Zucchini Taco Boats - RecipeMagik (2024)

TACO STUFFED ZUCCHINI BOATS or Zucchini Taco Boats - Ground Beef taco meat seasoned with taco seasoning is filled in these stuffed zucchini boats, topped with ooey-gooey melty mexican cheese blend and all your favorite taco toppings.

This stuffed zucchini boats with ground beef makes for an easy dinner recipe.

I'll be honest with you. Until now I didn't know that 1 medium Zucchini contains more Potassium than 1 medium banana. Maybe I should be swapping my post-workout meal with Zucchinis. (It's local after all).

Therefore this means you'll be seeing me make more and more zucchini recipes.

Taco Zucchini Boats

Recipes like Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini Boats or Zucchini Lasagna (Crockpot) or Crockpot Zucchini Baked Ziti (Low Carb) are some of my favorite weeknight dinner recipes.

Packed with protein and low in carbs they make for an excellent post-workout dinner.

These stuffed zucchini boats are filled with delicious taco meat just like the way I did with my Taco Stuffed Peppers. Instead of using Tortillas the juicy ground beef flavored taco meat is stuffed in hollowed out zucchinis.

Making them twice more healthier and all the more delicious.

Zucchini acts like a small vessel where you can add your favorite taco meat (you can go for Ground Chicken) top it with corn, avocados, cilantro, and yes - lots and lots of melty Mexican cheese.

This Keto Stuffed Zucchini Boats can be made ahead of time and you can easily send it to your family members or friends or neighbours.

Trick your family into eating something healthy for dinner

Are you a family where people cringe at the thought of "healthy dinner"? Well, in my home, people know they need to eat healthy.

But, somehow when its time for dinner, they are like - " let's eat something real quick." It doesn't has to be healthy as long as its loaded with cheese and of course hearty, comforting and delicious.

It's then that I think of recipes like this taco stuffed zucchini boats or KETO Baked Zucchini Casserole or KETO Zucchini Meatballs (No Breadcrumbs)

Taco stuffed zucchini boats are a whole meal on a plate 🍽

When you haven't got time to make tacos and you are feeling this insane desire to go out and binge eat at the nearest taco truck.

Pull out this Make ahead Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats from the fridge. Reheat it until the cheese is bubbly on top. And enjoy it right away.

You can make so many recipes with zucchini.

Starting from - Thai Lemongrass Coconut Fried Rice With Zucchini or

Savory Cheddar Zucchini Bread With Thyme Butter or

Low Carb Zucchini Carrots Tater Tots and more.

Ingredients

Here's what goes in to make these taco stuffed zucchini boats

• 3-4 medium zucchini
• Ground Beef
• White Onions
• Garlic
• Taco seasoning
• Garlic salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Monterey Jack Cheese
• Toppings such as avocados, cilantro, olives,

How to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Is it safe to eat the skin of zucchini?

Trust me, I didn't know until few minutes ago that Zucchini is actually a fruit. It belongs to the family of watermelon, squash, and etc.

Well, taking that into account, I know that the skin of zucchini is totally safe to eat. Therefore I do not recommend peeling out the nutritious skin of zucchini when emptying it out to make a taco vessel.

How do you core a zucchini without a corer?

• Choose small, blemish-free, and firm zucchini - When it comes to zucchini - bigger is not better. In fact, the bigger the bitter. Choose a small zucchini. 6-8 inches should be your ideal choice.
• zucchini skin on or off - No, you don't peel zucchini before cooking. This is even true when you are making baby food. Excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
• can you eat zucchini seeds - If you pick small to medium zucchini then the seeds are small and they can be eaten. But, if you have a large zucchini then chances are the seeds have become hard. So, then its best to avoid the seeds.
• Cut zucchini in half lengthwise - Use a sharp knife to cut zucchini from the stem to the base in half lengthwise.
• Scoop out the flesh - Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh from the inside. If you are using a small zucchini, the pulp won't be seedy. Therefore you can chop it and use it in your taco meat filling. Its filled with vitamins.

PRO TIP: Partially Cook Zucchini Boats before stuffing

This is one of those tips that I learnt from my Grandma. She would always cook the zucchini boats with a slight drizzle of olive oil, some salt, and pepper in the oven. This makes them softer, tender, and a lot more juicy.

• Lightly oil the hollowed out zucchini boats. Sprinkle some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Place them in a Microwave safe dish. Microwave on HIGH for 5-minutes.
• or Bake them in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

Making Taco Stuffed zucchini boats with ground beef

STEP 1: Scoop out the flesh from zucchini boats: Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. If the flesh is not too seedy, chop it up and use it in your taco meat filling.

STEP 2: Prebake hollowed out Zucchini slices: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place them in a baking dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes OR microwave on HIGH for 5-10 minutes with some water in the baking tray.

STEP 3: Make taco meat or use leftover taco meat: Use whatever works best for you. You can make stuffed zucchini boats with turkey or ground chicken or ground pork. OR JUMP TO THE RECIPE CARD and learn how to make ground beef taco meat from scratch.

STEP 4: Stuff the zucchini boats with the filling: Don't stuff them all the way to the top. Keep it light. This makes room for the cheese to form a layer on top.

STEP 5: Add Shredded Cheese: Top with shredded Mexican Cheese blend and some shredded queso. Or use whatever cheese you like. In my experience - Monterey Jack cheese and Cheddar cheese works well.

STEP 6: Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for another 10-minutes or until the cheese is melty and bubbly on top.

HINT: Use my homemade taco seasoning for best taste and flavor.

Add the Taco-toppings

Choose your favorite toppings. Typically, I like to use the following:

• pickled red onions
• diced avocados
• lime juice
• pico de gallo
• chopped green onions
• chopped Jalapenõs (if you want that extra heat)
• pickled raddishes
• salsa
• sour cream

How to Prevent Watery Zucchini?

Sometimes, Zucchini does release water. It totally depends on the kind of Zucchini that you use. These are some tricks that I often use to deal with watery zucchini, especially when they are baked.

• Make sure you remove the seeds before stuffing zucchini. 90% of water in zucchini is in the seeds. Pat it dry before stuffing with meat mixture.
• In case it's too watery, then you can bake them on a rack. So that the water can drip off during the baking process.
• Make sure you drain the grease from the meat before stuffing it in the zucchini boats.

Easy Substitutions for Taco Stuffed Zucchini

• Ground Turkey or Ground Chicken is a great replacement for Ground Beef
• You can stuff Zucchini Boats with Quinoa and Black Beans for a vegetarian version. Or try these Vegan Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• You can stuff with Italian Sausages as well.
• You can top with Shredded Queso as well.

Serving Suggestions for Taco Stuffed Zucchini

• Shrimp and Rice Burrito Bowl
• Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)
• Queso Mexican Dip (White Mexican Cheese Dip)
• Mexican Corn Salad
• Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
• Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Butter

Make-Ahead Instructions

• You can prepare the taco meat ahead of time.
• Refrigerate the taco meat for 2 days or freeze it for 2 months.
• Make sure you double wrap it - first with an aluminium wrap and then with a plastic wrap.
• Before stuffing them in the zucchini, thaw it out overnight in the refrigerator.

More Mexican Recipes

• Taco Salad
• Taco Stuffed Peppers
• Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos
• Carnitas Tacos
• Ground Chicken Tacos
• Zucchini and Bell Pepper Tacos
• Blackened Shrimp Tacos
• Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

Storage Instructions

• REFRIGERATE: How Long do Zucchini boats keep?
  • You can store zucchini boats in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
  • Make sure you keep it in an airtight container.
• Freezing: Can you freeze stuffed Zucchini?
• Stuffed Zucchini Boats freezes really well. You can assemble them completely and freeze them for 3 months. Here's how to do it.
  • Place Zucchini part of the boats in a baking dish with about an inch of water for at least 30-minutes. Make sure the water doesn't touch the stuffing part.
  • Remove zucchini boats from water and bake them in a casserole dish at 350 degrees F for 20-minutes or until completely heated through.
  • If they are too cold, then you need to bake them a little longer.

Five More Must Try Zucchini Recipes

• Roasted Zucchini with Spaghetti
• Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips
• Cheddar Zucchini Bread With Thyme Butter
• Keto Zucchini Fritters without Flour
• Zucchini Carrots Tater Tots