This Zucchini Boats Recipe (Italian Stuffed) is brought to you by Arm & Hammer. All opinions are my own.
I love cooking – especially with veggies from my garden like these big zucchini squash! One thing I always make sure to do with any produce – whither its from my garden or from the store, is wash it. My go-to for this is Arm & Hammer Fruit & Vegetable Wash.
Before I get into the Zucchini Boats recipe, I wanted to share a few details about the Arm & Hammer Fruit & Vegetable Wash:
- Safely eliminates over 90% of pesticide residue*
- Cleans 4x better than water alone*
- Removes wax and soil
- Free from harsh chemicals
- Leaves no taste or odor
- Gluten-free and vegan
I can see a noticeable difference when I use this and it gives me peace of mind knowing that the food I am feeding my family is cleaner. Just spray it on, gently rub it around and then rinse it off. Learn more about it here.
Zucchini Boats Recipe
This is a delicious and easy recipe that the whole family will love. With the Italian twist, you can make this as it, or change up a couple of ingredients and make it more traditional.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 medium zucchini (8-10 inches long)
- 1 lb. of ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp. chopped (or dried) Parsley
- 1 jar of spaghetti
- 16 oz of Ricotta cheese
- (2) 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan (separated)
- (2) 1 cups of mozzarella (separated)
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of minced garlic
If you want to make this more traditional, you will need the following ingredients:
- 2-3 medium zucchini (8-10 inches long)
- 1 lb. of ground beef
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- Tomato paste
- 2 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar is traditional)
- 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet peppers
Italian Stuffed
To get started, you will want to get 1 lb of ground burger or ground italian susage cooking with 1/2 cup of diced onion. I like to use a sweet onion. I also added some minced garlic and parsley.
While the meat is cooking you will want to wash your zucchini, cut the ends off, and then cut it half lengthwise. Now you will take a spoon and scoop the seeds/pulp. I put the pulp into a food processor and mince it up (as pictured below).
When the meat is done, you will drain the grease, and then add the pulp and cook for a few minutes longer. While that is cooking, you will want to get your cheese mixture ready.
Add 16 oz of Ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan, 1 cup of mozzarella, 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce, and 1 egg together in a bowl. Mix together and then add to the meat mixture when ready. Remove from heat (if you haven’t already) and get ready to fill your Zucchini boats!
NOTE: I sprayed the bottom of the glass baking dishes with cooking spray so that the food wouldn’t stick. You can also add a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom before you put the zucchini halves in.
I actually ended up probably overstuffing these, but no one complained lol. This much will more easily do 4 zucchini – so 8 halves. So cut this recipe in half if you are only doing 4 halves.
Once you add the filling to the zucchini, you will sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top, and then add the rest of the spaghetti sauce. Softly smother and then put into the oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees. This will make the squash very tender. You can check it at 45 minutes and see if they are done enough.
When they are done, you should be able to easily cut through them with a fork, so no knife is needed to eat. These are a delicious, melt in your mouth, way to integrate your favorite Italian flavors with zucchini squash.
I hadn’t made these before, and my family ate almost of it, and then my 8 year old finished off the rest for lunch the next day lol.
This is an easy recipe that your whole family will love. If you are looking for more easy family meal ideas, be sure to check out this huge list with a printable so it makes meal planning even easier!
If you want to save this recipe for later, just pin the image below to easily find it!
