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This low carb dish, Italian-inspired, has so much going for it! It involves ground beef, fresh vegetables, and is topped with cheese and herbs. Less guilt, but tons of flavor for this low carb recipe.
These stuffed Italian zucchini boats have changed my feelings when it comes to Italian food. And, I have some pretty serious feelings about the subject. That’s a big deal, isn’t it?
When I think of Italian food, I immediately think of rigatoni, spaghetti, penne, or over-the-top ravioli in a light tomato cream sauce, sprinkled with lots of fresh basil and grated Parmesan. I mean, come on!
I never thought I could get the same level of satisfaction and enjoyment from a dish that doesn't involve pasta.
Take a quick look at the video below for my tips on how to cleanly and easily harvest the zucchini and prepare the filling.
Low carb dish | Ingredients
- 3 medium, uniformly sized zucchini
- 1 (24 to 26 ounce) jar tomato basil marinara, divided
- 1 to harvest of olive oil soup
- 1 piece of ground turkey or ground beef
- 1/3 cup of chopped onion
- 1 to harvest of chopped garlic tea
- 1/3 cup chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped brown button mushrooms
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 to harvest of Italian seasoning tea
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
- 1-1 / 2 cups partially shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup shaved or shredded parmesan
- 2 spoons of Italian style panko breadcrumb soup
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Low carb dish | Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Measure out 1 cup of marinara sauce and set aside.
- Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape out the flesh from the zucchini, cut it up, and set it aside. Place the hollowed-out zucchini boats in a 13" x 9" baking dish and add about 1 inch of water. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a 12-inch skillet and place over medium heat. Add the beef (or turkey), onion, pepper, and garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring to break up the ground beef as it cooks. Continue cooking and stirring until the beef is fully cooked and the vegetables have softened. Drain off as much of the fat as possible and return the skillet to the heat.
- Add the chopped zucchini meat, mushrooms, remaining marinara in the jar (reserve 1 cup for later), parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the partially cooked zucchini from the baking dish and pour off the water. Pour the reserved 1 cup of marinara sauce into the empty baking dish and place the zucchini boats on top of the sauce.
- Divide the filling among the zucchini boats. If you have extra filling, spoon it into the dish around the zucchini boats. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is forked. Remove the dish from the oven.
- Remove the foil and sprinkle the zucchini boats with mozzarella, parmesan. Place the dish in the oven, watch closely and cook for just a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
Recipe Notes
How to make totally healthy low carb rice
