I love recipes that seem fancy but are surprisingly easy to make like these stuffed Zucchini Boats! They’re one of my favorite ways to use up all of the zucchini that I purchase from the store or the local farmers market during the summertime. It’s the perfect weeknight recipe for meat and veggie lovers and it’s very easy to customize. And since zucchini has a fairly neutral flavor, the Italian-inspired flavors of this dish really get to shine. So if you’re looking for something new to add to your dinner rotation this week, these delicious zucchini boats definitely will not disappoint!
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Ingredients For Zucchini Boats
There are several ways to make zucchini boats, but I decided to stuff my zucchini with Italian-inspired flavors like Italian sausage, a good quality marinara sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese. Here’s everything that you need:
- Zucchini: I like to purchase zucchini that are roughly the same size and length. I also try to steer clear of ginormous and extremely large zucchini as those tend to have an even higher water content than the regular sized zucchini.
- Italian Sausage: Italian sausage is pre-seasoned with herbs and spices which adds lots of flavor to the filling. You can also use ground beef, ground turkey or even Italian turkey sausage instead.
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic adds another layer of flavor to the sausage filling.
- Seasoning: A simple mix of Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to add more flavor to the jarred marinara sauce and the rest of the sausage mixture.
- Marinara sauce: I like the convenience of buying a good quality jar of marinara sauce. It’s crushed tomatoes with extra herbs & spices combined all in one jar!
- Breadcrumbs: Just a few breadcrumbs helps add body and texture to the filling and helps soak up some of the extra moisture from the zucchini flesh.
- Shredded Mozzarella: Mozzarella is sprinkled on top for a gooey finish to these tasty and delicious zucchini boats!
Recipe Tips and Variations!
- Pre-bake the hollowed out zucchini boats prior to adding the filling. This gives the zucchini a few extra minutes to soften and can be done while the sausage mixture is cooking to save on time. Once the filling is added, the zucchini boats only have to bake a few more minutes before they are perfectly tender.
- If you want to help reduce food waste add some of the scooped out zucchini flesh to the sausage filling. I only added half of the zucchini flesh in order to keep the mixture from getting too watery. You can easily freeze the other half and add it to a green smoothie for breakfast!
- Be careful not to scoop too much of the zucchini flesh. You’ll want to leave a 1/4-1/2“ rim around each one so the zucchini is sturdy enough to hold the filling mixture.
- Want to change up the flavor profile? Instead of Italian flavors try Mexican-inspired flavors. Season the ground meat with taco seasoning and salsa, add the filling to the zucchini boats, then top with shredded mexican cheese. Once the boats are done you can top them with some diced tomatoes, cilantro, or avocado. So good!!
Serving Suggestions
These zucchini boats are pretty hearty by themselves, but if you want to serve something with them on the side you could easily add a simple side salad, Caesar salad, or some crusty garlic bread. They would also taste great with seasoned rice on the side.
How to Store Zucchini Boats
I’ll be honest, I love eating leftover zucchini boats. Yes they do get a little soggy after being stored in the fridge, but they still have a little bite to them and all those wonderful flavors from the filling are still there. So if you happen to have any zucchini boats leftover, you can definitely store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. They’ll be perfect for lunch the next day! I wouldn’t recommend freezing zucchini boats as they might be too mushy and watery after thawing.
Need to use up the rest of your Zucchini?
If you have a generous supply of zucchini this year, we’ve got lots of great ways for you to use it up! Try making these Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries, these moist and fluffy Zucchini Muffins and this easy and budget-friendly Zucchini Slice recipe. You can also easily add zucchini with your favorite dinner meal like this Blackened Salmon with Zucchini.
Zucchini Boats
Servings 4 (2 zucchini boats each)Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini (about 2 lbs.) ($3.00)
- 1.5 Tbsp cooking oil, divided ($0.08)
- 1 lb. Italian ground sausage ($5.49)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced ($0.42)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.05)
- 3/4 tsp salt, divided ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, divided ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 3/4 cup marinara sauce ($0.97)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs ($0.12)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella ($1.25)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the zucchini well, trim off the top stem, then slice each one in half lengthwise. Use a spoon or a melon baller to remove the flesh from the center of the zucchini halves, leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch rim around each. Roughly chop the scooped out zucchini flesh into small pieces and set aside.
- Place the scooped out zucchini halves on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the insides of the zucchini with 1/2 tablespoon of oil and season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Pre-bake the zucchini in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 remove the zucchini from the oven and set aside.
- While the zucchini is baking, make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Brown the Italian sausage.
- Once the sausage has browned, add the diced onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Next add the Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, garlic powder, marinara sauce, breadcrumbs, and half of the reserved & chopped zucchini flesh*. Stir to combine. Simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Next stuff the scooped out zucchini boats with the sausage mixture. Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Place the zucchini boats back in the oven and back for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sausage mixture is bubbly around the sides. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!
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Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Zucchini Boats – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash 4 large zucchini well, trim off the top stem, then slice each one in half lengthwise. Use a spoon or a melon baller to remove the flesh from the center of the zucchini halves, leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch rim around each. Roughly chop the scooped out zucchini flesh into small pieces and set aside.
Place the scooped out zucchini halves on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the insides of the zucchini with ½ tablespoon of olive oil and season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Pre-bake the zucchini in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 remove the zucchini from the oven and set aside.
While the zucchini is baking, make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Brown 1 lb. of Italian sausage. Once the sausage has browned, add 1 diced yellow onion and 2 minced garlic cloves to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
Next add 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 3/4 cup marinara sauce, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, and half of the reserved & chopped zucchini flesh. Stir to combine. (For the other half of the zucchini flesh, it’s perfect to freeze and add to smoothies for breakfast. This also helps reduce food waste!)
Simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Next stuff the scooped out zucchini boats with the sausage mixture. I stuffed each one with about 2-3 Tbsp of the sausage mixture.
Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
Place the zucchini boats back in the oven and back for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sausage mixture is bubbly around the sides. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, optional, and enjoy!
Made these tonight using my own pasta sauce with caramelized mushrooms and 1/2 of the scooped out pulp. Don’t skip the step of baking empty zucchini boats as it is what keeps it from being too mushy. My veggie hater husband had seconds! I will definitely add to my menu rotation!
So Delicious! There are just 2 of us so I froze half of the filling and made it again the following week with new “boats”. A quick and easy dinner!
Really easy and yummy! Great way to use the zukes from my garden.
Will probably skip the breadcrumbs next time to make it low-carb, and/ or add some red pepper flakes or use hot sausage to give it some kick.
Cann final baking step be left for the next day?
That should be just fine!
Newbie here. Do you actually EAT the zucchini flesh which makes up the boat? Or is the zucchini itself basically a cooking vessel for the sausage/etc?
You eat the whole thing!
Step 5 says to use 1/2 of the reserved zucchini flesh. The recipe doesn’t say when to add the other 1/2 of the mixture.
OMGosh, those look so yummy, I’ll be making these Thursday. I’ll let you know how it comes out…
To be continued….
Tried these the other night and they turned out great! Wonderful recipe.😊
Had to make some substitutes for what was available at my grocery store, but holy delicious batman! Wound up using Mexican zucchini, hot sausage, and adding small white beans. Will definitely be making again.
Thanks Maria! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! :)
Delicious!!!
I forgot how much I love zucchini boats until I saw your post! Trying to reduce carbs so will make these for me next time I make spaghetti for my husband
Thanks for the recipe!
I’ll these next week. I have had some similar ones and they were delish!
This turned out so good. I did have some goat cheese that needed used and I stuffed the boats with that, then topped with the sauce and cheese. They were delicious. We’ll definitely make again.
Love this zucchini recipe, gonna do it today!
This particular recipe is overrun with ads. It’s more than is reasonably tolerated. I clicked on them and more other ones came up, essentially making the recipe unreadable (and one is currently covering my typing). Can you offer a subscription option because this is too much.
This recipe reminds me of the zucchini boats I used to make with oversized zucchini hiding in my garden. Your recipe also calls for adding 1/2 of reserved zucchini but never mentions what you do with the rest. What am I missing? Thanks for the reminder to buy some zucchini!
Hi Anne, to help reduce food waste I love freezing the other half of the reserved zucchini and adding it to my smoothies for breakfast! Since it has a mild flavor, the fruit from the smoothie will be most prominent and it’s the perfect way to sneak in extra greens! I mentioned this in the recipe tips section, but I will definitely add it to the recipe card as well :) I hope you love the recipe!!
I have made these so many times and this is such a fab recipe. For real, I got some zucchini in my CSA and my number 1 thought was “Yessssss. Zucchini boat time!!!”
Ok, LOVE that you subscribe to a CSA! <3
My husband and I enjoy this recipe yesterday. I substituted ground turkey because that was what I had.
Sounds and looks good. I will definitely try it.
Good recipe! …but the bombardment of ads is a bit much 🙄
The recipe says to use 1/2 of the scooped out zucchini flesh but not what to do with the other half. Is it because it would create too much filling combined with the sausage and other ingredients? Seems wasteful or am I missing something?
Hi Maria great question! After testing this recipe a few times, I noticed when I added all of the zucchini flesh, the excess water took away some of the flavors from the spices in the meat filling. So adding just half of the flesh still gave me the flavor I wanted and helped reduce food waste. For the other half of the zucchini flesh, it’s perfect to freeze and add to smoothies for breakfast! Since it has a mild flavor, the other fruit from the smoothie will be most prominent. I mentioned this in the recipe tips section, but I will definitely add it to the recipe card as well. I hope you get a chance to try this one out. Thanks so much! :)
Is this the same recipe as the Italian Sausage Stuffed Zucchini that was previously published on the website? I can’t find that recipe on the website anymore.
Yes, it is! The recipe is slightly updated and we wanted to change the name, but if you’d like a pdf of the old recipe I’m happy to email it to you!
I would love a PDF of the old recipe – I have made both and strongly prefer the old one!!
Just emailed it! :)
Can you email the old recipe to me? If I’m remembering correctly the old recipe used all of the scooped out zucchini and didn’t pre-bake the zucchini, which I prefer :)
Just emailed it!
A family member makes taco zucchini boats which are GREAT! Thank you so much for the base recipe
Perfect timing! I just picked my first zucchini of the season from my garden today.
I too picked my first zucchini’s of the 2024 summer….they are stuffed and in the oven as I write..thank you!