These zucchini taco boats are everything we love about taco night packed into a lighter, veggie-loaded dinner. Tender zucchini gets stuffed with seasoned taco meat, rice, beans, corn, salsa, and plenty of melty cheese for a meal that’s hearty, healthy, and totally satisfying.
Even better? They’re easy to customize with whatever you have in the fridge and perfect for using up leftover taco meat, chicken, or rice.
When we were first married Cade was obsessively healthy. Remember how he wouldn’t eat my Mom’s famous caramel brownies? Ugh, still an eye roller for me. Anyway, we would think up cheap, easy and healthy options for dinner and a Mexican chicken with brown rice was one of our go-to meals. As the years wore on we added different ingredients like corn, beans, and spices.
Fast forward a whole heck of a lot of time and it’s a totally different meal now. When I started hearing about stuffed peppers I immediately thought of stuffed zucchini instead. I mean, stuffed peppers are great, but there’s something I like even more about a stuffed zucchini recipe.
What are Zucchini Taco Boats?
If you’ve never had a zucchini boat, you are missing out! It’s a summer staple at our house when the zucchini plant starts going crazy. It consists of a zucchini sliced in half, scooped out and stuffed with whatever filling you want. For this version, we stuff it with taco filling. We also have a classic Italian stuffed zucchini boat that you should try as well!
Why You’ll Love These Zucchini Taco Boats
- Perfect for busy weeknights
- Easy healthy dinner recipe
- Packed with taco flavor
- Great low carb alternative to tacos
- Family-friendly and filling
- Easy to customize
- Great way to use extra zucchini
- Naturally gluten-free
- Loaded with lean protein and veggies
Ingredients You’ll Need
The ingredient list is full of simple, wholesome ingredients that come together to make a seriously flavorful dinner. Most of them are pantry staples, and the filling is super easy to customize based on what your family loves.
- Zucchinis: The perfect sturdy base for the taco filling while keeping the recipe light and veggie-packed.
- Olive Oil: Helps sauté the meat and vegetables while adding a little richness and flavor.
- Ground Turkey: A lean protein that soaks up all the taco flavors beautifully. Ground chicken, beef, or shredded chicken also work great.
- Cumin: Adds warm, earthy flavor that gives the filling classic taco seasoning taste.
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When the weather gets hot, this Chicken Taco Salad is the dinner we make on repeat. It’s fresh, crunchy, loaded with juicy taco-seasoned grilled chicken, and tossed with the most delicious creamy taco salad dressing.
It’s everything we love about taco night piled onto a big bowl of crisp lettuce instead. It is fast, satisfying, and one of those meals everyone in the family loves!
After everyone went crazy for our Ground Beef Taco Salad I just knew we had to make a grilled chicken taco salad version. I mean, how can you not make another taco salad? It’s a must!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Taco Salad
- Fresh and flavorful – crunchy lettuce, juicy chicken, and tons of toppings
- Easy weeknight dinner – ready in about 30 minutes
- Healthy-ish comfort food – all the taco flavor without the heavy fried shell
- Totally customizable – add your favorite toppings
- Perfect for summer meals when it’s too hot to cook
Ingredients You’ll Need
The beauty of this grilled chicken taco salad is how simple it is. A few fresh ingredients, juicy taco chicken, and a creamy homemade taco salad dressing come together to make a salad that’s anything but boring.
- Taco Chicken: Boneless chicken breasts are coated in taco seasoning and grilled until juicy and flavorful.
- Romaine: Perfect for taco salad because it stays crisp and adds that classic chopped salad crunch.
- Black Beans: Add protein, fiber, and that classic Tex-Mex flavor.
- Corn: Adds freshness and a little sweetness that balances the savory ingredients.
- Cheese: Shredded cheddar or a Mexican blend adds creaminess and richness.
- Tomatoes: Bring brightness and juiciness to t
Taco Pie is an easy weeknight win with picky eaters and families across the globe. Made with simple ingredients like ground beef, tomatoes, beans and cheese this Mexican Ground Beef Dish will be praised as the dinner winner for years to come.
Our Homemade Taco Pie recipe is made with simple ingredients, a flaky pie crust and is full of easy, kid-friendly flavors that even picky eaters will love! It’s not only perfect for those busy weeknights and picky eaters, it’s also a make-ahead recipe!
I have been making different versions of taco pie since 2008, but this one is the last I’ll ever make, it’s perfection in a pie crust! I recently threw it together for my hungry family and it became an instant hit.
Why My Kids LOVE Taco Pie
It’s one of those recipes that I can make and everyone is happy. Not a single picky-eater complaint. And it’s the perfect meal to take to a new mom who just had a baby, sick neighbor or just to have friends over for dinner one night.
Add this Savory Pie to your list of kid-approved, easy dinner ideas! It’s warm and flaky, cheesy and comforting. Full of hearty and healthy ingredients, it’s a whole meal-in-one!
Variations:
This is a perfect recipe to adapt to use whatever ingredients you have in the fridge and pantry, to fit your family and budget needs!
- Protein: Swap the ground beef for ground chicken, turkey or any other leftover cooked meats like chicken or pork.
- Vegetarian: Omit the meat and add another can of beans and additional veggies like spinach, sautéed zucchini, and mushrooms to make it meatless!
- Beans: Not into beans or prefer a different kind? You can omit or substitute!
- Taco Seasoning: my homemade taco seasoning uses simple pantry ingredients and is way better than store-bought!
More Savory Pie Recipes
Watch the Video for How to Make a Savory Taco Pie
Satisfy your taco cravings with these easy and delicious 5 ingredient shredded beef tacos. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or a fun fiesta with friends!
Has everyone tried Kinder’s seasonings?! This is not a sponsored post but we are absolutely obsessed! They have so many different flavors and every kind that we have tried has been delicious. We use the buttery steakhouse blend in our amazing chicken marinade recipe, and it is heaven!
This carne asada blend adds bold flavor and a hint of citrus to the juicy beef. I just can’t say enough about how in love we are with how tasty and easy this shredded beef recipe is. We hope it becomes a regular dinner in your family!
Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe
This recipe came together on a whim one day. I had just bought the Kinder’s Carne Asada Rub and I had a chuck roast that I needed to use. With our pork carnitas as my inspo, I baked the beef roast all afternoon and then crisped it up in the oven right before serving. The whole family couldn’t stop raving about this beef!
Ingredients for Easy Beef Tacos
You won’t believe how flavorful this Mexican shredded beef is with only 5 ingredients! Here is what you will need:
- Boneless Beef Chuck Roast: make sure that it has good marbling
- Kinder’s Carne Asada Rub: a blend of all your favorite Mexican flavors including orange and lime juice, sea salt, garlic, cumin and other spices
- Onions: I like to use red onions or a combination of red and yellow.
- Beef Stock: helps keep the beef tender and juicy
- Orange Juice: adds citrus flavor
The measurements and details for each ingredient can be found in the recipe at the end of the post.
How to Make Shredded Beef Tacos
If you only look at the total time for this recipe, it might seem less than ideal, but I promise this recipe is so easy! Most of the total cook time is just letting the meat roast away in the oven while your house is filled with the most scrumptious aroma. Here are the steps:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Season: Using the carne asada seasoning, season the roast on all sides.
- Bake: Place the seasoned roast onions, orange juice and onions in a large Dutch oven. Place the lid on and let it bake for 3.5 hours.
- Shred: Remove from the oven and shred the meat into large chunks using two forks. Place it back in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Roast: Remove the Dutch oven and increase the temperature to 425 degrees F. Place all the beef and o
This delicious and nutritious ground beef and sweet potato skillet meal is perfect for busy weeknights. With only one pan to clean up, it’s a quick and easy dinner option the whole family will love!
Ingredients for Taco Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Skillet
I am always looking for quick dinner recipes that have lean protein and complex carbohydrates so that everyone is fully satisfied and energized. It has quickly become a regular on our dinner rotation. Here is everything you’ll need:
- Olive Oil
- Lean Ground Beef
- Yellow Onion
- Taco Seasoning
- Cornstarch
- Garlic
- Sweet Potatoes
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- Diced Green Chiles
- Water
- Lime
- Mexican Cheese Shreds
- Cilantro
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Taco Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Skillet
This ground beef recipe is made all in one pan, and it’s so easy! Here are the steps:
- Brown the Ground Beef: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and then add the ground beef and onion. Cook until the meat is mostly browned and the onion is tender.
- Season the Meat: Add half of the taco seasoning and cornstarch. Use a meat chopper to break up the beef and use a wooden spoon to stir. When the beef is almost completely cooked, add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then remove the beef and onions to a plate.
- Cook the Sweet Potatoes: Add a little more oil to the skillet and add the diced sweet potatoes. Season with the remaining taco seasoning and some salt and pepper. Cook until they start to brown, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
- Combine: Add the ground beef and onions to the skillet, then add the fire roasted tomatoes, green chiles, water and lime juice and stir everything together. Cover the pan with a lid and let everything simmer for 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Add the Toppings: Top with the shredded cheese. Add the lid back for a minute so the cheese melts. Then add the cilantro.
The recipe card below contains all the instructions in full detail so keep scrolling to see everything in one place.
What to Serve with Taco Sweet Potato Skillet
This sweet potato hash is really an all-in-one type of dish if you want to keep dinner simple. If you want to add a side dish