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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Our Low-Carb Zucchini Lasagna is a delicious, healthy version of traditional lasagna. This noodle-free lasagna swaps pasta for grilled zucchini for the perfect weeknight meal for the whole family! This lasagna will teach you how to use up extra zucchini from overflowing gardens or winter months when you want healthy dinner ideas!
We’ve been testing zucchini lasagna for months to bring you the best way to use up all that garden zucchini, and trust us, this one’s a winner.
The Key to Rich Flavor in Zucchini Lasagna
Our goal: make it healthier without sacrificing flavor.
What Meat to Use in Lasagna
The sauce is key. We tested everything from ground beef to sausage, but our favorite was our signature burger blend—60% chuck, 40% brisket. That rich, hearty flavor even held up without meat for a great vegetarian option.
Ricotta VS Cottage Cheese in Lasagna
Then came the cheese. Mozzarella was a given, but we debated ricotta cheese vs. cottage cheese. Shockingly, cottage cheese won! It’s high in protein, and it made the layers creamy and light
Why We LOVE Zucchini Lasagna
Best of all, this comes together fast
This Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake is rich, ultra-moist, and packed with deep chocolate flavor. You’d never guess it’s made with zucchini, but that’s the secret to its soft, tender crumb!
We always end up drowning in zucchini by mid-summer (anyone else feel personally attacked by their garden?), and this cake is the easiest, most delicious way to use it up. But let’s be clear: this isn’t your grandma’s bundt cake. We’re talking deep, dark chocolate, a generous handful of chocolate chips, and a glossy ganache that’s so good, you’ll want to lick the spoon.
Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake
Dark chocolate sounds intense, right? Like it’s going to be super rich and way more work. But thanks to dark chocolate cocoa powder. (which you can now find at most grocery stores! Target usually has the best price.) It’s shockingly easy to get that deep, decadent flavor without any extra hassle.
And the best part? It’s not overpowering. The shredded zucchini keeps the crumb moist and light, while the semi-sweet mini chocolate chips add just the right sweetness. You get a bold chocolate cake that’s actually balanced.
Can I Use Regular Cocoa Powder?
Absolutely. If you don’t have dark cocoa, regular unsweetened cocoa works just fine. Want to lean darker? Use dark chocolate chips or go all in with a bittersweet ganache. Honestly, whatever chocolate you’ve got—use it. This recipe is super forgiving, and your cake will still turn out delicious.
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These delicious zucchini fritters are made with parmesan cheese and fresh basil for a flavorful twist. They are the perfect way to use up summer zucchini and make for a tasty appetizer or side dish.
You are going to go nuts for these crispy parmesan basil zucchini fritters! They are perfectly crunchy, full of cheesy goodness and so much flavor with only a few ingredients! Get ready to fall in love with your new favorite zucchini recipe.
I love to find new ways of using that bursting with produce zucchini plant and these parmesan basil zucchini fritters recipe is a perfect way to mix things up from the traditional zucchini bread, zucchini lasagna etc.
Ingredients for Zucchini Fritters
If you have zucchinis overflowing in your garden, grab a couple of them and a few other simple ingredients. I always like to see a quick overview of the ingredients so I know what to grab at the grocery store. Here is everything you will need:
- Zucchinis: shredded small with a box grater, no need to peel them
- Egg: helps bind the fritter together
- Flour: gives the fritters structure and just regular all purpose flour is all you need
- Chives: adds flavor
- Basil: adds flavor
- Salt and Black Pepper: adds flavor and the salt draws out moisture from the zucchini
- Mozzarella Cheese: adds gooiness
- Parmesan Cheese: adds flavor and crispiness
Dipping Sauce
- Sour Cream: acts as the base for the dipping sauce, plain Greek yogurt can also be used
- Feta Cheese: adds saltiness and flavor
- Parsley: adds freshness
- Lemon Zest and Juice: adds acidity and bright fresh flavor
- Garlic: adds flavor
- Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
I sprinkled some green onions on top for the photos so that’s totally an option if you want! The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Zucchini Fritters
You won’t believe how easy it is to make these crisp zucchini fritters! Especially when you use the air fryer! Here are the steps:
- Prepare the Zucchini: Grate zucchini using a box grater or food processor and then place in a colander with salt and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: While the zucchini is sitting, make the sauce. Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
- Squeeze: Using a cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, squeeze out as much liquid from the shredded zucchini. The salt will have released a lot of moisture.
Cheesy, saucy, rich and hearty Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a favorite in my house. Whether you serve them on their own, with a side of rice or potatoes, or chopped up and tossed with pasta (that’s my favorite way to enjoy these for lunch leftovers!), these zucchini boats are likely to be a win with your whole family.
Zucchini Boat Recipes
I stumbled across these Cheddar and Sausage Zucchini Boats from The Garlic Diaries a while back and I couldn’t get them out of my head. They were absolutely delicious!
To make this recipe, fresh zucchini is hollowed out and roasted and then filled with cheesy sausage and vegetables. Loaded with plenty of great flavors, this is a terrific way to make the most of the summer’s harvest.
I’ve been making all kinds of stuffed zucchini boats on repeat and I love how endlessly adaptable they are. From taco-inspired boats to chicken parmesan zucchini boats, saucy bbq chicken and zucchini pizza boats, we LOVE them.
As I mentioned above, I especially enjoy these recipes when I chop up the leftovers and toss them with angel hair pasta. I usually add a splash more marinara sauce over the pasta.
I reach for the zucchini and start filling them with chicken, pork, or beef as soon as they are in season each year. In all seriousness though, the leftovers are some of my favorite lunches and I’ve been known to bake some of these just to have them on hand for lunch.
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