Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
These Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats are one of the most delicious things you can do with your summer zucchini. A wholesome, family-friendly dinner idea.
Servings: 6
Calories: 175kcal
Ingredients
- 3 medium uniformly-sized zucchini
- 16 ounce jar chunky salsa
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
- ⅓ cup diced yellow onion
- ⅓ cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 4 ounce can chopped olives drained
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles drained
- 1 tablespoon Homemade Taco Seasoning or store-bought
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
- ¼ cup crushed corn tortilla chips
Optional Toppings
- cilantro, green onion, sour cream, diced tomatoes, avocado
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- 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.
- Combine salsa and tomato sauce in a bowl. Measure out 1 cup and reserve for later.
- 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, diced green chiles, olives, salsa mixture (reserve 1 cup for later), taco seasoning, fresh ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, 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 salsa mixture 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 cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Place dish in oven, watching closely, and cook for just a couple of minutes until cheese has melted and tortilla chips are golden brown.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and green onion and serve.
- Top individual servings with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and additional crushed tortilla chips.
Video
Notes
My tip for scraping out zucchini flesh. Use a sharp knife to lightly score the zucchini to outline the area you want to scoop out being very careful not to cut through. You just want an outline. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape the flesh out and on to a cutting board.
Nutritional information was calculated based on using lean ground turkey.
Read labels to be sure all items are gluten-free, if necessary.
Nutrition
Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 272mg | Vitamin A: 435IU | Vitamin C: 11.6mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 0.8mg