Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

These pizza stuffed zucchini boats are a cheesy, flavorful twist for weeknight dinners to satisfy your cravings while getting extra veggies!

This recipe is made with ground turkey and turkey pepperoni to keep protein up, and packed into seasoned zucchini to keep carbs a little lower. But all that melty cheese and marinara goodness will have you feeling like you’re eating your favorite comfort food! Here’s everything you’ll need and how to make it.

What You’ll Need

Equipment

• 9×13 casserole dish
• Large pan

Ingredients

• Zucchini: Medium sized.
• Olive oil
• Salt + pepper
• Lean ground turkey: I use 93/7.
• Italian seasoning: Pre-made seasoning is great, but you could also do a blend of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary.
• Marinara sauce
• Turkey pepperoni: A super easy swap for regular pepperoni – has more protein, less fat and tastes just as delicious.
• Mozzarella cheese
• Fresh basil: Optional, for topping.

How To Make Them

1. Preheat oven & prep pan: Preheat the oven to 400F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
2. Zucchini: Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and use a teaspoon to remove the insides, leaving ~1/4in border. Finely chop and place scooped zucchini flesh in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, squeezing out as much excess liquid as possible. Set aside for later. Arrange boats cut sides up in the baking dish, brush with oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.
3. Make the filling: Heat a large frying pan on medium high heat and spray with oil. Add the ground turkey, breaking apart into small pieces (I use a meat chopper) until fully cooked, adding chopped zucchini halfway through. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Add marinara sauce and turkey pepperoni (saving a few for topping, if desired). Stir and let simmer 5-10 minutes, until thick.
4. Stuff & bake: Distribute filling evenly into zucchini boats and bake 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 3-5 minutes, until melted. Top with fresh basil if desired and enjoy!

Tips

• Filling: Zucchini holds a lot of water – squeezing out the moisture before adding the insides to the sauce keeps filling thick instead of runny. Additionally, use a folded paper towel to soak up excess liquid cooked off of the turkey (if needed), and make sure to let the filling simmer long enough to reduce.
• Zucchini: The zucchini core can also be save for bread, muffins, or scrambles instead.
• Bake time: Every oven is different and some zucchinis are tougher than others. If you’re using larger zucchini or thicker garden zucchini, you may need to bake them longer before adding cheese.
• Italian seasoning: If using pre-made, check for salt and adjust salt levels as needed.

To Store

Once cooled, cover tightly and store leftover pizza zucchini boats in the fridge up to 4 days.

You’ll Also Love

• Pizza spaghetti squash boats
• Pepperoni protein pizza
• Easy pizza pockets

Lastly, be sure to leave a rating and review down below if you make these pizza stuffed zucchini boats! And don’t forget to tag me on all the socials – always love to hear from you guys and see what you’re cooking up. ♡ Enjoy!

Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

5 from 1 vote

These pizza stuffed zucchini boats are a cheesy, flavorful twist for weeknight dinners to satisfy your cravings while getting extra veggies!

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Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Calories: 337kcal

Equipment

• 9×13 baking dish
• Large frying pan

Ingredients

Zucchini

• 4 medium zucchini (784 g)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil (7 g)
• pinch salt + pepper
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (84 g) grated
• fresh basil optional, to garnish

Filling

• 1 lb lean ground turkey I use 93/7
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (339 g)
• 1/2 5oz bag turkey pepperoni (75 g) roughly chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
• Cut zucchinis in half lengthwise and use a teaspoon to scoop out insides, leaving ~1/4 in thick border. Finely chop scooped zucchini flesh and place in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, squeezing out as much excess water as possible. Set aside.
• Arrange zucchini boats in the baking dish, cut sides up. Brush with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large frying pan on medium high and lightly spray with oil. Add turkey and fully cook, breaking apart into small pieces. Add extra chopped zucchini halfway through.
• Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, marinara sauce, and pepperoni, stirring to combine. Reduce heat and gently simmer 5-10 minutes, until thickened.
• Scoop filling evenly into zucchini boats and bake 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 3-5 minutes, until melted. Sprinkle with optional basil and enjoy!

Notes

• Zucchini holds a lot of water – squeezing out the moisture before adding the insides to the sauce keeps filling thick instead of runny. Additionally, use a folded paper towel to soak up excess liquid cooked off of the turkey (if needed), and make sure to let the filling simmer long enough to reduce. The filling should be very thick.
• These will be stuffed very full – for less filling, save zucchini filling for muffins, bread, or scrambles instead.
• Every oven is different and some zucchinis are tougher than others. If you’re using larger zucchini or thicker garden zucchini, you may need to bake them longer before adding cheese.
• If using pre-made Italian seasoning, check for salt and adjust salt levels as needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 2boats | Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.1g | Protein: 35.8g | Fat: 16.4g | Fiber: 3.7g

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