetable Bird’s Nests?
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To julienne, the vegetables are a fun thing to do, especially if you own a hand spiralizer. Shaping the vegetables into little bird’s nests is relatively easy and not as difficult as you may think.
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Next, you will need to thinly slice some onion to add to the mixture. Not too much onion. Don’t want to overpower the flavor.
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Then mix the vegetables with the rest of the ingredients, grated cheese, panko bread crumbs, eggs, some flour and salt, and pepper. Use 2 forks to mix until well combined.
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Just grab some veggie strands with a fork and swirl to form a little bird’s nest. Add a little more on top if you need to, to give the appearance of a bird’s nest.
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No need to make them perfect. They will hold their shape while baking.
Can I Make Them in Advance?
You can make these nests a day in advance and reheat them in the oven for a few minutes before the guests arrive. I even had some leftovers and ate them for lunch the next day, and they were still delicious!
You can enjoy these Baked Vegetable Bird’s Nests alone or serve them with your favorite dipping sauce. Try a sweet soy sauce or sweet chili sauce for dipping to create a “tempura-style” eating experience!
and… ENJOY!!
Here’s a GREAT TIP!
If you make these baked vegetable bird’s nests a little larger in size, you can pop a raw egg in the center and bake them, turning them into a complete meal. And, even name it- “an egg in a bird’s nest” – and call it a day! A perfect idea for meatless Mondays or even meatless Fridays during Lent.
* Here is a simple recipe for a Dipping Sauce: (Thanks to Wendi!)
- 2 Tbsp. soy or tamari sauce
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1/2 Tbsp. rice or white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- few drops of sesame oil
- finely sliced scallions for garnish.
Blend all the ingredients in a small bowl and serve.
Go ahead and PIN it and please SHARE!!
Additional Festive Appetizers…
- Try our Spinach and Kale Bites, and Parmesan Pastry Pups – these too are copycat recipes from Trader Joe’s freezer section.
- Also, try Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto and Cheese. YUM!
- And for festive colorful butter, try our Tri-Color Butter Terrine, it may be just the perfect thing!
Yield: 8 to 12 nests
Baked Vegetable Bird's Nests
Baked Vegetable Bird's Nests ~ are loaded with zucchini, carrots, onion, and baby spinach. The carrots and zucchini are julienned and then combined with sliced onion and baby spinach to form these cute little vegetable bird's nests, then baked until golden and crispy. Tasty vegetable-filled bird's nests are not only very appealing and colorful, but they're also ideal to serve as a festive appetizer!
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Total Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 medium-size carrots - peeled
- 1 medium-size zucchini
- 1/2 of a medium onion
- 1/4 cup baby spinach
- 1 whole egg, plus 1 egg white- lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- organic olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a large baking sheet with cooking oil and set aside.
- Julienne both the carrots and zucchini in a large bowl with a hand spiralizer. Then thinly slice the onion and baby spinach and toss into the same bowl, along with the eggs, Parmesan cheese, flour, panko bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.
- Toss all the ingredients together using 2 large forks (or use your hands) until well combined. Using 2 forks, scoop a small amount, and transfer it onto the baking sheet. Try to swirl and shape the vegetables into a small bird's nest. Try to give each one some depth, adding more on top to avoid them looking flat, like pancakes. Each fork-full leads to about a 3-inch diameter in size.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom and crispy around the edges. Keep in mind, that if you undercook them, the nests will fall apart. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to transfer to a serving plate. Serve them warm with dipping sauce nearby.
- Yields: 8 to 12 bird's nests (depending on their size)
Hey friends! Are you cooking with us? If you make these delicious baked vegetable bird’s nests, let us know and leave a comment and a star rating below!
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We’d love to see what you cook! 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by!
xo Anna and Liz
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Can these be assembled ahead of time and frozen for later use?
Yes, I would bake them first, then allow them to cool before placing them into a sealed container and freezing. Then all you will need to do, is reheat them in the oven for a few minutes.
I had to pass on what a small world it is sometimes. A while back, we were invited to dinner at a friends house and she served these. I knew they were yours because she had printed out the recipe. Unfortunately she has a bad habit of improvising and all I can say was that your version was way better. I never told here that we were blogging friends and I had seen and made your lovely bird’s nests.
Ok, no worries, it’s our little secret!! xo Anna
Had TJ’s nests for the first time last night – they were amazing! Can’t wait to try yours. We are doing keto – so I would probably not use the panko crumbs but substitute something else instead – possibly crushed pork rinds or powdered parmesean. Do you know have the nutritional information on this recipe?
Hi Karen, Sounds great! Thank you for asking! I looked up some websites for nutritional information, they seem to be easy to copy and paste and they will give you nutritional facts on recipes. You may want to try this one, https://happyforks.com/analyzer also, we have a post on How to Count Calories with our recipes: https://2sistersrecipes.com/how-to-get-calorie-count-with-our/
I hope this helps! Please let me know how my version of TJ’s nests turn out for you! Thanks again!
HI Karen, welcome to our blog! It’s so nice to meet you. I don’t have any nutritional information on this recipe, however you can go to our search for it with one of our posts (Type in google): How to Get Calorie Count with Our recipes/2sistersrecipes.com and it will also give you the nutritional info as well.
These little nests will certainly add lots of color as well as flavor to a meal.
Yes I think so too!! Thanks Karen!! Have a wonderful holiday !! 🙂
Thank you Roz! Same to you!! Have a lovely Easter Week!
Loaded with color and flavor, these would be great for Easter! Happy Easter week Liz and Anna!
These sound so good. Never tried tj’s but can’t wait to try these! Pinning! For some reason I can’t give it 5 ⭐️
Haha Abbe! There is a glitch, every time I try to give someone a 5 star it’s gives me trouble as well. Thanks for the lovely comment.
I was looking for a gluten free version – I can use rice flour but how would I substitute for the panko?
HI Maureen,
You can find Gluten Free Panko bread crumbs, here is the link :https://amzn.to/2DPByOd
Hi Maureen,
You can find Gluten Free Panko Bread Crumbs ! Here is the link: https://amzn.to/2DPByOd
Great recipe! The thing that makes the TJ’s version so tasty though, is thier SAUCE! Would love for y’all to come up with a good version of that! Keep up the good work!
Hi Ron, It was a few months back since I had tasted their sauce, but you probably could buy any sweet & sour dipping sauce to go with our vegetable bird’s nests or even make your own dipping sauce with a few ingredients, or heat up some soy sauce mixed with brown sugar. It’s simple but very tasty! Anyway, thanks for the lovely comment.
Here is Trader Joe’s recipe (from the back of their cilantro wonton bag) for dipping sauce. It may not be exactly what comes with the bird’s nests, but we love this recipe for other dip-able things!
Trader Joe’s Wonton Dipping Sauce;
2 T soy or tamari sauce
2 T water
1/2 T rice or white vinegar
1 T brown sugar
few drops of sesame oil
finely sliced scallions for garnish.
HI Wendi! That sounds awesome, thank you! I will add that in – thanks so much! Have a great weekend!
Quick question, because this is a healthier version, does it still have the tempura batter-y taste? Tried the TJ version last night and they were AMAZING, couldn’t wait to find a recipe to try them myself. I definitely like the idea of making it healthier, but I’m wondering how similar it’ll be. Thank you!
Hi Aubrey! From what everyone has been telling me, they are very similar to TJ’s and yes
they will have the same tempura-style flavor especially if you serve them with your favorite soy dipping sauce. I hope you will try my recipe and let me know how they turn out for you. Have a great night!
SO HAPPY to find this recipe. These were what I’ve missed most since moving from southern Calif to South Dakota three and a half years ago and not having a Trader Joe’s available. I used to go thru at least two boxes a week because they were such a healthy, delicious snack or side with a meal. Thank you, thank you.
HI Chris, SO glad you did! Welcome to our blog! Also, you may want to try our Spinach and Kale Bites recipe too, those are from Trader Joe’s as well. Have a great day!
We’re thrilled to discover you’ve used our SpiraLife spiralizer! (And Tj’s bird’s nests are addictive as heck! We’ll save a pretty penny making zillions at home.) Thanks for the shout-out! We’ll post this recipe on our FB page pronto. Nomz!
Thanks so much! We are so happy you’ll share the recipe! 🙂
I came across this recipe the other day, and thought they looked great. I’ve never had the Trader Joe’s version so I have nothing to compare it to. I did substitute 6 TBs of ground mixed nuts instead of the grated Parmesan cheese, all purpose flour, and panko bread crumbs. It worked well for me. They stuck together and were delicious. And a little healthier I think. Thanks
Sounds delicious Stephanie! So glad to hear it worked for you! And thanks for leaving a comment!
xo Anna
Hi Mary, so glad to hear you made them. I too notice some running liquid on the bottom of the bowl, but took the strands of veggies with a fork, to avoid the liquid. Also, if the veggies strands are thicker, then they will need a little more baking time to get them firmer. Needless to say, I very happy they worked for you! Thanks again for leaving a comment!
I just tried Trader Joe’s version for the first time. Delicious. I loved them. I quickly went on the internet to search for a recipe I could try at home. Can’t wait to try yours.
I don’t have a spiraler but will try my Mandolin or course grater.
One Question though……Do I need to reduce zucchini liquid before mixing with other veggies? When I make zucchini cakes, I must Grate zucchini then let it drain or the cakes are soggy.
Hi Maryleigh! Thank you for trying our recipe. When I made these I didn’t need to squeeze any of the liquid out of the Zucchini, so I don’t think you need to either. But let me know how they turn out for you!
Xo Anna
Hi Anna, I tried this recipe. Didn’t have a spiraled so used my mandolin which cut into a course grated size. I used onion, carrots, zucchini and spinach, and bound it with the other ingredients. I used half the batter first to see how they would turn out. Some stuck to the pan, and some fell apart, so I needed to grease the pan better. For the second batch, I flipped them over to cook on the other side, resulting in firmer “nests”. Oh, and I noticed some running liquid in the bowl at the end, so next time, I think I will let the mixture sit for 30 minuted, then drain before making the nests.
This is a definitely a new way to make vegetables.
Hi Mary, so glad to hear you made them. I too notice some running liquid on the bottom of the bowl, but took the strands of veggies with a fork, to avoid the liquid. Also, if the veggies strands are thicker, then they will need a little more baking time to get them firmer. Needless to say, I very happy they worked for you! Thanks again for leaving a comment!
These look so much better and healthier than Trader Joes, love that you added extra veggies and your idea to add an egg is brilliant. Happy Monday!
Thank you Cheri! But I can't take credit for adding the egg- that was Liz! Have a great week!
Anna, These are a winner! Made them today and they came out great; my husband and I both like them more than TJs. Love your suggestion to add a fried or poached egg for a complete meal. Move over Trader Joe's! Thank you so much for your successful efforts.
SO glad !! And Thank you because you inspired me to try and duplicate them Jane! I love a challenge every so often. …And so thrilled to hear your husband enjoyed them too!! Haha, you make me laugh about "move over TJ's " – 🙂 you are so sweet! Have a great weekend! Warmly, Anna
These are so pretty and festive. What a great way to enjoy veggies and have fun! 😉
Thank you Amy! I think your kids will love them! Hope you'll try my recipe!
Have a great weekend!
They are beautiful! I love nest shapes in the spring 🙂
Thank you Sue! Have a great weekend!
Hi again! Sorry, I hadn't read the recipe to the end where you talk about adding an egg! I do have a vegetable spiralizer and just love it! Today I had a small amount of pasta spaghetti mixed with a larger amount of spiralized vegetables and topped with a tomato sauce and grated cheese. Gorgeous!
OHhh that sounds so good! Now I am craving for that. It's so much fun to make dishes using our spiralizer. Tha nks again and have a wonderful weekend!
Great idea and it sounds delicious! Thanks so much!
These are just the cuties, coolest things ever! That would encourage even the vege-haters to eat vegetables! So pretty and smart – have a wonderful weekend ladies!
Thank you Tricia! We agree and hope that these will also inspire kids to eat them as well! Have a great weekend!
These look wonderful and very delicious and they make me think of Easter! All they need for that is a little quail's egg in the middle! I love that they're baked too!
Thank you Sandra ! They really turned out better than I imagined, and yes- even better because they're baked! A win- win!!
Thank you for your kind words Jane! You made me laugh! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Have a good weekend!
Thank you so much Anna & Liz. I will be whipping these up this weekend. Appreciate the extra veggies in your version. Maybe Trader Joe's should hire you!