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Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats are the healthy weeknight meal you'll want to make again and again. This is a seriously easy recipe that's full of delicious flavor without all the guilt!
Zucchini Boats
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Try some of my other tasty zucchini recipes:
- Zucchini Pancakes
- Zucchini Soup
- Sautéed Vegetables
- Grilled Salmon with Summer Veggies
I'll be honest, zucchini isn't usually my go-to veggie. It's tasty enough, but squash and I have a spotty relationship. That being said, I think one of the best ways to enjoy zucchini is by making stuffed zucchini boats.
I decided to go with an Italian theme for these (what can I say, we cook what we know!). This is a variation of my Stuffed Peppers Casserole and it isso good! It comes together pretty quickly and easily but I went with more nutritious ingredients to eliminate the guilt.
Tips for making Baked Zucchini
- The easiest way to remove the zucchini seeds is to use a spoon to gently scrape them out.
- I bake these with the cut side up. Give them a quick spray with olive oil cooking spray and a sprinkle of salt and pepper for even more flavor before they go into the oven the first time.
- To measure the water, just fill the empty small sauce can half way. This helps get any leftover sauce out of the can and gives you the right amount of water.
- This is a great way to use leftover rice, but you can always buy one of the microwavable containers of rice, just be sure it's plain.
- Be sure to taste the filling before stuffing the zucchini and adjust the seasonings to your taste.
How do I prepare zucchini for stuffed zucchini?
The first thing I do is wash the zucchini. Then I cut each zucchini in half length-wise. Using a spoon, I scoop out the seeds from the middle to hollow them out (bring careful not to go all the way through). Then I place them cut-side up on a lines sheet pan. I spray with olive oil cooking spray and season lightly with salt and pepper and preface them so begin the cooking process while I prepare the filling.
Do I have to precook the zucchini?
I would recommend it so that the zucchini isn't overly crispy and undercooked.
Can I use a different meat?
Absolutely. If turkey isn't a thing, ground chicken or ground beef works just as well. You could even use Italian sausage, just remove it from the casings if it isn't already.
Can I use white rice?
Absolutely, just make sure it comes in cooked.
Do you eat the skin on zucchini boats?
Yes! You do not have to peel them.
Can I freeze zucchini boats?
I don't recommend freezing the actual zucchini as it will thaw to be soggy. But you can always make the filling and freeze that and then thaw when you're ready to make them.
Ingredients for making Stuffed Zucchini
- Zucchini
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Red pepper
- Garlic
- Ground turkey
- Salt
- Pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Romano cheese
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato
- Cooked rice
- Mozzarella cheese
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Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Jessy Freimann
Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats are the healthy weeknight meal you'll want to make again and again. This is a seriously easy recipe that's full of delicious flavor without all the guilt!
4.98 from 37 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Main, Main Course, Main dish
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 8 zucchini boats
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini, cleaned, halved length-wise and seeds scooped out.
- Cooking spray
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt + additional for precooking the zucchini
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper + additional for precooking the zucchini
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 Tablespoons Romano cheese
- 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 4 ounces water (½ of the empty tomato sauce can)
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and finely diced
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone liner.
Place zucchini halves cut-side up, onto the pan. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 minutes and then remove from the oven and set aside.
While the zucchini bakes, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add onion and peppers to the pan and saute for around 4 minutes to soften.
Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
Add ground turkey and brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon around 3-5 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and season with ½ teaspoon salt, 1/ teaspoon pepper, Italian seasoning, Romano cheese, sauce, water and diced tomato. Saute for 5-7 minutes.
Add cooked rice and stir to combine, remove from heat.
Divide mixture between each zucchini boat and sprinkle each with mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered for 15 more minutes and serve immediately.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Rosemary says
Love this recipe. It was so delicious, I wanted to keep eating it.
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Jessy Freimann says
Thanks Rosemary- so glad you love them!
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Terri says
This was sooo good. I used ground beef because that’s what I had at home. My husband and I loved it. Definitely will be making this one again. 😃
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Jessy Freimann says
I'm so glad you loved it Terri! I bet it was delicious with ground beef!
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Shelby says
I’ll be making these soon! What are some good sides that you like to make along side these?
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Jessy Freimann says
Hi Shelby- This would be excellent with a green salad (try my Summer Berry and Burrata Salad for a little extra sweetness) and also my Marinated Vegetable Salad is another good option if you don't want greens. Enjoy!
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Christie says
5 stars. The flavor was so delicious! Our family loved it! We used ground beef instead and also Parmesan as we had that on hand. Will definitely make again!
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Jessy Freimann says
So glad you liked it!
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Nancy Rybaski says
I have made this several times, usually with turkey Italian sausage and often use can diced tomatoes.
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Diane Driscoll says
Tried this recipe tonight. Used my homemade tomato sauce. My husband loved it. I had a very large zuchini and he ate 1 1/2 pieces. Will definitely make again. I used ground beef. Not fond of ground turkey. Very tasty and the zucchini still had a bit of a crunch. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Definitely a keeper
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Jessy Freimann says
So glad you enjoyed it! I bet it was even more delicious with homemade sauce and ground beef!
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Brianna Wheeler says
Very delicious! I’m wondering what can I do with the inside of the zucchini other then throwing it out?
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Jessy Freimann says
You can probably chop it up and add it, although if the zucchini is large, the seeds may add an undesirable texture.
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Valeria Allison says
I made this and it was delicious. I used loose Italian sausage instead. Turned out great!!!
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Jessy Freimann says
Thanks Valerie- so glad you enjoyed it!
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Sucheta says
I used crumbled cottage cheese instead of ground turkey to make a vegetarian option. It turned out very good. Very easy to make and you can’t go wrong.
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Jessy Freimann says
Thank you for sharing- it sounds like a really tasty substitution!
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Tonja LeBoeuf says
This is amazing!! We used Sweet Italian Sausage and it turned out amazing! Then we didn’t have to add the Italian seasonings to it. We are making a bunch and freezing them because we love this recipe so much! Thank you for sharing
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Jessy Freimann says
That sounds delicious- good call Tonja! So glad you loved it!
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Diana says
Wow, so yummy! Clearing out the garden I found one of those surprise zucchinis, the extra large ones and used it for this recipe. Made it pretty close to the recipe but didn't need extra water. Have been looking for a really good idea to use the big veggies and this is it for sure. Definitely be making it again, thanks so much!
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Jessy Freimann says
Woohoo- jackpot find into a great dinner- so glad you loved it!
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Destiny Coleman says
Delicious delicious delicious this is so good I can barely type this omg
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Jessy Freimann says
Awwwww this totally made my day, Destiny- thanks for sharing and I'm so glad you loved it!
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Sharon Welshimer says
Delicious! I used Turkey Italian sausage and fresh grated Parmesan as substitutions. My zucchini must have been smaller, I ended up freezing enough for a second batch of the stuffing for another meal. Either that or it may have been a slightly larger than 1 lb. (18.5 oz.) Turkey Italian sausage package combined with using a half large onion and a half large red pepper -what I had on hand. I used 3 cloves of minced garlic since I had larger stuffing going. Worked out well. Next time I just need to prepare the zucchini and stuff them for a quick meal night.
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Jessy Freimann says
Sounds fantastic- so glad you loved it!
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Katie says
This was SOO good!!! I couldn’t stop eating the filling! I put the zucchini remnants from carving out the boats for extra veggies. This was really unexpectedly crazy delicious, thank you!!!
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Jessy Freimann says
Yay! So glad you loved it! Yes, the filling is dangerously addictive!
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Joan says
If you can get a 12 year old to eat it , it’s gotta be good ...Just made a couple changes from what was on hand .Hot Italian sausage,no pepper we are not fans, homemade sauce and brown rice..Was so good , a side salad what else do you need ??perfect and delicious a definite keeper ..Thanks
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Jessy Freimann says
Wow- what a compliment- thank you Joan! So glad you loved it- sounds like you made some delicious changes <3
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Colleen Riordan says
Picky-husband ate a second helping of this one, and 13-year old commented that he really liked the ground turkey! I was glad this made so much so that I can have leftovers for lunch. For the ingredients in this recipe that can be prepped ahead of time, I would also recommend added the rice to the pre-prepped items (unless of course, one were to purchase already cooked rice, which works great too). I cooked my rice as I was cooking everything else, which worked out fine, but it would have been one less thing to juggle by grabbing the pre-cooked rice out of the fridge and tossing it in. Great recipe!
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Jessy Freimann says
Thanks so much Colleen! I'm so glad you loved it <3 I'll go add that to the prep ingredients- thanks so much for the idea! :)
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Scot says
So, there were not any "seeds" in the zucchinis... but I guess I still need to scoop out some "zucchini" in order to make a "boat" to put the turkey mixture in. Not sure what to do with the zucchini that I scoop out, maybe cook it up with the turkey?
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Jessy Freimann says
Yes, you'll want to scoop out some of the center to make a boat. You could probably add it to the mixture if you want to, but I typically dispose of it.
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Kelly says
This was delicious! I used pork mince and used all the internals of the zucchinis plus added some left over grated carrot I had. I also used 3 cups of rice as I wanted to use all my left overs. I had so much left over mixture that I was able to freeze enough for another entire meal!
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Jessy Freimann says
Hi Kelly- that sounds like some seriously great additions, good thinking! So glad you loved it!
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Nadia Robert says
This recipe was perfect! My whole family enjoyed this dinner! I just substituted Italian sausage and followed everything else as listed in the recipe. Will surely make again and again!
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Jessy Freimann says
Yay- so glad you loved it Nadia- I bet it was fantastic with sausage!
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Frances Remick says
THIS CAME OUT AWESOME!!! Ty very much for sharing!
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Jessy Freimann says
Woohoo! So glad you loved it Frances!
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Barbara Forgione says
I made this recipe using chicken sausage instead of ground turkey and it was absolutely delicious.It’s my new favorite dish.
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Jessy Freimann says
Yum- I bet it was awesome with chicken sausage! So glad you loved it!
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Sabrina says
Dear Lamb of GOD this was DELICIOUS!!!!!! I ate 4 boats🤣🤣. I went from liking zucchini to LOVING IT!!! ❤ This is BeyondD e L I c I o u s!!!!!
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Jessy Freimann says
Awwwwww thanks so much Sabrina- you totally made my day <3
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Maryann Kerneckel says
I have made these for years. I scoop out the insides and add to the meat mixture. Some times I add sliced deli pepperoni diced. I use chicken broth instead of water and two long sleeves of ritz crackers crumbled. This gives more body to it. Also in summer I use extra large zucchini from a farm. The bigger the better.
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Martha says
Made this for my husband this evening and he loves it! Very good! Will make again. Thank you for such a good, healthy recipe!
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Martha says
This recipe is a keeper! So good and makes the house smell amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
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Deborah says
I recently made this recipe and it was delicious.
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Amanda says
We have made this a staple recipe in our house. We love it!
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Cheri says
This has become one of our favorites! I make it with ground beef and sweet Italian sausage…it is so delicious! I even made this filling minus the rice and used it in my lasagna. Was the best lasagna I’ve ever made.
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Rachel says
This is one our favorite recipes. Been making it for 2-3 yrs. I add a little crushed red pepper for a little spice.
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Danielle Smith says
Absolutely love this recipe but I use Italian sausage. Mmmm best ever
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Karin Scott says
Delicious! A great way to use smaller zucchini!
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Barbie says
I made this twice and my family loves it, it's a keeper!!!
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Kathie says
It was good, I substituted a couple of items as I didn't have the exact ingredients. I used ninja foodie as it is 85 degrees today. I would definitely try again and use the oven.
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Nancy LaFalce says
Excellent! We enjoyed it very much and will make it again.
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Donna George says
Loved it, making it again, in the past 2 weeks.
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4.98 from 37 votes (17 ratings without comment)
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