Stuffed zucchini boats filled with the flavors of chicken parmesan. This low carbohydrate, high protein meal will leave you feeling satisfied!
I love swapping out the processed ingredients in recipes for whole fruits and vegetables!
That was the idea for these chicken parmesan zucchini boats. Instead of having a fried piece of chicken on a bed of pasta, this recipe calls for sautéed ground chicken served in hollowed out zucchini. It gets the chicken parmesan essence from mixing pasta sauce into the chicken. And, of course, the whole thing gets covered in mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
MY LATEST RECIPESYou can see some of my other fruit and vegetable swaps in these recipes: Cranberry Tuna Salad on Apple Slices, and Greek Stuffed Cucumbers with Chicken and Yogurt Sauce.
To make this recipe, start by cutting some zucchini in half. Use a spoon to scrape the seeds and the middle out of the zucchini, creating zucchini boats.
Brown some ground chicken in a skillet. Stir in some garlic and pasta sauce. Then, spoon the chicken mixture into the zucchini boats.
Cover the zucchini with shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese. Cover, and bake until the cheese is melted and the zucchini is soft.
Watch this short video to see how it’s made!
Chicken Parmesan Zucchini Boats Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini about 1 3/4 pounds
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup pasta sauce
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Optional: sliced fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and break it apart with a spoon. Add the salt and pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally and break down the chicken into small chunks.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic to the chicken. Cook 1 minute stirring often. Add the pasta sauce. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- As the chicken cooks, cut the zucchini in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop the seeds and center out of each zucchini half, leaving a 1/4 inch thick zucchini boat.
- Place the zucchini in the baking dish cut-side up.
- Spoon the chicken mixture into the zucchini boats. Press the mixture down into the zucchini using the back of the spoon.
- Sprinkle the zucchini evenly with the parmesan, then the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.
Nutrition
My husband said I could make this once a week and he wouldn’t complain. This is so delicious and flavorful. I popped mine under the broiler after the oven and it gave the cheese a nice crust. Delicious and clean!
My family loved it. Because ground turkey has a tendency to be bland, I added onion and some italian seasoning. My husband said I could make it any time I want.
35 minutes was too long. I did 25 minutes, uncovered it and broiled for just a minute so the cheese got a bit crispy.
These were great! My husband was skeptical. He loves chicken Parmesan, but wasn’t sure about this twist with zucchini. He had seconds! I used pre-cooked chicken strips, cut up, as I had those on hand, otherwise believe I followed the recipe as is. Zucchini and fresh basil both from our garden. Delicious recipe. Thanks!
I just made this and brought it to work. Had people ohh-ing over it! It tastes even better than it looks! And I didn’t miss the heavy carbs at all.
I havent tried this yet. It looks amazing. Going to the store after work to get what I need. The best part is no carbs. 🙂