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The next time you find yourself with an abundance of zucchini, make these stuffed zucchini boats. They’re filled with a taco-inspired black bean filling that’s high in fiber, naturally gluten-free, and totally delicious.
Instead of baking the filling and zucchini together in the oven all at once, this method cuts the cooking time in half by letting the zucchini bake and soften while you sauté the filling in a separate pan on the stove.
The result is a meal that’s ready to eat in about 30 minutes. Once you taste this one, you’ll want to repeat it weekly!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Featured Review
“I honestly wasn’t sure if I would like this, but it actually is the most delicious meal I’ve made in months. I wanted to eat all of it rather than save some for leftovers. I omitted the chili powder but kept everything else as is. I will definitely be sharing this recipe.” – Wendy
STuffed Zucchini Recipe Ingredients
- Zucchini. You’ll need approximately four medium-sized zucchini for this amount of filling. But if you have more or less to use up, this recipe is easy to adapt. (You could always serve some of the filling on the side, if you have less zucchini to use.)
- Black Beans. A can of black beans provides the “bulk” of the filling. These make the filling faster to prepare, since they’re already cooked and just need to be drained and rinsed.
- Veggies & Aromatics. Red onion, garlic, and bell pepper are cooked until tender and provide loads of flavor, without too much chopping required. If you’d rather use tomato or add some fresh spinach, those will work, too!
- Pantry Spices. Chili powder, ground cumin, and salt help create a flavorful stuffing for the zucchini.
- Cheese. (Optional) You can add this for a comforting, cheesy bite (and extra protein), but it’s also easy to keep these dairy-free. Try my Creamy Cilantro Sauce or Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce for a creamy topping instead.
Top these with shredded cheese for a quick vegetarian meal, or keep this dairy-free by using vegan cheese or my favorite Vegan Nacho Cheese sauce. Either way, it’s delicious!
How to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Use a sharp knife to cut off the ends of the zucchini squash, then slice them in half lengthwise. (No need to peel!)
Next, use a spoon to scoop out the center of the zucchini, including the small seeds. Leave roughly a 1/2-inch of zucchini flesh inside the boat so they will be sturdy enough to cook in the oven.
Arrange the zucchini halves on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. I leave them cut-side up, in the hopes they won’t get too mushy, but I think they’d also be fine if you flip them over.
Note: Reserve the zucchini pulp you scoop out for later use, such as adding it to a zucchini smoothie or oatmeal.
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Step 2:
As soon as the zucchini is in the oven, add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté half of a diced red onion and 1 chopped bell pepper until they soften, about 5 to 8 minutes. Then add a clove of minced garlic and half a teaspoon each of ground cumin and chili powder. Cook for 1 more minute.
Add a 15-ounce can of drained & rinsed black beans and a half teaspoon of salt, and stir briefly until everything is piping hot and the vegetables are as tender as you’d like.
Step 3:
Remove the tender zucchini from the oven, and spoon the black bean mixture into each zucchini half.
Depending on how many zucchini boats you choose to make, you might not use all the stuffing, and that’s ok! Save the leftovers for an egg scramble or stir-fry later.
Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top (optional) and return the zucchini boats to the oven until the cheese has melted, about 5 to 8 more minutes. Or you can turn on the broiler and watch closely until it is bubbly.
Dairy-Free Tip: Use dairy-free shredded cheese or drizzle on some vegan nacho cheese sauce or creamy cilantro sauce. (The latter is pictured below.)
Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Black Beans
Ingredients
Stuffed Zucchini
- 4 medium zucchini
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ red onion , diced
- 1 red bell pepper , diced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans , drained & rinsed
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar or Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the top and bottom ends off of each zucchini squash, then slice them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the center seeds of each squash, creating a crevice that will hold the black bean filling. Arrange the squash halves, cut-side-up, on a large baking sheet and bake them at 400ºF until very tender, about 20 minutes.
- While the squash is baking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onion and pepper until they soften, about 5 to minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and chili powder and stir for 1 more minute.
- Add the black beans and salt, and continue cooking until everything is heated. Turn off the heat and let the vegetables sit in the warm pan until the zucchini has finished cooking.
- Fill each cooked zucchini half with a generous amount of the black bean mixture to assemble the zucchini boats. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top, or drizzle the nacho cheese sauce over them for a vegan option. Return the zucchini to the oven until the cheese is warm, about 5 more minutes. (Turn on the broiler and watch closely if you're in a hurry; it takes about 60 seconds to brown that way.)
- Serve the zucchini boats warm, with freshly chopped cilantro on top. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon each: salt, turmeric, chili powder
Nutrition
More Recipes to Try
If you try these Vegetarian Zucchini Boats, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like them!
Fresh and easy!
This is a great recipe! I’m going to keep making it! Thank you for creating it! I highly recommend. I was able to fill two and a half pretty large zucchinis. I did the vegan version with the cashew nacho cheese, but I did add these few things to the cheez: half a teaspoon of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and I actually like the taste of nutritional yeast, so added a fourth of a cup. Yum! Thanks again!
These were delicious and easy!
I added about a cup of cooked rice and a cup of marinara sauce then topped with mozzarella cheese. Sort of a Mexican/Italian combo! Family loved them!
This is a solid recipe! I used green peppers and white onions cuz that’s what I had but they look delicious and I’m excited!
Sooo good! We added ground beef.
We loved this!
I made zucchini boats last year and we all found them disappointing. Not so with this recipe! Super flavorful.
I reserved the scooped middles for use in tomorrow’s enchiladas and added cauliflower rice and quinoa to the recipe. I found my onion had gone bad, so had to substitute 1/2 t onion powder. I also used shredded cheddar instead of the tahini sauce. So, really, what I took from your recipe were the method and the spice blend and those both worked beautifully!
Thank you for inspiring me to give zucchini boats another go. We’ll have these on rotation through zucchini season.
I made these but exchanged black beans for garbanzos. It turned out delicious .. i did a mix of the sauce and mozzarella cheese for the hubs!
delicious!! i used summer squash and zucchini, both were great.