👩🏻‍🍳 Zucchini Boats

Hi there and thanks for stopping by!

I swear Ciao Bella isn’t turning solely into a cooking blog, but I have certainly enjoyed playing around a lot more in the kitchen since I’ve been spending so much time at home.

If you have oodles of late-season zucchini hanging around and you’re out of ideas, this zucchini boat recipe is perfect. All your food groups covered in one dish, it’s meaty and cheesy and savory all while still being quite light. There’s a lot of steps but it is a simple recipe with few ingredients, and only dirties a baking dish and a pan. It sure is a crowd pleaser at my house!

Let’s get cooking!

Zucchini Boats-

Ingredients-

4 zucchini, cut lengthwise and scooped out (save the insides)

1/2 onion, diced

1 lb ground turkey (beef or Italian sausage would also work well-just be sure to drain off the fat)

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp oregano

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 c breadcrumbs (I prefer Panko, but any kind of breadcrumbs would be ok)

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Method-

-Preheat oven @ 375F. Place zucchini cut side up in a baking dish. Add about 1 inch water, cover in foil and bake for 20 minutes (This helps the zucchini become tender while prepping the other ingredients. This step can be omitted if you like your zucchini less soft.)

-Meanwhile, sauté onion and zucchini insides in a large pan with a little butter or oil, until onion is translucent.

-Add and sauté ground turkey until cooked. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic powder.

-Remove pan from heat and mix in breadcrumbs, 1 c mozzarella and about 1/3 jar of tomato sauce.

-Remove zucchini “boats” from oven and drain water. Spread the remaining tomato sauce in the bottom of baking dish.

-Scoop the filling into each zucchini half and nestle them side by side in baking dish.

-Top with remaining mozzarella and bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.

-Enjoy!

This is one of my very favorite weeknight meals. It’s excellent paired with some garlic bread and the leftovers reheat very well. I hope you give it a try!

Thanks for reading, have a fabulous day. :)