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These Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a healthy, flavorful meal, that’s keto friendly and low-carb. It’s an easy weeknight dinner option that only takes 5 minutes to prepare and cooks in just 30 minutes.
Simple Stuffed Zucchini Boats
I absolutely love zucchini. It has to be one of the most versatile vegetables out there! It can be found in rice form, noodle form, served as fries, and now as boats!
These Zucchini Boats are so easy to make and it’s a great way for me to sneak more veggies into my family’s life. They love that they get to eat a “boat” and because it’s smothered in a zesty pasta sauce and melted cheese, they don’t even notice that it’s a vegetable! I love it because it’s ready in under 30 minutes and totally diet-friendly and low-carb. Everyone wins!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Quick prep and cook time
- Healthy dinner option
- Keto & diet-friendly
- Low carb dinner
- Easy to double this recipe for a bigger group
- All in one meal, no need to make side dishes
- Kid-approved (great way to get them to enjoy veggies)
Ingredients/Shopping List
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1½ cups pasta sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- 3 zucchini
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp parsley
- Salt and Pepper to taste
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How to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats Recipe
This recipe is so simple to put together quickly. The prep time takes only 5 minutes. Then, just pop it in the oven and let it bake for 30-35 minutes.
Melt butter and add onion and garlic to cook.
Cook chicken in the pan.
Add pasta sauce to simmer.
Add mozzarella cheese and stir. Remove from heat.
Cut the zucchini down the middle lengthways and scoop out the insides to make a boat.
Pro-Tip: When scooping out the inside of the zucchini to make your boat, be sure that you scoop deep enough to hold the filling! Otherwise your ingredients will be spilling out all over the place.
Spoon the chicken mixture into each boat.
Top with parmesan.
Place in a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve immediately!
Pro-Tip: If you don’t like the zucchini to be too soft and prefer your it to have a bit of a crunch, take 5 minutes off the cooking time. Alternatively, if you like it softer, you can add 5 minutes to the cooking time.
Variations / Options / Add-ins
- GROUND CHICKEN: You could use ground chicken instead of breasts.
- GROUND BEEF & TURKEY: You could also substitute the chicken for ground beef or ground turkey in this recipe.
- PASTA SAUCE: You can totally change up the pasta sauce in this recipe! There are so many different types of red sauce that have added ingredients and flavors.
- VEGETARIAN: While I haven’t tried it, this recipe is fairly easy to make as a vegetarian option. You can use a mixture of eggs, breadcrumbs, and parmesan to make your filling, or simply swap out the meat for a mixture of veggies like mushrooms, onion, and tomato!
How to Store Leftover Zucchini Boats
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The chicken sauce could also be made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months. Zucchini is not very good frozen, it becomes mushy when you try to thaw it. So, it’s best to buy it fresh for this recipe.
Other Easy Low-Carb Recipes
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese | Chaffle| Whole Roasted Cauliflower Head | Sheet Pan Stir Fry | Simply the Best Cauliflower Pizza Crust | Easy Vegetable Chowder | Cauliflower Fried Rice | Cloud Bread | Zucchini Noodles | Stuffed Celery | Zucchini Fritters
Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb chicken breasts chopped into small pieces
- 1½ cups pasta sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- 3 zucchini sliced in half lengthways
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° degrees.
- Melt butter in a skillet and add chopped onion. Cook until translucent.
- Add garlic and cook a further 2 minutes.
- Add Chicken and brown on all sides. Add Pasta sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add Mozzarella cheese, stir into sauce and remove from heat.
- Cut Zucchini down the middle lengthways.
- Use a spoon (or melon ball tool) to remove the inside. Scoop out to create little boats.
- Place facing up in a baking dish and sprinkle salt and pepper.
- Spoon the chicken mixture into each boat and top with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove and serve immediately.
Made this with ground chicken. So easy and yummy!!
Looks very tasty