Stuffed Zucchini Boats With Sausage and Tomatoes
These Stuffed Zucchini Boats With Sausage and Tomatoes have a crispy parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumb topping and are an easy and delicious summer dinner!
Servings: 4 boats
Estimated Calories: 312
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini, each about ¾ to 1 pound and 8 to 10 inches long
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
- ½ pound bulk sweet (mild) Italian sausage, or links with casings removed
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup Italian-seasoned panko breadcrumbs
- cooking spray
- fresh chopped basil, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Cut the stem and bottom end off of the zucchini; discard. Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise.
- Scoop out the center of each zucchini half to make a boat, leaving about a ¼-inch border all the way around (on the bottom too). I like using a melon baller to do this, but a spoon works too.
- Chop the scooped-out zucchini into smaller pieces (about ½ inch in size); set aside.
- Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently and crumbling it up into small pieces as you go, until cooked through and lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Drain off any excess grease, if needed.
- Add the chopped zucchini and onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften (about 5 more minutes). If the zucchini has released a lot of water and it hasn't cooked away, drain off the excess water.
- Add the garlic and Italian seasoning; cook, stirring frequently, for another minute.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped tomatoes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil (this is optional, but makes for easy clean-up); spray with cooking spray. Place the zucchini boats on the baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with salt.
- Divide the sausage filling evenly among the zucchini boats.
- Sprinkle ½ tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese on top of each boat.
- In a small bowl, stir together the panko bread crumbs and the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil until well-combined; divide evenly among the tops of the zucchini boats.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the zucchini is crisp-tender and the topping is golden brown.
- If desired, sprinkle the boats with chopped fresh basil; serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- If you like things spicy and with some heat, you can use hot Italian sausage instead of mild, or you can add some crushed red pepper flakes to the filling.
- I use plum tomatoes because they are often less watery than other tomatoes, but you can really use any kind of fresh tomato you like or have on hand. In a pinch, you could even use canned diced tomatoes (drained).
- I love the crunch of the panko breadcrumbs, but regular breadcrumbs can be used too (they just won't be quite as crispy).
- This recipe makes 4 boats, which will serve 2 to 4 people depending on what side dishes you are serving with it, who you are serving, and appetites.
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