Zucchini Boats
Cheesy, well seasoned, meat-filled zucchini halves are simplicity at it's best. These zucchini boats are healthy, filling, nutritious and delicious. Clean eating and gluten-free, they are a great week night meal.
Servings: 5
Calories: 411kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra light olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 small onion minced
- ¼ tsp celery seeds
- 1 medium carrots minced
- ¼ cup butternut squash cubed small (optional)
- 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
- ½ tsp Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp Dried Oregano
- ¼ tsp raw cane sugar
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 5 medium zucchini
- 1 cup shredded cheese Cheddar, Colby, Mozzarella or any semi-hard cheese of your choosing
To garnish: Chopped chives or parsley.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a large skillet on med-high heat, add the oil along with the minced onions, garlic, and celery seeds. Fry until fragrant.
- Add your carrots and squash and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Push your veggies to the sides of the pan and add the meat in the middle along with the spices (salt, pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, sugar). Break the meat up and allow it to cook until no longer pink.
- Incorporate the vegetables into the meat and add the tomato sauce along with the Worcestershire sauce. Cover and let your meat sauce simmer on low heat until the squash is fully cooked/softened before adding in the chopped parsley. (see note)
- While the meat simmers, prep your zucchini by thoroughly washing each one (see note). Then, slice off the ends and cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, carefully scrape out the insides and remove the seeds, leaving a hollow. Try to leave the top and bottom intact as this will keep the filling from spilling out.
- Fill your cored out zucchini halves with the meat mixture and top with shredded cheese.
- Place your zucchini boats onto a baking sheet or into a casserole dish and bake in pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Garnish with chives or parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
- Be sure to dice the squash small so that it cooks faster.
- If your meat sauce is drying out or doesn't have enough liquid in it, you can either add more tomato sauce or add in a touch of stock or bone broth.
- Be sure you thoroughly wash the zucchini to remove any wax or residue on the skins.
- Though the wax is food grade and edible, it's not always ideal to ingest so a great way to remove any wax is to set your zucchini into a bowl of warm water that contains 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar and 1 tbsp of baking soda. Let them soak for a minute before scrubbing them and rinsing them off.
- Alternatively you can use a vegetable peeler to peel the skins off or even peel alternating strips off if you like.
- Try adding a tbsp or two of BBQ sauce to your meat mixture for an extra kick of flavor.