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!
I made these today. They are excellent! I used 99% lean ground turkey seasoned with the spices as stated in the recipe along with seasoning salt, garlic powder, & garlic salt (I used these last 2 seasonings because I didn’t have garlic). I also used a green pepper instead of a red pepper (only because the green pepper was less expensive). I ate them with white rice and green beans.
I think the estimated time is way off. 20 minutes for the zucchini in the beginning, Brown the turkey then simmer for 15, fill the boats and cook for another 20, then melt the cheese… not to mention all of the vegetable prep work. This is closer to an hour or an hour and a half.
Yes, it took more than 25 minutes to prep – more like an hour, not counting cooking time. I only precooked the zucchini for 15 minutes as I didn’t want it overcooked. Turned out perfectly!
This is our favorite zuccini recipe ever! I make it at least once a week and it is always delicious! My oven broke and I couldn’t bake for a month, the first thing I made when I got a new range was this!
Delicious! Used ground beef because it was what I had, and it was fabulous! Trying to cut carbs but we love spaghetti, so I served it over 1 cup of spaghetti with plain sauce and it gave us our pasta fix, with the bonus of all the veggies and great flavor! Very filling, which was unexpected for my husband because he wanted to eat two but couldnt!
This was delicious. I used ground turkey and two Italian sausages, which I cooked down, along with fresh basil and parsley from my garden. The end result was fabulous. Thanks for sharing.
@valerie … i made this, again, last night and, as usual, it was a spectacular hit .. this time i added some of the italian sausages costco sells — broke up two and added to the burger ….
i have gone through a lot of recipes in the past few years {we have a lot of *brick bat* size zuch and this is how we deal with them!} and have only found one other recipe that softens the skin, boat. i have made it without softening the boat, but it comes out hard and no one really likes it .. softening the boat makes a HUGE difference in the taste — the zucchini is actually eaten — and the *likeability* of the dish …
thanks for this recipe, your patience in responding to the comments {i read a lot of them!!!}, and your time and trouble to include the nutritional info …
YES! Thank you so much, Darlene. I think that first step of softening the zucchini a bit is vital to the success of this recipe. You are so sweet and thoughtful. Thanks for your wonderful comment 🙂
This was the best zucchini ever! So yummy, my husband loved it too! I had leftover filling so I made more the next night it was that good! It is my new “lasagna” go to. Our Paleo eating friend loved them too! Great recipe, will not make any other recipe, as my husband said “why change a great thing”…..
The first time we made these, my 5 year old grandson who “hates zucchini and mushrooms” pronounced these “vegetable boats” (as we called them) wonderful. We liked them so much we are having them for supper again tonight, Thank you for a great dish!
That is adorable, Mary Jo! It warms my heart to hear how many little ones have been enjoying this dish. Thank you so much for your comment!
Deliciousness to the max! Honestly, the best zucchini boats I have ever had.
Thanks!!
Wow, just ran into this recipe a few weeks ago, and am making it for the third time! Thank you! My modification was with scooping out the Zucchini. I prefer to scoop it out with a spoon, just after I cut it open. I use a soup spoon for the larger zucchini, and a serving spoon for the skinny ones. Works like a charm. Then I invert the Zucchini in the dish and cook it that way for the first 20 minutes. Thank you so much for the idea!
Hi Valerie! LOVED this recipe! My daughter called and told me I had to make this delicious recipe she found on pinterest. When I found out it was from you, I knew it would be good. I love all your recipes 🙂
Hi Dawn! I’ve had several people stumble across this recipe the very same way. So funny! I’m glad you liked it and thank you so much for letting me know 🙂
I love that you use turkey! Lots of people like me are allergic to beef.
Could this dish be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated a few hours before baking it (adding some extra time to bake)? Thanks!
Absolutely! I might advise that you take a minute or two off the first bake of the zucchini as they might soften a bit as they sit in the fridge with the filling but the dish reheats beautifully so I think advance prep would work just fine.
Just wanted to thank you for your reply to my question. And I also wanted to let you know that I did prepare the recipe ahead, following your suggestions, and it turned out perfectly. It was delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
You are so welcome, Joyce!