These Easy Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a healthy and fresh dinner option to enjoy all summer long! Piled high with a ground beef filling, this customizable meal will please everyone around your dinner table — even the picky little kids!
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Before you run off and assume that your finicky offspring (or husband) would NEVER enjoy this stuffed zucchini, hear me out! The vegetables are mild, and the familiar Italian flavors appeal to just about every palate. Plus, if you tell a kid that he’s eating a “boat,” it’s sure to pique his interest!
Tips for Making Family-Friendly Stuffed Zucchini Boats:
- Pick your filling! I have included a recipe that uses ground beef, but you can substitute with ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground Italian sausage.
- Serve it with another familiar side dish. For instance, I pair the stuffed zucchini boats with a side of pasta and marinara sauce. That way, I know that the boys can fill up on pasta, even if they don’t devour the zucchini boats. Since there’s less pressure and less focus on the zucchini, I find that it makes the kids more adventurous. They can taste one bite without fear that it’s their only option for dinner. Even though they were skeptical at first, all 3 of my boys ended up eating a decent amount of their zucchini…in addition to the pasta. You never know how they’ll react until you offer it, right?
How to Make Fresh Zucchini Boats
This easy zucchini boats recipe is one of the best ways to use up fresh zucchini — we don’t even let the zucchini pulp go to waste! Talk about a plate full of colorful veggies! Here’s how to make this easy recipe that the whole family will love.
- Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then hollow out the inside of each half.
- Pour tomato sauce into a baking dish, then arrange the zucchini boats in the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the zucchini boat mixture on the stovetop.
- Fill the zucchini boats with the cooked mixture.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
Stuffed Zucchini Boats Easy Prep Tips & Tricks
If you’re intimidated by the prep time involved in stuffing a zucchini, let me assure you: this is not difficult! I resisted homemade zucchini boats for years because I just assumed that they were way too time-consuming for my kitchen. Wrong! As usual, I’ve managed to make this process as quick and easy as possible.
- For quick prep, I also suggest using a melon baller or small cookie dough scoop to scoop out the inside of the zucchini. If you don’t have one, it’s fine — just use a sharp teaspoon. However, the small end of an inexpensive melon baller makes the process so fast — with just one swipe down the center, you can remove all of the zucchini pulp!
- To avoid the last-minute dinner rush, try preparing the zucchini boat filling in advance. If you have time on the weekend or the night before, you can sauté the meat and vegetables ahead of time.
- You can even prepare the entire dish in advance, cover it with plastic wrap, and bake it in the oven when you’re ready to eat. Work ahead to eliminate the stress!
What is a good side dish for zucchini boats?
There are plenty of great side dish options to serve with zucchini boats! Here are some great pairings:
- Garlic bread, crusty no-knead bread, crescent rolls, homemade breadsticks, or a crusty baguette.
- Couscous salad, summer corn salad, three bean salad, or marinated vegetable salad.
- Classic Caesar salad, a wedge salad, house salad with candied pecans, or a mixed green salad with a red wine vinaigrette.
- Roasted rosemary potatoes, roasted dill potatoes, roasted carrots, or roasted green beans and bacon.
Storage: Can You Freeze Zucchini Boats?
Frozen zucchini tends to get mushy once thawed, so I would not recommend freezing fully assembled or cooked zucchini boats. However, if you have leftover filling (and you likely will, since you’ll only need about half the meat mixture to stuff four medium-sized zucchini), you can easily freeze it and keep it on-hand for other recipes. The filling can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months and is perfect to have on hand for other recipes.
Fresh Zucchini Boats Recipe Variations
- Instead of ground beef, switch up the flavors with a different meat option — ground turkey, ground chicken, ground Italian sausage, or even shredded rotisserie chicken can be used.
- Season the zucchini boats with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs or Italian seasoning before adding the filling.
More Delicious Zucchini Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- 4 medium (or 3 large) zucchini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided
- 1 lb. lean ground beef (or substitute Italian sausage for half of the beef for more flavor)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 small sweet bell pepper, any color, diced (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup chopped reserved zucchini pulp
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)
- 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or Italian cheese blend, divided
- ¼ cup Italian-seasoned panko breadcrumbs
- Chopped parsley or basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers, leaving about a ¼-inch shell. Finely chop the zucchini pulp and set aside about ½ cup to use later.
- Spread about ¾ cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Arrange the zucchini shells cut-side up in the dish. Bake for 10 minutes to soften slightly while you prepare the filling.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and reserved zucchini pulp. Cook until the beef is browned and the vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Drain off the excess grease.
- Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and remaining tomato sauce. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, ¼ cup Parmesan, and ½ cup mozzarella. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Spoon the beef mixture into the partially baked zucchini shells. Top evenly with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the zucchini boats.
- Bake uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted and golden. Garnish with parsley or basil before serving.
Notes
- Medium zucchini work best for sturdy boats.
- Leave about a ¼-inch shell when scooping out the centers.
- A melon baller makes hollowing out zucchini easy.
- Half ground beef and half Italian sausage adds extra flavor.
- Ground turkey or chicken can be substituted.
- Toast the breadcrumbs first for extra crunch.
- Assemble up to 24 hours ahead.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze the filling separately for up to 3 months.
- Garnish with fresh basil or parsley before serving.
This was a good, basic recipe I used as a guide before tweaking to personalize to my tastes. First, after halving the zucchini I microwaved them for a few minutes to pre-cook them a bit. I browned the sausage, using Italian sausage I had removed from the casings. To that I added chopped red and yellow bell pepper, onion and the garlic, more than called for, and some fresh herbs. I did chop the zucchini pulp and added that too. I used no bread crumbs or other filler. I mixed up the mozzarella and Parmesan, added some to the sausage mixture and reserved some to sprinkle over the top. Rather than spaghetti sauce I used a good quality marinara, much less than 32 ounces, as I didn’t want the zucchini swimming in sauce. I baked this, uncovered, for just over half an hour. I served Hubs his over a bed of rice and left my low-carb version as is. Delicious.
Awesome! So glad that you were able to make it your own! 🙂
Yummm! These look so perfect – and I can’t believe I’ve never thought of cooking them with sauce like this! I need to try them soon
Yes, you definitely need to try it this way! 🙂
I made these for dinner a few nights ago and they were a hit with the whole family! I followed your recipe exactly but omitted the bread crumbs and they were still delicious. This was my first time making zucchini boats and I was pleasantly surprised by how easy they were. We also thought they make for the perfect summer meal – hearty enough to fill you up after a day spent playing in the sun yet not too heavy to eat in the evening heat. Thanks for another great recipe!
p.s. the leftover meat mixture worked great the next morning in an egg scramble!
Awesome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, Lauren! And I love the idea of using the extra meat in an egg scramble. Thanks so much for that suggestion!
I love this idea, and how healthy it is compared to other recipes! You have a great suggestion of pairing it with other familiar foods, a trick that I will start implementing! Can’t wait to make.
Do you have any ideas for the scooped out zucchini? I was thinking of mashing it and using it for zucchini bread, but would love other ideas.
Hi, Brie! Hmmm…I would maybe saute the zucchini and add it to a pasta sauce, or just dice it and cook it with butter, garlic and salt in a skillet and use it as a side dish! 🙂
Can you make this the nite be for and bake them the next day?
Hi, Aracelis! Yes, I think that should work fine! 🙂
Can we eat the zucchini boats, too? LOVE Your recipes
Thank you! Yes, the whole dish is meant to eaten – zucchini and all!