by HollyStuffed Zucchini Boats are the perfect way to enjoy your fresh summer zucchini!
Tender zucchini filled with a silky meat sauce, topped with cheese and baked until tender.
Serve this easy dish with a side salad and garlic bread for the perfect family meal!
Of all of the things that grow in my garden, the herbs and the zucchini have to be my absolute favorites (ok, and the tender baby carrots). There are a million different things you can do with zucchini from sweet (like Zucchini Brownies) to savory including this recipe.
With a garden FULL of delicious zucchini I often make a loaf of Pumpkin Zucchini Bread since it is moist and delicious and freezes perfectly. I also shred and freeze zucchini for future baking or even to add into homemade pasta sauces (it’s a great way to add bulk to a meal). I’ve got some great tips on How to Freeze Zucchini here.
As much as I love zucchini in baking, I also love to enjoy it fresh out of the garden for dinner. I have been making stuffed zucchini boats for years, it’s easy and delicious and the perfect way to enjoy the bounty from my garden!
A quick and simple meat sauce spooned into zucchini boats and topped with a little bit of cheese. These stuffed zucchini are baked until tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
More Ways to Enjoy Fresh Zucchini
- Creamy Zucchini Noodles: Ready in 3 Minutes these easy zucchini noodles can be made with or without a spiralizer!
- Crispy Oven Baked Parmesan Zucchini Fries These easy parmesan zucchini fries are so good you’d never know they’re baked and not fried!
- Parmesan Chicken Foil Packets: Zucchini is the perfect addition to these quick and easy foil packets. We love to serve them over spaghetti!
- Zucchini Brownies If you’ve never had zucchini brownies, you’ve been missing out! They’re so moist topped with a perfect 1 Minute Frosting!
- Zucchini Soup This soup is creamy, flavorful, and freezer friendly!
I’ve included directions below for my quick stovetop meat sauce but if you happen to have leftover meat sauce (or even some in the freezer) you can most certainly use that… leftover chili works too!
This recipe is easy to make and you can add any chopped veggies into the sauce that you’d like. Once I scoop the middle out of the zucchini and chop up the core and add it to the beef while it’s cooking.
Easy Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tomato diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 cup pasta sauce or marinara divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Brown ground beef, onion and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Stir in ½ cup pasta sauce, tomato, bell pepper and Italian seasoning. Let simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ½ of the cheese.
- Slice zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the center to create a shell and place in a baking dish. Fill each zucchini with ¼ of the beef mixture.
- Spread the remaining ½ cup pasta sauce over the zucchini boats and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake 25 minutes or until zucchini is soft and cheese is bubbly.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Repin this Super Dinner Recipe
Amazing recipes and so easy.
❤️
Pretty good! I think my zucchini was a bit past it’s prime, but overall very enjoyable. We added Parmesan cheese for extra flavor. Will also be good tomorrow for leftovers!
I used leftover roast beef instead of ground beef and it turned out delicious. Thank you for your recipes.
This saucy stuffed zucchini looks delicious. Thanks for sharing this stuffed zucchini recipe with all of us. My whole family llove this stuffed zucchini recipe. Even i have a special stuffed zucchini with italian sausage as well.
Just made this tonight due to a huge zucchini in our garden!
The recipe was great, but I had to cook it twice as long
I think next time I’d half-bake the zucchini while making the beef .. so it’s done at the same time :)
Thanks for this recipe. I put the scooped zucchini together with the meat so as not to waste it. Also, I used 4 zucchinis as there were leftover meat. Maybe my zucchinis weren’t that big enough. And half-half ground pork and beef.
My husband loved it. I prepared it as a side dish.
For us beginners, what is done with the olive oil? Put it in the pan before you add the meat or put it in the casserole dish before you add the zucchini?
Apologies for the confusion Christy, the recipe has been updated. In the original version, we cooked the onion in olive oil but found it was easier to save a step and cook it with the beef. I hope that helps!
My daughter gave me two LARGE zucchinis from her garden, so I needed a recipe to cook them. Your Stuffed Zucchini Boats recipe sounds easy and delicious! I’m trying it tonight.
Thanks.
Kathleen
Enjoy it Kathleen, it’s definitely delicious!
are you cooking the inside of the zucchini and adding it to the boat filing
While the recipe doesn’t call for cooking the inside, it can definitely be chopped up and cooked with the bell pepper and sauce.
Tried your zucchini boats and my family loved them ! Used eggplant and ground chicken as was in house. Looking forward to trying more recipes. I live your videos, quick, simple and no fluff for busy working mom. Thank you!
Thank you so much!! So glad your family loved them, Cassidy!
Looking forward to ur recipes
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These were amazing! I followed the advice of one reviewer and par-baked the zucchini boats first for about 8 mins. I added mushrooms to the sauce, as well as Mike’s hot honey for a little kick and sweetness. I topped everything off with mini marinated mozzarella balls cut into pieces since I had some on-hand. These will definitely be a staple in our household from now on!
That sounds so delicious Diana! Thanks for sharing