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Vegetarian Zucchini Boats Recipe

June 29, 2018 by Helene Dsouza 8 Comments

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Helene Dsouza
A meatless, veg easy recipe for zucchini boats with just a handful of ingredients. Stuffed and baked, this summer will be your zucchini season!
Total Time: 35 minutes
4.43 from 7 votes
Jump to Recipe
easy boats with squash

Zucchini Boats are a great family dinner meal and that’s how my mum would get us kids to eat our veggies.

The stuffing is completely vegetarian, skinny, healthy, and includes cheese.

zucchini boats stuffed bird view

Preparing baked stuffed zucchini boats for dinner is the best way to use up this amazing vegetable!

For that, I share an easy vegetarian meatless Meditteranean zucchini boat version with tomato and cheese.

Zucchini boats were a summer staple in our home, as were meals such as the classic quiche lorraine.

How to make Zucchini boats?

Zucchini Boats are easily prepared from scratch!

These are quick instructions to help you decide if you want to make this tonight.

The complete recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.

Step 1

Rinse your zucchini, cut into half lengthwise.

Place Zucchini into a baking dish, scrape out the flesh to create “boats”.

cut zucchini lengthwise and hollow out

Step 2

Collect zucchini flesh with the other stuffing ingredients in a bowl and combine.

prepare zucchini boat stuffing by mixing ingredients together in a bowl

Step 3

Place stuffing into the zucchini. Sprinkle some cheese over that and olive oil

Bake until cooked through and golden.

stuff hollow zucchini boats

Flavor variations

You can choose your seasoning in this vegetarian recipe.

I recommend adding Italian seasoning, herb de Provence or something like a Mediterranean seasoning.

You can use oregano too and/ or basil and to make it spicy add taco seasoning or cayenne pepper.

You can add the following ingredients to these zucchini boats. These are vegetarian meatless recommendations (sticking to the theme).

  • jalapenos – for extra heat and a Mexican touch
  • mushrooms – sliced
  • parmesan – for Italian flavors
  • ricotta cheese – for a creamy stuffing
  • cooked quinoa or rice – if you have leftovers to use
zucchini boats close up baked

What zucchini to get?

The perfect zucchini length is 10 inches/26 centimeters. This length is easier to turn into boats.

Smaller zucchini have softer skin and the flesh tends to be tender as well. The squash will cook faster and better through.

Remember to pick only organic untreated/unwaxed Zucchini if you buy them from a store because you will be using unpeeled zucchini.

If you have grown big sized Zucchini, you can use those as well.

But you will need to peel large zucchini because the bigger the zucchini the more bitter and fibrous the skin gets.

My mum would always prepare zucchini boats with large zucchinis, so she would peel them, quarter or cut even smaller if necessary and hollow out as good as possible.

Then she would stuff the zucchinis just the way I am about to show you.

Serving suggestions

Serve up with cooked plain rice or aromatic rice.

Other side dishes such as couscous, wheat berries and polenta (grits) are also great with these stuffed zucchinis.

A simple green lettuce salad with a vinaigrette is another great addition.

Storage

How to store and warm up leftovers?

Place your leftovers into a fridge-friendly container. Keep container on a shelf in your fridge. Take out and warm-up in an oven-proof dish in your oven, in a skillet over the stovetop or in a microwave dish in the microwave.

Can you freeze your boats?

You can freeze your uncooked stuffed zucchini by placing them on a tray and keeping the tray in the freezer. When frozen hard, take them out and store in a freezer-friendly container or similar.

How to prepare frozen zucchini boats?

Place the frozen stuffed zucchini boats on a parchment laid out sheet pan and keep your oven preheated. Don’t thaw your zucchini, just bake it little more than the recommended time in the recipe until cooked through and golden on top.

More Recipes like this

  • Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Casserole
  • Baked Zucchini Casserole

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Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!

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easy boats with squash

Easy Zucchini Boats Recipe [Vegetarian]

A meatless, veg easy recipe for zucchini boats with just a handful of ingredients. Stuffed and baked, this summer will be your zucchini season!
4.43 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: how to make zucchini boats, vegetarian zucchini boats
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 boats
Calories: 157kcal
Recipe by: Helene Dsouza

Ingredients

  • 2 Zucchini *see Notes
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Onion chopped
  • 2 cloves Garlic chopped
  • 1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Cheese grated *see Notes
  • 1 Tablespoon dried herb blend Herb de Provence or Italian seasoning, *see Notes
  • 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Wash your Zucchinis well. Then cut lengthwise into half.
  • Spoon out the flesh and hollow out the zucchini so that you are left with the "boats".
  • Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit/180 Celsius.
  • The soft center of the zucchini can be cut roughly smaller. Collect flesh in a mixing bowl.
  • Add to the zucchini filling the black pepper, salt, chopped onion, garlic, tomato sauce, cheese (reserve a 1/3 of your cheese) and herb seasoning of your choice. Mix everything well.
  • Stuff your zucchini boats with the prepared filling and sprinkle the 1/3 of reserved grated cheese, which you didn't mix into the filling, over the stuffed vegetable boats.
  • Sprinkle some olive oil over the stuffed squash.
  • Bake the Zucchini for about 20-25 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit/180 Celsius. Golden brown or until done.

Notes

1. Smaller Zucchinis are better (see post for an explanation why). about 10 inches/25 centimeters
2. Use cheddar, mozzarella or gruyere cheese.
3. Choose your seasoning herb blend. I like to use herb de Provence or Italian seasoning. You can use pizza seasoning too or simply dried oregano.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Easy Zucchini Boats Recipe [Vegetarian]
Amount Per Serving (380 g)
Calories 157 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 4g20%
Cholesterol 15mg5%
Sodium 839mg35%
Potassium 411mg12%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 470IU9%
Vitamin C 22mg27%
Calcium 131mg13%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Comments

  1. Monica says

    October 21, 2020 at 2:57 am

    Can you use can diced tomatoes instead of sauce?

    Reply
    • Helene Dsouza says

      October 21, 2020 at 2:40 pm

      Yes you can use can diced tomatoes

      Reply
  2. Ryana says

    June 13, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    2 stars
    Cheese is NOT vegetarian. We don’t consume ANY animal products.

    Reply
    • Helene Dsouza says

      June 15, 2020 at 12:12 pm

      Cheese is vegetarian. Cheese is not vegan. The recipe is vegetarian but it doesn’t claim to be vegan. Please check online or in books for the difference between vegetarian and vegan. And please don’t rate the recipe if you haven’t tried it.

      Reply
  3. Sarah says

    July 18, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    5 stars
    I made this for a friend who just had a baby. She is vegetarian and this recipe was a big hit with her and her family!. Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Helene Dsouza says

      July 19, 2018 at 5:17 pm

      Hi Sarah glad to hear that the Zucchini Boats were appreciated and that you guys enjoy the recipe as much as I do. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  4. Jenni says

    July 18, 2018 at 11:34 am

    5 stars
    I LOVE zucchini and all ways to use them! This is so fun and creative to use them as a boat stuffed with all kinds of goodies! Totally trying this soon!

    Reply
  5. ANTARA ROY says

    July 5, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    Mouthwatering Pictures. Great. Thank you

    Reply

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