Italian stuffed zucchini boats. Measure one cup of marinara sauce and set aside. Trim the ends from the zucchini and slice them in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scrape the inside of the zucchini.

For this Italian stuffed zucchini, I opted for an easy bolognese sauce that goes right in the zucchini boats and then all you have to do is add cheese on top before you bake them! Use extra-lean ground beef (or ground turkey!) and saute that with minced up carrots, celery, onions and garlic. If the mixture is still soggy and runny, add more breadcrumbs. You can have Italian stuffed zucchini boats using 16 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Italian stuffed zucchini boats

You need 3 of medium, uniformly-sized zucchini.
It's 1 (24 oz) of jar tomato basil marinara, divided.
You need 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
You need 1 lb of ground turkey or Italian sausage.
It's 1/3 cup of diced onion.
Prepare 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
Prepare 1/3 of diced red bell pepper.
You need 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms.
It's 1/4 cup of chopped Italian parsley.
Prepare 1 tablespoon of Italian herb seasoning.
Prepare 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.
You need to taste of Fresh cracked black pepper.
You need 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flake.
It's 1 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
It's 1/4 cup of shaved parmesan.
You need 3 tablespoon of Italian Panko bread crumbs.

The mixture should loosely hold its shape when pressed together. Stuffing and cooking the zucchini boats: Carefully stuff and mound mixture into each zucchini boat. But these Stuffed Italian Zucchini Boats actually dabble in both realms. Tender zucchini stuffed with a savory, pillowy blend of veggies, pork and spice.

Italian stuffed zucchini boats step by step

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Measure out 1 cup of the marinara sauce and set aside..
Trim ends from zucchini and slice in half, lengthwise. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape out the zucchini flesh (see recipe note), chop it and set it aside. Place the scooped out zucchini boats into a 13"x 9" baking dish and add about 1" of water. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until just slightly fork-tender. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool slightly..
Add olive oil to a 12" skillet and place over MEDIUM heat. Add turkey (or beef), onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring to break up the ground meat as it cooks. Continue to cook and stir until meat is thoroughly cooked and veggies have softened. Drain off as much grease as possible and return the skillet to the heat..
Add the chopped zucchini flesh, mushrooms, remaining marinara in jar (reserve 1 cup for later), parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and allow to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes..
Remove partially cooked zucchini from baking dish and pour off water. Pour the 1 cup of reserved marinara sauce into the empty baking dish and place zucchini boats on top of the sauce..
Divide the filling between the zucchini boats. If you have extra filling, spoon it into the dish around the zucchini boats. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 20 minutes, or until zucchini is fork tender. Remove dish from oven and set oven to BROIL..
Remove foil and sprinkle zucchini boats with mozzarella, Parmesan and the panko bread crumbs. Place dish in oven, watching closely, and cook for just a couple of minutes until cheese has melted and bread crumbs are golden brown..

In my estimation, it's the best stuffed zucchini recipe. Best of all - they're really simple to prep. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Stir the pasta sauce into the meat mixture. Use a spoon to scoop out the middle of the flesh, leaving a small.