Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats are the healthy weeknight meal you’ll want to make again and again. This is a seriously easy recipe that’s full of delicious flavor without all the guilt!
Zucchini Boats
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I’ll be honest, zucchini isn’t usually my go-to veggie. It’s tasty enough, but squash and I have a spotty relationship. That being said, I think one of the best ways to enjoy zucchini is by making stuffed zucchini boats.
I decided to go with an Italian theme for these (what can I say, we cook what we know!). This is a variation of my Stuffed Peppers Casserole and it is so good! It comes together pretty quickly and easily but I went with more nutritious ingredients to eliminate the guilt.
Tips for making Baked Zucchini
- The easiest way to remove the zucchini seeds is to use a spoon to gently scrape them out.
- I bake these with the cut side up. Give them a quick spray with olive oil cooking spray and a sprinkle of salt and pepper for even more flavor before they go into the oven the first time.
- To measure the water, just fill the empty small sauce can half way. This helps get any leftover sauce out of the can and gives you the right amount of water.
- This is a great way to use leftover rice, but you can always buy one of the microwavable containers of rice, just be sure it’s plain.
- Be sure to taste the filling before stuffing the zucchini and adjust the seasonings to your taste.
How do I prepare zucchini for stuffed zucchini?
The first thing I do is wash the zucchini. Then I cut each zucchini in half length-wise. Using a spoon, I scoop out the seeds from the middle to hollow them out (bring careful not to go all the way through). Then I place them cut-side up on a lines sheet pan. I spray with olive oil cooking spray and season lightly with salt and pepper and preface them so begin the cooking process while I prepare the filling.
Do I have to precook the zucchini?
I would recommend it so that the zucchini isn’t overly crispy and undercooked.
Can I use a different meat?
Absolutely. If turkey isn’t a thing, ground chicken or ground beef works just as well. You could even use Italian sausage, just remove it from the casings if it isn’t already.
Can I use white rice?
Absolutely, just make sure it comes in cooked.
Do you eat the skin on zucchini boats?
Yes! You do not have to peel them.
Can I freeze zucchini boats?
I don’t recommend freezing the actual zucchini as it will thaw to be soggy. But you can always make the filling and freeze that and then thaw when you’re ready to make them.
Ingredients for making Stuffed Zucchini
- Zucchini
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Red pepper
- Garlic
- Ground turkey
- Salt
- Pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Romano cheese
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato
- Cooked rice
- Mozzarella cheese
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Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats are the healthy weeknight meal you'll want to make again and again. This is a seriously easy recipe that's full of delicious flavor without all the guilt!
- 4 medium zucchini, cleaned, halved length-wise and seeds scooped out.
- Cooking spray
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt + additional for precooking the zucchini
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper + additional for precooking the zucchini
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 Tablespoons Romano cheese
- 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 4 ounces water (1/2 of the empty tomato sauce can)
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and finely diced
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone liner.
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Place zucchini halves cut-side up, onto the pan. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 minutes and then remove from the oven and set aside.
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While the zucchini bakes, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
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Add onion and peppers to the pan and saute for around 4 minutes to soften.
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Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
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Add ground turkey and brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon around 3-5 minutes.
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Reduce heat to medium and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/ teaspoon pepper, Italian seasoning, Romano cheese, sauce, water and diced tomato. Saute for 5-7 minutes.
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Add cooked rice and stir to combine, remove from heat.
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Divide mixture between each zucchini boat and sprinkle each with mozzarella cheese.
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Bake uncovered for 15 more minutes and serve immediately.
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28 Comments
Rosemary
March 29, 2020 at 7:07 am Love this recipe. It was so delicious, I wanted to keep eating it.Jessy Freimann
March 29, 2020 at 3:45 pm Thanks Rosemary- so glad you love them!Terri
May 1, 2020 at 8:41 pm This was sooo good. I used ground beef because that’s what I had at home. My husband and I loved it. Definitely will be making this one again. 😃Jessy Freimann
May 3, 2020 at 9:50 pm I'm so glad you loved it Terri! I bet it was delicious with ground beef!Shelby
June 9, 2020 at 5:07 pm I’ll be making these soon! What are some good sides that you like to make along side these?Jessy Freimann
June 14, 2020 at 2:05 pm Hi Shelby- This would be excellent with a green salad (try my Summer Berry and Burrata Salad for a little extra sweetness) and also my Marinated Vegetable Salad is another good option if you don't want greens. Enjoy!Christie
July 31, 2020 at 10:51 pm 5 stars. The flavor was so delicious! Our family loved it! We used ground beef instead and also Parmesan as we had that on hand. Will definitely make again!Jessy Freimann
August 8, 2020 at 1:03 pm So glad you liked it!Diane Driscoll
August 4, 2020 at 8:48 pm Tried this recipe tonight. Used my homemade tomato sauce. My husband loved it. I had a very large zuchini and he ate 1 1/2 pieces. Will definitely make again. I used ground beef. Not fond of ground turkey. Very tasty and the zucchini still had a bit of a crunch. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Definitely a keeperJessy Freimann
August 8, 2020 at 12:57 pm So glad you enjoyed it! I bet it was even more delicious with homemade sauce and ground beef!Valeria Allison
August 24, 2020 at 3:39 pm I made this and it was delicious. I used loose Italian sausage instead. Turned out great!!!Jessy Freimann
October 27, 2020 at 11:07 pm Thanks Valerie- so glad you enjoyed it!Sucheta
September 2, 2020 at 12:15 pm I used crumbled cottage cheese instead of ground turkey to make a vegetarian option. It turned out very good. Very easy to make and you can’t go wrong.Jessy Freimann
October 27, 2020 at 11:04 pm Thank you for sharing- it sounds like a really tasty substitution!Tonja LeBoeuf
September 13, 2020 at 3:19 pm This is amazing!! We used Sweet Italian Sausage and it turned out amazing! Then we didn’t have to add the Italian seasonings to it. We are making a bunch and freezing them because we love this recipe so much! Thank you for sharingJessy Freimann
October 27, 2020 at 11:02 pm That sounds delicious- good call Tonja! So glad you loved it!Diana
September 23, 2020 at 8:14 pm Wow, so yummy! Clearing out the garden I found one of those surprise zucchinis, the extra large ones and used it for this recipe. Made it pretty close to the recipe but didn't need extra water. Have been looking for a really good idea to use the big veggies and this is it for sure. Definitely be making it again, thanks so much!Jessy Freimann
October 27, 2020 at 10:59 pm Woohoo- jackpot find into a great dinner- so glad you loved it!Destiny Coleman
September 24, 2020 at 8:44 pm Delicious delicious delicious this is so good I can barely type this omgJessy Freimann
October 27, 2020 at 10:58 pm Awwwww this totally made my day, Destiny- thanks for sharing and I'm so glad you loved it!Sharon Welshimer
January 13, 2021 at 7:23 pm Delicious! I used Turkey Italian sausage and fresh grated Parmesan as substitutions. My zucchini must have been smaller, I ended up freezing enough for a second batch of the stuffing for another meal. Either that or it may have been a slightly larger than 1 lb. (18.5 oz.) Turkey Italian sausage package combined with using a half large onion and a half large red pepper -what I had on hand. I used 3 cloves of minced garlic since I had larger stuffing going. Worked out well. Next time I just need to prepare the zucchini and stuff them for a quick meal night.Jessy Freimann
January 14, 2021 at 2:42 pm Sounds fantastic- so glad you loved it!Katie
January 26, 2021 at 3:23 pm This was SOO good!!! I couldn’t stop eating the filling! I put the zucchini remnants from carving out the boats for extra veggies. This was really unexpectedly crazy delicious, thank you!!!Jessy Freimann
January 26, 2021 at 4:20 pm Yay! So glad you loved it! Yes, the filling is dangerously addictive!Joan
March 22, 2021 at 7:47 pm If you can get a 12 year old to eat it , it’s gotta be good ... Just made a couple changes from what was on hand . Hot Italian sausage,no pepper we are not fans, homemade sauce and brown rice.. Was so good , a side salad what else do you need ??perfect and delicious a definite keeper .. ThanksJessy Freimann
March 28, 2021 at 8:12 pm Wow- what a compliment- thank you Joan! So glad you loved it- sounds like you made some delicious changes <3Colleen Riordan
March 30, 2021 at 1:22 pm Picky-husband ate a second helping of this one, and 13-year old commented that he really liked the ground turkey! I was glad this made so much so that I can have leftovers for lunch. For the ingredients in this recipe that can be prepped ahead of time, I would also recommend added the rice to the pre-prepped items (unless of course, one were to purchase already cooked rice, which works great too). I cooked my rice as I was cooking everything else, which worked out fine, but it would have been one less thing to juggle by grabbing the pre-cooked rice out of the fridge and tossing it in. Great recipe!Jessy Freimann
April 5, 2021 at 1:34 pm Thanks so much Colleen! I'm so glad you loved it <3 I'll go add that to the prep ingredients- thanks so much for the idea! :)