Mexican stuffed zucchini boats
My idea of a delicious family dinner that isn't boring. Video how-to included.
I walked up to the cash register with 16 zucchinis looking like a summer squash hoarder. And it was partially true — any given day there’s at least 8 zucchinis in our fridge.
The cashier was probably thinking “wow, she must really love zucchini!”
Nope (I mean I’m trying to love it — with success!), I was simply in the process of perfecting a healthy zucchini boat recipe —and some other scrumptious zucchini recipes coming your way.
I, like many of you, follow a whole food, plant-based diet where my meals are comprised of beans, grains, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruit. I try to minimize processed foods as much as I can, and I also like to avoid adding oils to my meals. Stuffing vegetables with said beans and grains, is one of my tried, tested, and true weeknight dinners. It’s a well-balanced and fun way of incorporating the healthiest food groups.
Stuffing vegetables … is one of my tried, tested, and true weeknight dinners.
And I’ve stuffed every veggie — bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, winter squash, sweet potatoes— and I never get tired of it. But the zucchini just didn’t do it for me.
My previous attempts at a stuffed zucchini recipe were just, you know…fine. I wasn’t excited about making them again (and I didn’t). I gave up on it.
So, I mean it when I say these Mexican stuffed zucchini boats are worth making.
I’ve been throwing out the word “delicious” a lot (Plant-Based Delicious plug!) but yes, these zucchini boats are delicious! I look forward to making and eating them. They’re pretty, flavorful, healthy, can serve many mouths and, if you have fewer mouths to feed, leftovers keep wonderfully in the fridge!
We usually have 2 boats (sometimes 3) each and I usually don’t serve them with a side. It’s an all-in-one dinner!
Here’s how we make them (how-to video below):
First, we’re cutting the zucchinis in half lengthwise, scooping out and discarding the seedy insides. We pop the zucchinis in the oven for a quick bake, so they soften up — not so much that they’re floppy and soggy but just enough so they have a tender bite— and are heated throughout.
Meanwhile, we’re making a Mexican inspired filling with brown rice, lentils, yummy spices, and salsa. Easy!
The filling goes into the boats and is baked again for a few minutes. Take them out of the oven, drizzle with optional sour cream and cilantro and you have yourself a satisfying, nutrient-dense, tasty dinner.
If your rice is already cooked, the whole shebang takes about 40 minutes. Otherwise, it’s about an hour.
We had these for dinner on Monday and to speed up prep I made the sour cream and rice on Sunday night.
They were loved by all! George (my 1 year old) wasn’t fussy but he has recently decided that he will only eat hummus, raspberries (like more than I thought humanly possible), and oatmeal, so I didn’t take it personally.
Why am I on a zucchini binge?
First, I reached out to my foodies and asked "what kind of recipes do you need and want?” and “more zucchini recipes!” bounced back over and over. I wasn’t thrilled about it and that’s exactly when I knew I had to stop avoiding zucchini and explore all its potential. Dammit, I was going to make some ridiculously amazing non-fried zucchini recipes if it killed me!
And foodies, let me tell ya I think I achieved my goal!
If you haven’t tried them yet, I highly recommend the turmeric rice zoodle bowl and the no-equipment-needed black bean zucchini burgers!
How-to video
The filling for these zucchini boats is quite straight forward but I wanted to show you exactly how easy it is to make the “boat” part. The zucchini boats go in the oven for a total of 20 minutes— first for 15 minutes and after they’re stuffed, in for another 5 minutes.
Mexican Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Makes 10-12 zucchini boats or 5 to 6 servings (2 boats per serving)
INGREDIENTS
½ red onion, finely diced
1 yellow or red bell pepper, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1½ teaspoons chilli powder
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
2 teaspoons (3 g) nutritional yeast
2 cups (380 g) cooked long or short grain brown rice
1½ cups (297 g) cooked or canned brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 cup (130 g) frozen corn kernels
1 tablespoon (15 ml) tamari
1 cup (260 g) chunky salsa (mild or hot — whatever you prefer), ideally a no sugar or added sodium brand
2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lime juice
5 to 6 medium green zucchinis
1 batch cashew sour cream sauce (recipe below) or preferred sour cream, optional
For serving: 1 bunch chopped cilantro, hot sauce
HOW-TO
Preheat the oven to 425ºF (180ºC) and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
Start cooking the filling. In a large pan, sauté the onion and bell pepper with a few tablespoons (30 ml) of water for 5 minutes until just softened. Add water as needed to prevent burning.
Now add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, and nutritional yeast and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the cooked rice, lentils, corn, tamari, and salsa cook over medium heat for another 3 or 4 minutes until simmering. Stir often. Finally add the juice of a lime.
The mixture should be thick. If it’s at all watery, simmer until the extra liquid has evaporated.
While the filling is cooking, prepare the zucchini. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise then, using a spoon, scoop out the inner flesh until the zucchini walls are about ¼ inch (0.6 cm) thick. I discard the flesh as it’s quite seedy and watery.
Place the zucchini boats inside facing up on the baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Roast in the oven for 15 minutes (in the video I say 20 minutes — whoops!). The zucchinis will be golden and speckled with moisture.
Remove the zucchini from the oven. Spread about 1 tablespoon of cashew sour cream along the inside of each zucchini boat. Then fill each boat with the filling. The size and shape of the zucchini will determine how much filling fits into each zucchini half. Feel free to really stuff it in or pile it high! Return the boats to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Then remove them from the oven and transfer the boats to a serving plate. Spoon additional sour cream over the top of each boat and garnish with optional cilantro or hot sauce.
Cashew Sour Cream Sauce
This sour cream is a bit looser than my regular sour cream recipe. When it’s looser, it’s easier to drizzle. Sometimes I even put it in a squeeze bottle for extra convenience.
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup (105 g) cashews, soaked for 1 to 3 hours in hot water (soaking optional)
2 teaspoons (10 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch sea salt
½ cup (118 ml) water, plus more if needed
HOW-T0
Drain the cashews, discard the soaking liquid, and place them in a blender with all the other ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Add more water as needed to get the blending going. Then transfer to a bowl, a jar or even a squeeze bottle for easy drizzling.
Printable Recipe
Allergies / Intolerances / Subs
Brown rice: You can use cooked quinoa or millet instead.
Lentils: You can use black beans, borlotti beans, or pinto beans instead of lentils.
Cashews: You can use sunflower seeds instead of cashews in the sour cream recipe. If you want to omit the sour cream altogether, skip the step about smearing sour cream into the bottom of each zucchini and used diced avocado as the garnish. A little plant-based fat compliments the bold spices and salsa and helps with absorption of the some of the fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants.
Corn: You can omit the corn without issue. If you want to bump up the protein, you can also use frozen and thawed shelled edamame instead.
Leftovers
Once leftovers have cooled, pop them into a lidded container and they’ll keep in the fridge (fully assembled) for up to 3 days. To reheat the zucchini boats, you can put them on a sheet pan and warm them in the oven or use the microwave.
Keep leftover sour cream in a glass jar for up to a week.
P.S. (book stuff)
It’s been a blast (like actually fun!) promoting Plant-Based Delicious (my second cookbook). I’ve met the most amazing people and had some really profound conversations. I’m a bit of a social media introvert so I had some anxiety going into the marketing phase but I really did enjoy myself. I’m proud of the book and it felt good to finally chat about it.
I got to hang out with Chuck Carroll from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine on the Exam Room Podcast (hello career highlight!). I left my chat with Dr. Bergquist from The Whole Health Cure Podcast so inspired — she’s my new favorite doctor. I laughed my butt off with chef Dustin Harder on the Keep On Cookin’ Podcast. You know he’s my best bud. And I just did a 2 cookbook giveaway with Mary from The Joy Formula — most joyous person I’ve met! I also cooked up a one-pot pasta with the infamous Chef AJ and talked about how easy it is to make pasta on a whim.
Thank you to everyone here for the amazing feedback and for celebrating my book and the power of plants with me. I’m one lucky duck!
If you purchased the book and have had time to try out some of the recipes, I would be sooooo grateful if you took a moment to write a review wherever you purchased it. Amazon is always a great place to add a review.
Happy Cooking!
-Ashley
Did you make this recipe? Have any questions? Drop me a line in the comments!
This is absolutely amazing! I love mexican cuisine as well as zucchini and this recipe has it all. Your zucchini binge is also very welcome, I'd love to see more recipes of this fantastic and versatile veggie. :)
Fantastic recipe! Thank you.