This low-carb, Italian-inspired dish has so much going for it! The filling for these Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats has lean ground turkey and fresh veggies, all topped with melted cheese and toasted bread crumbs. Less guilt but tons of flavor.
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These Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats have changed my feelings when it comes to Italian food. And, I have some pretty serious feelings on the subject. That’s kind of a big deal, isn’t it?
When I crave Italian I immediately think of rigatoni, spaghetti, penne, or how about ravioli in a tomato cream sauce sprinkled with plenty of fresh basil and shaved Parmesan. I mean, come on!
I never thought I could get the same level of serious contentment and satisfaction with a dish that doesn’t involve pasta.
That changed when I tried stuffing zucchini with a delicious mixture of lean ground turkey, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, cremini mushrooms, all simmered with a simple jarred marinara. Okay, so there is cheese on top, but I went with part-skim mozzarella and just enough Parmesan to add a sharp, salty bite.
Loaded with nutrition and all in all, pretty darn good for ya!
Be sure to watch the quick how-to video in the recipe card below for my tips on how to cleanly and easily scoop the zucchini and prepare the filling.
Another great aspect of this tasty stuffed zucchini – there’s really no need to prepare a separate veggie side dish. By all means, you can, but this dish is a vegetable and entrée all in one. Add a simple side like rice and a glass of big, bold red wine and I’m a happy girl.
If you like these, you’re going to love my Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats!
Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Video
Ingredients
- 3 medium, uniformly-sized zucchini
- 24 to 26 ounce jar tomato basil marinara, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
- ⅓ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped brown button (cremini) mushrooms
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shaved or shredded Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons Italian style panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Measure out 1 cup of the marinara sauce and set aside.
- Trim ends from zucchini and slice in half, lengthwise. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape out the zucchini flesh (see recipe note), chop it and set it aside. Place the scooped out zucchini boats into a 13- x 9-inch baking dish and add about 1-inch of water. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until just slightly fork-tender. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, add olive oil to a 12-inch skillet and place over MEDIUM heat. Add turkey (or beef), onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring to break up the ground meat as it cooks. Continue to cook and stir until meat is thoroughly cooked and veggies have softened. Drain off as much grease as possible and return the skillet to the heat.
- Add the chopped zucchini flesh, mushrooms, remaining marinara in jar (reserve 1 cup for later), parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and allow to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Remove partially cooked zucchini from baking dish and pour off water. Pour the 1 cup of reserved marinara sauce into the empty baking dish and place zucchini boats on top of the sauce.
- Divide the filling between the zucchini boats. If you have extra filling, spoon it into the dish around the zucchini boats. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 20 minutes, or until zucchini is fork tender. Remove dish from oven and set oven to BROIL.
- Remove foil and sprinkle zucchini boats with mozzarella, Parmesan and the panko bread crumbs. Place dish in oven, watching closely, and cook for just a couple of minutes until cheese has melted and bread crumbs are golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
These were terrific!!
Substituted the Turkey for Italian Sausage. Yummmmm.
It would be wonderful with Italian sausage. Thanks, Pops! 🙂
This looks wonderful. Can it be frozen?
If were to freeze this recipe I’d be inclined to just freeze the meat mixture and then scrape out fresh zucchini for filling when ready to bake.
These were EXCELLENT! Used lean ground beef.
Fantastic! Thanks, Val 🙂
Turkey has like 9 calories less that ground beef. Why torture yourself? Leave one forkful on the plate and use real food
We love ground turkey recipes here! This isn’t a sacrifice for me, it is a preferred choice for this recipe and many others. Turkeys everywhere are offended that you don’t hold them in the same esteem as cows 🙂
Turkey is real food….
Turkey is real food and won’t clog your arteries like ground beef – not to mention pink slime and a host of other problems.
Some of us can’t eat red meat due to ditary problems.
Do you eat the whole Zucchini or just the stuffing?
The whole shebang, Lori!
Loved it! Thanks! My only problem with it is that the recipe isn’t easily printed.
All the recipes on my site are printable, Michelle. Just look for the “Print” icon just below the photo on the recipe card.
go to bottom of page to recipe and in a small gray box under picture it says print. very easy , good luck
If you are using an iPad you need to click on the 3 dots next to the forward arrow in the top right corner of the screen and scroll down to “Open in Safari”. After you open in Safari – if you click on the word print it will work.
Can these be frozen? I am single and could not eat all up before they go bad. Thanks!
I haven’t tried freezing them but if I did, I’d be inclined to portion out and freeze the filling by itself. That way you could use fresh zucchini and just the amount of filling you need for a meal.
I have frozen my stuffed zucchini & yellow squash boats. They reheat just fine. Almost as good as when frehsly made.
I’ve frozen and they reheat perfect!!
Fantastic! Thanks so much, Gina 🙂
Why wouldn’t they be? It’s just cooked meat and vegetables. Cook them let them cool then portion them into freezer bags and freeze. To reheat just microwave on high for a few minutes.
Wow that some people are so helpless about cooking!
Some high water content vegetables, like zucchini, might not fare that well after freezing and defrosting so I think it’s a very valid question. My preference would be to use fresh zucchini but I totally get the convenience of frozen food.
No need to shame people for asking a common question. Not everything freezes well.
Yes, Kate! This is the place to ask questions and I hope I can help anyone find their answers. I appreciate so much my generous readers who come back and share their experience after making my recipes. Reader input makes this site even more valuable to everyone. 🙂
Why the rudeness? BE KIND
Why the rudeness, people ask because they don’t know.
This is I fantastic recipe and thank you ?. Whether you freeze it or not it is deelicious!!! I added garlic ,fresh basil and a little Guyer cheese. There are so many ways to create a beautiful tasty dish using herbs!! Good eats, Mangia Bene as we Italians say!!!!
This recipe was amazing – so tasty! Thanks!
You’re so welcome, Joy. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This was delicious! Thank you
You got it, Tanya!
Can you provide the nutritional value? I need it for a program I am doing. Thank u!
I don’t provide nutritional information at this time, Aimee. There are a variety of nutritional calculators available online. You should be able to locate one with a quick Google search.
Can this be frozen before baking?
I haven’t tried freezing them but if I did, I’d be inclined to portion out and freeze the filling by itself. That way you could use fresh zucchini and just the amount of filling you need for a meal.
Why on Earth would you freeze it before cooking? You should cook it and then freeze it and then to reheat simply microwave.
Due to popular demand, I have updated this recipe to include the nutritional information!
What is the serving size?
The recipe makes a total of 6 servings – 1 zucchini boat per serving.
Oops. I guess I thought I was three people. They were so good!
Haha! Thanks, Mike. 🙂
healthy and tasty! thanks for the recipe! gotta try it!
Yummy