These Stuffed Zucchini Boats have a delicious blend of ground beef and Italian sausage, mixed with marinara sauce and topped with cheese. This easy recipe packs a punch of flavor and is a wholesome and satisfying way to use your surplus of zucchini.

Love a good stuffed vegetable? Try this Stuffed Butternut Squash or these Stuffed Bell Peppers.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats filled with beef, sausage, and marinara, topped with cheese.

I have been writing this blog for many, many years now. And I’ve shared a lot of recipes over the year.

But one of my favorite things to do is go back and make recipes over again, even if it is years later.

Every once in awhile, though, I’ll keep passing by a recipe, for some reason never wanting to make it again.

That is what happened with the original zucchini boats recipe that was posted here in 2014. I don’t think I hated the recipe, but just never loved it enough to want to make it over and over again.

So I changed it.

This is the all new and improved Stuffed Zucchini Boats recipe. And yes, I will definitely be making these over and over again – especially while the zucchini is abundant!

Ingredients

Olive Oil: You could also use any neutral oil.
Onion: I like to use either a. yellow or white onion.
Garlic: Freshly minced garlic will give you the best flavor. I really like garlic, so I’ll often add in extra.
Ground Beef & Italian Sausage: I love the mixture of the beef and the sausage. But you really could use one or the other. If you do use all ground beef, you’ll want to add in some extra spices.
Marinara Sauce: You can use a homemade marinara sauce or store bought.
Zucchini: You want medium sized zucchini. They should weigh between 8 to 10 ounces. If you use bigger zucchini, they may take longer to bake.
Cheese: I like to use mozzarella to keep with the Italian theme, but feel free to get creative!

Making the meat filling for zucchini boats.

How to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats

1: Start by cooking the onion in the oil, then add in the garlic. Add both the ground beef and the sausage and cook it all until the meat is browned and cooked through.

2: Add in the marinara sauce and let the mixture cook down until it is slightly thickened.

Zucchini cut in half and then hollowed out.

3: While the filling is cooking, take each zucchini and cut it in half lengthwise.

4: Use a teaspoon or a melon baller to scoop out the zucchini.

Halved zucchini topped with meat sauce and cheese.

5: Once the sauce is cooked, add it to the hollowed out zucchini.

6: Top the zucchini with cheese.

7: Bake until the cheese is melted and the zucchini is fork tender.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats on a platter topped with parsley.

Tips and Tricks

You can use the zucchini that you scooped out in the filling, but if you do, make sure you cook it down first, because it can get a bit watery. You can also save it and add it to another recipe.

Feel free to add extra spices. If you use a well flavored marinara sauce, then you shouldn’t need to go overboard, but definitely feel free to get creative!

I think these are easiest to bake on a rimmed baking sheet. You can also use a casserole dish, but they may not all fit in one dish.

Two stuffed zucchini boat halves on a plate with a knife next to them.

Storage Instructions

Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

To reheat, place the zucchini in a casserole dish and bake until warmed through.

The leftovers will not freeze well because the zucchini will get mushy if frozen. You can freeze the filling on its own, though.

Stuffed zucchini boats on a plate with one cut in half.

More Zucchini Recipes

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Zucchini Parmesan
Zucchini Fries
Zucchini Muffins
Zucchini Salad with Tomatoes
The Best Zucchini Recipes

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