Pizza-Stuffed Zucchini Boats
with sausage / garlic bread

Name: Pizza-Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 Bell peppers, any color, diced; 5 oz Cheese, fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced; 2 cloves Garlic, chopped; 4 Zucchini, medium, halved; 1 Tbsp Oil, olive; 1 tsp Italian seasoning; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1/4 tsp Black pepper; 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp Oil, cooking; 12 oz Italian sausage, loose and raw (sub any variety loose, raw sausage); 1 can Tomatoes, crushed (14 oz / 397 g); 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes (opt); 1 oz Cheese, parmesan, grated; 2 cloves Garlic, chopped; 2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped; 2 Tbsp Butter; 8 oz Baguette or ciabatta

Active: 30 Total: 45

Original GF Paleo Vegetarian

Our community loved this dish in 2016, so we are bringing it back! Inspired by the flavors of pizza, zucchini makes a sturdy shell for a filling of Italian sausage, bell peppers, and mozzarella. If you like a little spice, use spicy sausage or top the baked zucchini with red pepper flakes. This video shows steps for the original version.

Proteins

Cheese, Sausage

Cuisines

American

Ingredients

Metric

Servings:

Pizza-Stuffed Zucchini:

Bell peppers, any color - 1 , diced
Cheese, fresh mozzarella - 5 oz , thinly sliced
Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped
Zucchini, medium - 4 , halved
Oil, olive - 1 Tbsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
Italian sausage, loose and raw - 12 oz (sub any variety loose, raw sausage)
Tomatoes, crushed (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can
Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/2 tsp

Garlic Bread:

Cheese, parmesan - 1 oz , grated
Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped
Parsley - 2 Tbsp , chopped
Butter - 2 Tbsp
Baguette or ciabatta - 8 oz

Prep

Bell peppers / Cheese (for zucchini and bread) / Garlic (for zucchini and bread) - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Zucchini - Slice in half lengthwise and then use a spoon to scoop out the center of each zucchini half, leaving ~1/2” / 1.25 cm thick shell on all sides (discard the center you scoop out or save it for another purpose). Check out this video. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
Parsley - Chop parsley. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
Prep garlic bread - Heat butter in microwave just until soft, 10 to 20 seconds. Combine butter with garlic (portion for bread), cheese (portion for bread), and parsley . Slice bread open lengthwise and spread with garlic butter.

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Make

Heat oven to 400F / 204C. Set out two sheet pans.
While oven heats, set garlic bread, cut-side up on the first sheet pan. Set aside.
Brush the second sheet pan with some cooking oil. Place zucchini halves on pan, cut-side facing up.
Whisk together olive oil, garlic (portion for zucchini), Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Brush onto cut-side of zucchini halves.
Transfer pan to heated oven and bake until zucchini halves are starting to turn tender and golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
While zucchini cooks, heat a saucepan with first part of cooking oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers with a pinch of salt and saute until peppers are starting to turn tender, ~2 minutes.
Add second part of cooking oil and then sausage to heated oil. Saute sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain any excess liquid from pan.
Add tomatoes to sausage and simmer until sauce thickens, ~2 minutes more. Season with some salt and pepper.
Remove zucchini halves from oven.
Fill zucchini with sauce and top with mozzarella cheese.
Transfer both sheet pans (zucchini and garlic bread) to oven. Bake until cheese is melted and garlic bread is lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve immediately. Top zucchini with red pepper flakes if you’d like. Enjoy!

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