Zucchini is in full swing this time of year so I wanted to share a recipe that would show case zucchini and get us all super excited about eating it!
These turkey stuffed zucchini boats are perfect, right?
Not only do they use up a ton of zucchini but they are super family friendly (my kids love them), can be prepared ahead of time and make great leftovers. Whats not to get excited about?
The only catch with this recipe is that it does require a bit of preparation time, but I promise you they are super easy to make, they just ask for a bit of your effort and attention.
You can easily swap out the turkey for ground beef, bison, or chicken and if you prefer a vegetarian option, quinoa or lentils could make a great stuffing as well. So as always, make them work for you.
And most importantly, enjoy.
Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini about 2 lbs.
- 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1/2 green pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup reserved zucchini meat from the center of zucchini
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 cup strained tomatoes
- 1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and pre-heat oven to 350.
- Slice zucchiniin halflength wise and use a spoon (or melon baller) to scoop out the center leaving about 1/4 inch zucchini shell all around (see video for demonstration). Be sure to save the zucchini you scooped out.
- Place zucchini in the pop of boiling for one minute. They go in and out.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat before adding in ground turkey. Using a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat into smaller pieces and cook until lightly browned.
- Add in garlic, onion, green peppers, zucchini meat, Italian seasoning, strained tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender and all the flavors have come together.
- Place zucchini halves in a baking dish and fill each zucchini boat with about 1/2 cup filling. Top each turkey stuffed zucchini boat with 1 tbsp. shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and everything has heated through. Enjoy!
suhani
Dani,
I am a vegetarian. Is there any possible way to substitute the turkey with a vegetarian option? Thanks!
Dani
I agree with Darren – you can do lentils, beans, quinoa, barley, faro, etc. OR perhaps some tofu or tempeh:)
Cat
Maybe I missed something in the recipe, wondering why you need a large pot of boiled water?
Dani
It is to bar boil zucchini before stuffing. You can skip it if you don’t want to do the extra step but your zucchini will be more al dente!
Elizabeth
Exactly! Kept rereading the directions! Makes no sense! Coming from someone who has to follow the directions to a “t” the boiling pot doesnt fit with anything in the directions.
Jaye
I was wondering the same thing! How long do you put the zucchini in the water?
Dani
Sorry for the confusion. I just fixed the recipe – the zucchini goes into the water for just one minute!
Darren Stehle
Great recipe and so easy to make!
Suhani, why not use a firm tofu that you can crumble in place of the ground turkey? Or you could mix ground nuts with beans, or lentils, barley or bulgur.
Dani
all great ideas!
Jen Standridge
Made these tonight, we can’t stop talking about how good and flavorful they are, and such low calories!
Dani
awesome! so glad to hear it!
suhani
Thanks both Darren and Dani. I am looking forward to using those choices to make this dish. 🙂
agnes
Hello, what kind of Italian seasoning do you recommend? Is there a specific brand? Thank you =]
Jules
Wow! These are delicious! We’re cutting out carbs for dinner and this was the first recipe I tried. So good, it’ll definitely be on high rotation. Next, I’m going to try a variation with zucchini noodles, turkey meatballs (using the meatball muffin recipe), tomato sauce (from this recipe) and cheese. Yum.
Dani
So glad you liked them! I’ve been dying to try zucchini muffins myself…
Sarah
I feel silly even asking this, but “strained tomatoes”? Is that canned diced tomatoes that have been drained or crushed tomatoes? Probably won’t make or break the final product but I wanted to check. 🙂 thanks!
Dani
/yes – very similar to crushed tomatoes but without the seeds. Honestly – crushed tomatoes would be perfect!
Kendall
When do you boil the zucchini and for how long?
Jacqui
Hi Dani,
I look forward to your emails every time and have passed many of your recipes along to friends and family. I have made the Zucchini Boats twice now. Didn’t have ground turkey so I used ground beef and just drained off the grease. The second time I made them I didn’t pull up your recipe. It is such an easy recipe I was so proud of myself for remembering how to do it. Something was lacking the second time though….what could it be?? I pulled up the recipe and realized I forgot the garlic!!! :/ How on earth did I forget that!? (Like you, I don’t think there is any dish I have ever made without fresh garlic.) So I gave them a good douse of garlic powder. It helped a lot but not quite the same. I won’t forget the garlic next time. Also, I like the idea of substituting the lentils or beans for meat (my boss is vegan) I’m so glad I found you!
Beth
Thanks for this recipe! All my family loved this yummy boats!
Kristen
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for this recipe. We talked about this recipe for 3 days after we made it, it was so flavorful and delicious. I can’t wait to make this again.
Sherry
Thanks dani..
Came out gr8…
🙂
Dani
Glad to hear it, Sherry!
joe
Why not use a blueberry pancake and deep fry it you vegan retards – I feel bad for Dani to have to see everyone’s “what ifs” and “what about my sensitive gastrointestinal issues?”
Judi
Made these for lunch today. They were awesome very flavorful. Will be making them again for sure. Great addition to my recipe book.
Dani
So glad you liked them Judi!!
Penny
Made the zucchini boats last night and they were very well received and filling die my family. Delicious!! Love your site! Thank you.
Dani
Thanks Penny! I love those zucchini boats too:)
Jess
Just made these tonight! They were so delicious. Would highly recommend. Served with brown rice and the meal was great. Even my 1.5 yr old devoured! Thanks for the recipe. We didn’t have the green peppers and it didn’t seem to make a difference. Also used a bit of garlic powder in the meat mixture. Yum!
Dani
So glad you all enjoyed them! They are a favorite in my house as well!
Kai
I was wondering if anyone has frozen these and, if so, how they proceeded and what the results were? 🙂
Cindy giron
Can I use Marinara sauce instead of tomatoes?
What tomatoe sauce do you recommend?
Thank you
Dani
Hi Cindy – that would definitely work. But you will have a saucy end result:) As for sauce I usually try to find brands that have under 6 grams of sugar per serving. Hope that helps!
Natalie E Kittrell
I’ve just finished my first week of CLEAN Eating… and THIS recipe has been an eye opener on how delicious and fun that simple, clean, whole foods can be. I’ve fixed this twice in this past week and I love it! Thank you for all the work you put into your videos…. PS – I love the Bloopers you add at the end… they make me laugh and realize you’re really just a normal, everyday woman like the rest of us, and not some perfect-Martha-Stewart-wanta-be. (lol) You’re just the best!!
Dani
Awe! Thanks so much Natalie – I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes!!