Stuffed Zucchini Boats

This dish is the perfect all-in-one vegetable and meat combo. Perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Zucchini is such a versatile vegetable. We love the Italian classic eggplant rolatini, and is similar to this recipe, but a little more involved. For this dish, homemade marinara is awesome, but top-notch bottled marinara will work, too. It’s the perfect meal for a busy weeknight dinner!

How To Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats

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The Ingredients You Will Need

This recipe is humble, yet delicious and very filling. Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand:

Zucchini – You’ll need to scoop the seeds out of the center of each boat. Save for a smoothie, or simply discard.
Oil – Olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil is recommended.
Seasonings – Salt and pepper.
Onion – Chopped.
Garlic – Minced.
Italian sausage – Sweet, hot, or mild. Go with your favorite. If the sausages are in links, simply use a sharp knife to remove the casings.
Marinara sauce – Homemade is wonderful, but a good-quality bottled marinara will work just fine.
Basil – Fresh is best but dried will work, too.
Mozzarella – Freshly shredded is best.
Parmesan cheese – Freshly grated is best.

EXPERT TIP: We recommend cutting off the ends of each side of the zucchini before cutting it in half, lengthwise. Use the end of a spoon to scoop out the seeds. This gets rid of the seeds, but also creates a ‘boat’ for the sauce to go into.

Tips for Making Perfect Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Choose the Right Zucchini – Select medium-sized zucchini that are firm and free from blemishes. They should be large enough to hold a good amount of stuffing but not so large that they become watery. Cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds to create a well for the filling.

Flavor the Filling – Sauté the Italian sausage with onions, garlic, and your choice of herbs (like oregano and basil) before mixing it with the tomato sauce. This enhances the flavor of the filling and ensures that the sausage is fully cooked and well-seasoned before it goes into the zucchini. Fresh herbs are always best, but dried herbs will work, too.

Layer the Cheese – For a deliciously cheesy topping, sprinkle a layer of mozzarella cheese over the stuffed zucchini boats, followed by a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden, which adds a rich flavor and appealing texture to the dish. If browning too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of the baking.

EXPERT TIP: Place the zucchini boats in a dish that is just wide enough to hold them so that they are holding themselves upright. Depending on how many boats you are preparing, you may need to use two dishes (or baking pans).

How To Serve

These boats make for a wonderful meal. Two boats are an ideal serving for adults and hungry kids.

You could serve it with a nice green salad and warm bread for the perfect meal.

We love to place them on a large platter and let folks serve themselves. Be sure to hold on to that extra marinara and make a small pool on everyone’s plate to rest the boats on.

Freshly grated parmesan is wonderful to have at the table for additional cheese.

EXPERT TIP: Chopped fresh mozzarella is a wonderful topping, but, for ease, pre-packaged shredded mozzarella is just fine. Freshly grated Parmesan brings it all together!

Other Wonderful Weeknight Dinner Recipes To Try

There’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal. But, sometimes, you don’t have a lot of time to prepare it. These recipes are family favorites, but are a snap to whip up!

• Easy Ravioli with Tomato Basil Sauce
• Chicken Spaghetti
• Baked Hot Honey Chicken
• Stuffed Bell Peppers with Turkey and Rice
• Homemade Hamburger Helper
• Slammin’ Sloppy Joes
• Best-Ever Tex-Mex Tostadas
• Salisbury Steaks with Mushrooms

These are all amazing and easy to prepare. But, in the meantime, isn’t this grabbing your attention?

We love this dish for so many reasons.

It’s easy. The ingredients are humble and wallet-friendly. It combines a vegetable and meat all in one dish. But most of all – it’s incredibly delicious!

And you can be sure that it will be a hit with your entire family! It’s really that good!

Ready to make the best weeknight dinner on the block? Go for it!

And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

This recipe is dinner perfection. It's easy and hits all the right notes. If you like your zucchini to be extra tender, then pre-bake them for about 10 minutes before adding the sauce. Two boats per serving are filling and so satisfying!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American / Italian

Keyword: easy weeknight dinner recipe, how to make stuffed zucchini boats

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4

Calories: 487kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

Equipment

• 1 large baking dish or 2 9x13 dishes

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 medium zucchini
• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil divided
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ Cooking spray
• ▢ 1 medium onion chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 lb Italian sausage
• ▢ 2 cups Marinara sauce plus extra for serving
• ▢ ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
• ▢ 1 cup mozzarella shredded
• ▢ ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated, plus extra for serving
• ▢ 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cut the ends off the zucchini and cut them in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds (discard). Brush 2 tbsp of the oil over the tops of the boats. Liberally season the tops with salt and pepper. Spray the dish (or dishes) with cooking spray and place the boats in the dish, arranging them so they are pressed against each other, allowing them to sit upright.
  4 medium zucchini, 3 tbsp olive oil, Salt and pepper, Cooking spray
• Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil over medium heat in a medium-size skillet. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring occasionally.
  1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic
• Add the sausage to the pan and use a wooden spatula to break the sausage up. Cook, stirring often, until no longer pink. Stir in the marinara sauce, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper. Bring to a simmer and then stir in the basil. Let simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.
  1 lb Italian sausage, 2 cups Marinara sauce, ¼ cup fresh basil
• Spoon the sauce into the zucchini boats (you may have leftover sauce). Sprinkle the mozzarella over the tops and then sprinkle on the grated Parmesan cheese.
  1 cup mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• Bake for 30 minutes. If the cheese starts to brown too much on top, loosely cover the dish with foil.
• Heat about a cup of remaining marinara while the boats are baking.
• Spoon a small pool of the warmed marinara on each plate and then top with 1 to 2 boats, per person. Garnish with parsley (if desired) and serve with additional grated Parmesan at the table.
  2 tbsp fresh parsley

Notes

See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. 

Depending on the size of the zucchini, they will become soft during the baking process, but not mushy at all. They will be a little firm, but still tender. If you prefer very soft zucchini, then pre-heat them in the dishes in the oven for 15 minutes before adding the filling. 

Leftovers are wonderful! Reheat in the oven (covered with foil) at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until heated through. They keep covered, in the fridge, for several days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 768mg | Potassium: 967mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1409IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 300mg | Iron: 4mg

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