Easy, healthy, and extra delicious Italian stuffed zucchini boats! This low-carb meal comes together in under 30 minutes, with only 5 (!!!) ingredients. The ultimate lazy, yet super healthy dinner recipe.
What You’ll Need to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Zucchini – This summer vegetable is super cheap and easy to find! Start by slicing a zucchini in half, then removing the seeds and some of the flesh from inside. You’ll be left with two zucchini “boats,” ready to be filled with our delicious Italian sausage in sauce.
Italian Sausage – Feel free to use whatever kind of Italian sausage you’d like! Though make sure it’s uncooked and removed from its casings before cooking. As it cooks, break the sausage up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. Italian sausage is packed with herbs and spices, adding even more flavor to this already super flavorful dish.
Marinara Sauce – I use and love Rao’s marinara sauce for when I don’t feel like making it myself. Rao’s is perfectly tangy, has tons of flavor, with just a hint of sweetness. However, you can totally use your favorite jarred marinara sauce for this recipe. Or, if you have some time to spare, go ahead and throw together a homemade sauce to use instead.
Dried Italian Seasoning – The final step before cooking these zucchini boats is sprinkling them with a little bit of dried Italian seasoning. I love the flavor this packs, but it’s totally optional if you’re not feeling up to it or don’t have any on-hand.
Tips and Tricks
- Finish off these Italian stuffed zucchini boats with fresh-grated parmesan cheese! It rounds out the Italian flavors in this dish, and make it that much more delicious. Also, who doesn’t love a little bit of cheese?!
- You can easily prep-then-freeze this dish ahead of time! To do this, follow each step of the recipe, up to cooking it. Then, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, before freezing for up to three months. When ready to eat, simply defrost, then bake as instructed.
- This is a great, healthy meal to prep for a crowd! Simply double or triple the amounts listed in the recipe below, and you can feed a whole army (ok …maybe not an entire army, but you get the point). I love throwing this quick and easy zucchini recipe together for friends and family, it’s a total crowd-favorite!
Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs
Make it Gluten-Free: These zucchini boats are already gluten-free! However, to be absolutely certain they don’t contain any traces of gluten, check your sausage and marinara sauce packaging to make sure those ingredient are entirely gluten-free.
Make it Dairy-Free: For a dairy-free version of this recipe, replace the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast!
Make it Vegan: Replace the sausage with your favorite vegan meat substitute, and cook it with an additional teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning. Then, similar to the dairy-free version, top with nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese.
Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Course: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes25
minutes30
minutesEasy, healthy, and extra delicious Italian stuffed zucchini boats! This low-carb meal comes together in under 30 minutes, with only 5 (!!!) ingredients. The ultimate lazy, yet super healthy dinner recipe.
Ingredients
2 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage (casings removed)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, optional
grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Using a spoon, scoop out and remove the seeds and a little bit of the flesh from each zucchini half.
- Sprinkle zucchini with salt and black pepper, then place inside a large baking dish and set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add in the Italian sausage and cook until no longer pink. Break up the meat as it cooks, should take about 5 minutes.
- Add marinara sauce to the skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer sausage in sauce for 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon the sauce mixture into the cavity of each zucchini half, then evenly sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and zucchini is tender. Serve warm with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
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