Need a recipe to use up all the zucchini from your garden? Try these easy zucchini boats! They are stuffed with a delicious ground beef filling and baked to cheesy perfection. A great family meal!
To be honest, I usually get my load of garden zucchini from my neighbor – I have yet to successfully grow them myself! But no matter who grows my zucchini, one of my favorite ways to use up those endless bushels of summer produce are zucchini boats.
The filling is super easy to make and the kids L-O-V-E them. This one is definitely a keeper!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- ground meat: you can use any ground meat in place of the beef – pork, a mix of beef and pork or ground turkey
- zucchini: if you have a giant zucchini from the garden vs smaller ones, slice into thick rounds, scoop out (make sure to leave a substantial bottom!) and fill them standing up.
- seasoning: feel free to switch up the seasoning to taste – oregano, Italian seasoning, ground paprika, taco seasoning… All wonderful!
- cheese: for a lighter version, skip the cheese and only sprinkle lightly with grated parmesan.
How to make zucchini boats
1. Prepare zucchini: Start by cutting your zucchini in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Chop the zucchini flesh you scooped out and set aside.
2. Brown the beef: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, then add the ground beef and cook until well browned.
You can drain off excess grase, if you prefer. Stir in the tomato paste, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
3. Finish the filling: Stir the tomato sauce and scooped out zucchini flesh through the seasoned ground beef.
Then simmer the filling, covered, on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, stir well and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Towards the end of the cooking time, turn on your oven and preheat to 360°F. If you want to line your baking sheet with foil or baking parchment, do this now as well.
4. Fill and bake: Spoon the filling in the prepared zucchini halves. I usually use two teaspoons to do this, I find it’s easiest to scoop filling with one teaspoon and then carefully place it in the zucchini with the help of the second teaspoon.
Sprinkle the filled zucchini with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly!
Recipe tips
- make sure to brown the beef well; more color = more flavor! No need to drain if using lean ground beef, but feel free to drain if you’re using a fattier meat.
- if the filling seems dry, stir in a few tablespoons of water or beef broth. But careful – it needs to be quite thick for filling the zucchini, so don’t add too much liquid!
- if the filling seems too watery, simmer for longer without a lid on (this depends a lot on the thickness of tomato sauce used and on the water content of your zucchini!)
Storage tips
- Fridge: Refrigerate leftovers once cooled for around 30 minutes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in the oven at 360°F for around 30 minutes, or microwave until steaming hot all the way through.
- Freeze: Flash-freeze the zucchini boats in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, for about 2 hours or until solid. Transfer them to a freezer bag or container, label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat from frozen: Either thaw the zucchini in the fridge overnight, then bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes at 360°F. Or reheat from frozen, covered, at 360°F for around 1 hour.
Serving ideas
I know many people like to eat zucchini boats by themselves as a light, lower carb meal. That’s just fine if it’s what you need! But not in my house, haha. We love our carbs, so here’s how I like to serve this recipe:
- With a side of rice, orzo salad or garlic bread
- Greek pasta salad or Italian pasta salad (I will skip the salami or reduce it in the Italian pasta salad when I serve it as a side)
- Summer corn salad or tomato cucumber avocado salad
- Roasted broccoli or sautéed green beans
More recipes to try
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Easy Ground Beef Zucchini Boats
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 6 small-medium zucchini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 pound ground beef OR ground beef and pork
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil optional
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs OR dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder OR 2 cloves freshly minced
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
- 1.5 cups shredded cheese I used mozzarella; cheddar or Gouda work, too
Instructions
- Prep zucchini: Wash 6 small-medium zucchini well, then slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out flesh with a small spoon and set aside. Place zucchini halves on baking sheet.
- Brown beef and season: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 onion and cook until softened, then add 1 pound ground beef and cook until well browned. Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.
- Finish filling: Stir in 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce and scooped out zucchini flesh (chop if desired for more even filling), then simmer, covered, on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, stir well and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Fill and bake: Heat oven to 360°F. Spoon filling in prepared zucchini halves. Sprinkle with 1.5 cups shredded cheese and bake 20-25 minutes until bubbly.
Notes
Cooking tips
- make sure to brown the beef well; more color = more flavor! No need to drain if using lean ground beef, but feel free to drain if using a fattier meat.
- if filling seems dry, stir in a few tablespoons of wate or beef broth. But careful – it needs to be quite thick for filling the zucchini, so don’t add too much liquid.
- if filling seems too watery, simmer for longer without a lid on (depends a lot on thickness of tomato sauce used)
Ingredient notes
- ground meat: can use any ground meat in place of the beef – pork, a mix of beef and pork or ground turkey
- zucchini: if you have a giant zucchini from the garden vs smaller ones, slice into thick rounds, scoop out (make sure to leave a substantial bottom!) and fill that way.
- seasoning: feel free to switch up the seasoning to taste – Italian seasoning, ground paprika, taco seasoning… All wonderful!
- cheese: for a lighter version, skip the cheese and only sprinkle lightly with grated parmesan.
Storage
Store leftovers in the fridge, well covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 360°F until piping hot all the way through. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Flash-freeze zucchini boats in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, for about 2 hours or until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag or container, label with the name and use-by date and freeze. To reheat, thaw zucchini in fridge overnight, then bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes at 360°F. Or reheat from frozen, covered, at 360°F for around 1 hour.Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 05/02/2020. Updated with step by step photos, new text and better instructions on 06/12/2024.
Jeannette says
Was looking for something easy to make with a few random ingredients I had on hand and this fit the bill perfectly! Was so easy and so good!
DaMom says
Absolutely delicious! I had a large zucchini from my garden. Rather than following the instructions and slicing I still made “boats.” They turned out amazingly!
Lea says
Yummy! Very tasty! I topped with Italian blend cheese instead of cheddar. Didn’t have tomato sauce so I used marinara sauce. One of hubby’s favorites!
Don says
This is a great summer dish. It’s so easy to make and you don’t heat up the kitchen.
And your guests will love it.
Deb says
What a joy to have a recipe that has the measurements in the instructions so I don’t have to scroll back. Thank you!!!
Valerie says
Excellent Summer supper! We served with a green salad and mashed potatoes.
Pam says
Absolutely delicious. I follow a kidney friendly diet so decreased the salt and used no salt added diced tomatoes. So very good!
Kim says
Delicious!!!
Christine says
I really liked this!Used 2 large zuccinis and added Monterey jack cheese also.Made this recipe yesterday and my grandson’s really liked it.I pulsed the zucchini seeds and all.Will definitely make again.
Patti T. says
I made these. I loved the stuffing ingredients, but the zucchini tasted flat. Next time I make them, I will salt and pepper the zucchini before I add the filling. Otherwise, they were very good. Thanks for the recipe.