My husband and I plant a fairly large garden from seed each year. Honestly, I very much have the attitude that if it grows, great. If not, that’s totally fine too. Since we plant from seed versus buying plants, we honestly never know how well (or even if!) things will grow. As an example, like in past years I planted a huge row of green beans this year. And literally less than ¼ of the row grew plants! We have 3 small green bean plants that decided to grow, and the rest of the row just grew huge weeds. LOL.
However, in contrast, I also planted a row of zucchini and yellow summer squash…and every single seed grew into a HUGE plant that is producing more zucchini and squash than I know what to do with. As an example, I went out and picked a few zucchini/squash on a Saturday morning…and then Monday after work I picked 9 large zucchini/squash!! It’s amazing how quickly they grow and just keep producing.
Honestly, having the produce from the garden definitely gives me recipe inspiration. I don’t want the produce to go to waste, so it’s a perfect time to try out new recipes! I love experimenting in the kitchen and testing new recipes. While I have quite a few sweet zucchini recipes on the blog already, like these chocolate chip oatmeal zucchini muffins, this paleo/grain-free double chocolate chip zucchini bread, zucchini bread overnight oats, and this zucchini bread baked oatmeal, I have far less savory zucchini recipes on the blog. I believe it’s just these Italian Zucchini Fritters so far. (Which I HIGHLY recommend, btw. They are so tasty!). All that to say, I decided it was time to test out a savory recipe idea. And I love having new main dish recipes!
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe (these are really easy to make!):
Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
Zucchini
Clearly, zucchini is needed for a stuffed zucchini recipe. I’d say my zucchini were a medium size; slightly larger than most store-bought zucchini I usually see. But average size from a farmer’s market/garden. You can also substitute yellow summer squash for all/some of the zucchini if you want. Honestly, I used a yellow squash (as you can see in the photos) and there was absolutely zero taste/texture difference between the summer squash and zucchini.
Ground meat
You have even more options for the meat filling! To go with a pizza theme, I used ground pork sausage for the filling. However, you could also use ground beef, turkey, or chicken! My husband and I definitely liked the flavor of sausage for these zucchini boats. If you want a vegetarian option, I’d recommend subbing about 2 cups cooked chickpeas or lentils for the filling (obviously this will be a different taste/texture).
Onion
I diced up 1 medium onion and sautéed that with the ground sausage! I love the flavor onion adds, but feel free to omit if you dislike onions.
Mushrooms
Honestly, completely optional. I honestly don’t typically order mushrooms on pizza, but I do love them in certain fillings (like these sloppy joes!). Feel free to omit if you don’t like mushrooms. I will note my husband states he hates mushrooms, but he loved these pizza stuffed zucchinis. He didn’t taste the mushroom at all (and he knew it was in there). I didn’t add much, but it does add some veggies and bulk up the filling!
Garlic
LOVE garlic. Not to mention it goes so well with pizza and Italian flavors! I have gotten lazy and have been buying pre-minced garlic or garlic paste at the store lately versus buying whole unpeeled garlic cloves. You can also use garlic powder, but you’ll need less of it (usually ½-1 teaspoon garlic powder to 1 medium clove of garlic). Really, just add to taste.
Marinara pasta sauce
I just used a marinara pasta sauce from Aldi! I prefer buying a pasta sauce without any added sugars. Feel free to your favorite pasta sauce here! Lots of options.
Italian seasoning
For pizza flavor!
Oregano
I was super fancy and actually bought fresh oregano for these pizza stuffed zucchini (however, I rarely ever buy fresh herbs). You can absolutely sub in ½-1 tablespoon dried oregano instead of the 2 tablespoons fresh!
Cheese
Again, lots of options here. Mozzarella, Italian blend, Parmesan, Gouda, etc. I actually used a Gouda shredded cheese (also from Aldi) simply because I had a bag on hand that I needed to use up. I’d probably typically use mozzarella for this recipe though. Really, any cheese you enjoy that melts well should work!
Optional Toppings
Fresh basil, fresh oregano, and/or pepperoni
How to Make Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
First, you will need to scrape the inside flesh of the zucchini (see photo above). This really doesn’t need to be exact at all, but probably about ¼ inch thick. Make sure you don’t scrape too much out and make a hole or your filling will spill out. I roughly chopped up the zucchini that I scraped out and froze it in individual bags with 1 cup each to have on hand for smoothies! I love adding zucchini to smoothies to make them more creamy instead of always using bananas. Here’s a recipe idea for you!
Next, you’ll make the filling which is pretty simple. You will sauté the onions and optional mushrooms with the ground meat. Then add the seasonings and marinara sauce. Next you’ll spoon the filling into your zucchini boats (I had the perfect amount of filling for my 8 zucchini halves; note my zucchini/squash were a decent medium size). If you are using smaller (or larger) zucchini, simply adjust the amount of filling you put in.
Last, sprinkle the stuffed zucchini with shredded cheese of your choice and bake!
Please let me know if you try this recipe; I’d love to hear from you! ? Feel free to leave a comment below, shout-out on social media, etc. Can’t wait to hear what you think!
- 4 medium-large zucchini, insides scraped out
- 1 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, or sausage!)
- 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 4 ounces (about 2 cups) diced mushrooms (optional)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups marinara pasta sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, or Gouda cheese
- Fresh parsley or basil, optional for garnish
- Pepperoni, optional
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Wash outsides of zucchini. Cut in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. Then using a spoon, scrape out the inside of the zucchini flesh (see photo in post for a visual). I personally freeze the leftover zucchini to use later for smoothies!
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in olive oil. Add in ground meat (I used sausage) and cook until no longer pink and completely cooked through.
- Then add in salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and oregano. Stir in 2 cups of marinara pasta sauce into the ground meat mixture.
- Spoon meat filling into zucchini (again, see photo in post for visual). Then sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 25-35 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Mine took 30 minutes, but note every oven is different and this will also vary based on the size of zucchini you are using.
- Enjoy! Makes enough for 4 large servings, 2 zucchini halves/serving.
This recipe is absolutely delicious! My husband and I love zucchini and this is such a clever way of incorporating it into a main dish. (Who doesn’t love pizza!?) We used ground beef as our meat, but are looking forward to trying the recipe with sausage and chicken in the future.
I’m so happy you tried it and both liked it!! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
We made this recipe tonight! It is so good! I will be making this again!