Stuffed Zucchini
Stuffed zucchini can be a quick and easy weeknight meal with a little prep time.
I had a lot of zucchini from the farmer's market and I was tired of sautéing it. I had some beef that needed some pizzazz.
Beyond that, I didn’t have any ideas other than stuffing that zucchini.
When I made my weekly menu and planned stuffed zucchini, I assumed I would figure out between Sunday and Thursday how I wanted to go about this.
I was wrong. So I grabbed what I had hanging around. I knew I didn’t want a tomato sauce, but more of a cream cheese sauce and I had a tub of mascarpone patiently waiting for something.
This seems like a lot of work, but it was prepped in 15 minutes, and cooked for 30 minutes. You can start the beef, onions, and peppers the same time you begin work on the zucchini.
Once you have finished scooping out the middle of the zucchini, add it to the beef. It will continue to cook in the oven so it doesn’t have to be completely done before stuffing. It does need a at least 5 minutes or so in the pan to help reduce the water content.
Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise and middle scooped out and reserved.
- ¾ lb lean ground beef
- ½ cup chopped red/yellow/green peppers in any combination
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ⅓ cup of water
- 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
- ½ cup shredded cheddar
- ½ cup of mascarpone cheese, cream cheese is excellent substitute
- ¼ cup of parsley, chopped
- ½ cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 green onion, sliced thin
Instructions
- Brown beef, peppers, onions and the middle part of the zucchini that was scooped out. Leave “boats” on a sprayed sheet pan.
- Add taco seasoning and water. Stir and simmer a few minutes until seasoning is equally distributed.
- In a large bowl, add beef, cheddar, mascarpone, parsley. Mix well.
- Spoon mixture into each zucchini boat.
- Bake 400* for 30 minutes. If zucchini is not done, return to oven and check after 10 more minutes.
- Remove, sprinkle mozzarella cheese and return to oven. Turn heat off. Cheese will melt in 3-5 minutes. Top with green onions and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 426Saturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 311mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 32g
Wow, this sounds like something perfect for us as my son is on a low carb diet and I am just about out of ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Tried this tonight after finding it on Pinterest. Loved it even without the mascarpone cheese. Didn't even have cream cheese, but it was still delicious. Come to think of it, I didn't use the peppers or parsley, either! Definitely a keeper.
Have to agree with Susan that this is a versatile recipe! I am going lactose-free so I used up the last bit of my mascarpone and left out the other cheeses. Without them, it makes a delicious gluten and dairy-free meal! Thought I'd also point out that, for me, the water from the zucchini innards and the moisture from the cooking meat did not warrant the addition of any extra water.
Tried this tonight and it was delicious. I used colby-monterey jack blend instead of cheddar and mozzarella and I used a california pollen and fennel rub seasoning I had in the cabinet from a local spice shop and it was amazing. This will definitely stay in the rotation.
Great ideas for changing it up! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
This sounds delicious! Plan to try it this weekend.
Just made this recipe tasted very good . Theres variations ill try next time, But this recioe very good.Being low carb made it even better Oh yea. I did substitute hamburger with ground turkey
Thanks for leaving feedback! I use whatever I have on hand, and beef works very well with this.
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What would you serve these with? Sounds so yummy & I am dying to try them this week!!!
Looks like fall with a crisp red wine, and fall salad!
After making this the first time I woke up the next morning craving it for breakfast!!! Great recipe! Thank you for sharing
I will be making this for dinner tomorrow! I can't wait. I see someone posted Red wine and a salad to serve with is there any more suggestions??
I made this tonight for my family and we all loved it! What a delicious, low-carb meal. I liked the fact that one pound of organic, grass fed beef (more expensive, but very yummy) was stretched so far in this recipe. I did not add the water to the meat because it was quite moist already from the zucchini.
I made this tonight substituting 3 wedges of Laughing Cow quest fresco for the marscapone cheese. It was delicious!
I made this with ground turkey and added tomatoes to the top and baked them that way. So delicious and full of flavor!
Nutritional info??
We recently took an elk after a long and grueling hunt in Colorado, and after using this recipe tonight with ground elk it couldn't have been more gratifying! Excellent!
Perfect easy food to eat. You don't need the water. The zucchini insides added all the extra water needed.
Perfect summer food