Zucchini Boat Stuffed with an Easy Bolognese Sauce
I recently made a zucchini boat stuffed with an easy bolognese sauce. It’s zucchini season and I have so much zucchini from my one zucchini plant.
I’m spiralizing it for zoodles that I can freeze for use later. I’m also creating new recipes
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Zucchini Boats with Bolognese Sauce
Equipment
- sharp knife
- Cutting Board
- ice cream scooper
- large skillet
- measuring spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- baster
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- Redmond Real Sea Salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp basil or 4 whole fresh leaves of basil
- 1 tsp Redmond Real Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 28 oz. can of tomato puree
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Prepare Zucchini
- Cut off flower end of the zucchini and then cut again lengthwise
- Scoop out the center, soft seeded middle to form a long narrow bowl
- Sprinkle with a bit of fine sea salt on the cut sides of the zucchini, then lay on paper towel, cut side down while you prepare the sauce
Bolognese Sauce
- To a large skillet add the olive oil and let heat then add the onions and over medium heat stir until translucent.
- Add the garlic to the onions and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute
- Add the beef. Break it up and stir it into the onion mixture with a wooden spoon.
- Add the seasonings to the meat mixture. Continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink.
- Drain any excess fat or liquids with a turkey baster
- Add the tomato puree to the skillet with the meat and if you're using fresh basil, throw the leave in the sauce. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 400°
Assembling the Zucchini Boats
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Lay the zucchini skin side down on the parchment paper.
- Fill the hollowed-out part of the zucchini with the meat mixture.
- Bake in oven for 40 minutes
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese for the last 10 minutes of cooking
Video
Notes
Using Zucchini
Every day I have one to two new fresh zucchini that is ready (or beyond ready) to be used. I’m giving them away and trying out new things. Since I’m the only one who will eat zucchini, I’m making a fun dish that can go in the freezer and giving it to Emma and her roommate to pop in the oven after a busy work day for dinner.
If you don’t have zucchini from a garden, you can find them at the farmer’s market and your local grocery store.
Zucchini is a low-carb alternative to noodles. We use them instead of spaghetti with pasta sauce. They can also be thinly sliced and layered in a baking dish instead of lasagna noodles for a vegetarian version.
Bolognese
Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine, typical of the city of Bologna. It is customarily used to dress tagliatelle al ragù and to prepare lasagne alla bolognese.
Other Variations
You can add extra veggies like diced green pepper, carrots, and/or celery. I like to keep my sauces simple so that is something that I didn’t do with this recipe. Also “Handy” doesn’t like veggies.
Instead of zucchini, you can top any kind of pasta with the bolognese sauce.
If you use fresh basil like I do, make sure you take the whole leaves out of the sauce before you assemble the boats.
Conclusion
You can also make the sauce in bulk and freeze it in meal-sized portions to use over zoodles, pasta, or filling in lasagna.
Store leftovers in an air-tight container to enjoy the next day. These ground beef zucchini boats can also be prepared and frozen for an easy freezer meal.
This delicious recipe is a low-calorie, low-carb meal that is a great way to use your garden zucchini. This is a recipe that you can make the bolognese over the weekend and put the meal together during the week. This will cut down on your weeknight cooking time.
I hope that you enjoy!
Meet Me
Created by Lynn Vogeler, Small House Kitchen is a celebration of the joy found in mostly from-scratch cooking and the magic that happens when great ingredients meet limitless imagination. In our small house, we turn simple ingredients into extraordinary meals with big flavors.
You can find out about all of my other passions; decorating, entertaining, organizing, and gardening over at livinglargeinasmallhouse.com
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Looks delicious! I’m so in love with zucchini prepared like this. Can’t wait to try your recipe, friend!
We loved it and it froze well so we were able to enjoy it several times.