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4.6 from 72 votes

Ground Beef Stuffed Zucchini Boats Recipe

Stuffed zucchini with meat and cheese, baked in a casserole dish with a flavorful tomato sauce. This is a zero-waste recipe!

Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr
Servings: 4 zucchini boats
Calories: 359 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French , American

Ingredients

Stuffed Zucchini
  • 2 Medium zucchini *see Notes
  • ½ Pound ground beef
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
  • 1 Teaspoon onion powder *see Notes
  • 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Oregano or Marjoram or Savory Herb *see Notes
  • 1 Teaspoon basil fresh or dried
  • ½ Teaspoon rosemary fresh or dried
  • ½ Cup shredded cheese *see Notes
Sauce *see Notes
  • 1 Cup tomato sauce *see Notes
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
  • 1 Tablespoon Oregano or Marjoram or Savory Herb Fresh *see Notes for dry
  • ½ Teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ Teaspoon garlic powder
Topping
  • ½ Cup shredded cheese
  • 2 Tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Prep Zucchini
    Cup of Yum
  1. Rinse and pat dry zucchini.
  2. Cut ends off zucchini and cut it into half.
  3. Arrange Zucchini halves in your baking dish. Cut the 4th one a bit short so that it fits there. Slice the remaining zucchini piece that didn't fit, it will be added to the sauce afterward.
  4. Hollow out zucchini. Collect fruit pulp.
  5. Spread zucchini pulp between 2 bowls. One is for the stuff, the other for the sauce. Add the sliced zucchini parts to the bowl for the sauce.
Prep Stuffing
  1. Add ground beef, seasoning, and cheese to one of the bowls with the zucchini.
  2. Combine ground meat stuffing.
Prep Sauce
  1. In the second bowl, add tomato sauce and seasoning to the zucchini pulp.
  2. Combine everything well.
Put it all together
  1. Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit/ 200 Celsius.
  2. Stuff zucchini with the meat filling.
  3. Spread the sauce around/between the zucchini.
  4. Top boats with cheese and sprinkle some olive oil over all that.
  5. Bake your zucchini boat at 400 Fahrenheit/ 200 Celsius for about 20 minutes or until golden on the top.
  6. Serve up hot.

Notes

  • Use ground beef with 15-20% fat. You can use a blend of beef and pork meat too (that's how it's done in France). That way the dish will be more flavorful and the meat won't dry out.
  • I love to use fresh herbs in this dish, but you are free to use dried ones too. My choice is savory herb (yep that's a herb variety) but oregano or marjoram are great in this recipe too! You can mix and match between these three herbs. For the basic recipe, use 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs OR 1 Teaspoon dried herbs of your choice or a blend of the ones that I gave you.
  • The sauce is optional but serving the zucchini boats with the sauce is better. The dish feels more complete that way.
  • This recipe is meant to cut down on the prepping time. Hence, why I don't use fresh onions and garlic and instead chose to add dried onion and garlic powder. Not having to cut onion and garlic small saves you at least 5–10 minutes. You are free to use fresh garlic instead of dried garlic in the dish if you like.
  • Pick your favorite grated cheese for this recipe. I like to use something like cheddar, mozzarella cheese, or emmental.

Nutrition Information

Calories 359kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 11g (4%) Protein 22g (44%) Fat 26g (40%) Saturated Fat 10g (50%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 12g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 62mg (21%) Sodium 1332mg (56%) Potassium 699mg (20%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 5g (10%) Vitamin A 723IU (14%) Vitamin C 22mg (24%) Calcium 357mg (36%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4zucchini boats

Amount Per Serving

Calories 359

% Daily Value*

Calories 359kcal 18%
Carbohydrates 11g 4%
Protein 22g 44%
Fat 26g 40%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 12g 60%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 62mg 21%
Sodium 1332mg 56%
Potassium 699mg 15%
Fiber 3g 12%
Sugar 5g 10%
Vitamin A 723IU 14%
Vitamin C 22mg 24%
Calcium 357mg 36%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.