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Today, I am sharing with you a recipe for Stuffed Zucchini Boats with Yogurt Garlic Sauce (the sauce is amazing!). All credit for the recipe goes to my Mom. I was just her assistant and food photographer. 🙂
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My husband, who is the official taste tester for all the recipes on my blog, doesn’t like zucchini (and mushrooms & peas). So I thought that he will probably eat the stuffing and leave the zucchini boats on the plate. He even reminded me that he dislikes zucchini as we started eating. He took several bites of the stuffing topped with the garlic sauce and said it tastes very good. I didn’t notice until a few minutes later that he had cleaned his plate and the zucchini boat was gone as well. He had eaten everything! I asked him if he noticed that he ate the zucchini as well, and he said, that it was very good! My husband absolutely loved this dish! The next day, he wanted to have another stuffed zucchini boat! Yay! Success! I have already convinced him that mushrooms are delicious, with my chicken with mushroom wine sauce, and now he likes zucchini as well. Mission accomplished! My next challenge will be to create a dish with green peas that he likes. That will be a tough one.
I hope this convinces you too to try this dish as well! I am sure you will love it too! And even your pickiest of eaters will ask for seconds. Don’t forget to make the garlic sauce, it’s a game changer! And only a few minutes to make. It’s truly phenomenal and adds so much flavor to the stuffed zucchini boats. Did I mention that it’s also very versatile and goes really well with stuffed peppers, as a dip, on chicken, and anything else you like? My mouth is salivating just thinking about that garlic sauce and delicious yogurt-mayo- garlic flavor combo. Yum!
For a Paleo version, substitute the cooked rice with cooked quinoa. Perfect summer dinner! Healthy, delicious and nutritious!
You can also make these stuffed zucchini boats ahead, refrigerate and bake them when you are ready to eat, and they can also be prepared a day ahead. Leftovers also make a great lunch.
Hope you give it a try and let me know how you like them in the comments below.
How to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats
What you need:
3 zucchini
1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 carrots, sliced in small quarts
1 tomato, finely diced
1/2 cup dry rice
cumin, to taste
oregano, to taste
salt & freshly ground pepper
Garlic Sauce
1 1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup mayonnaise
10 garlic cloves, minced (start with 5 cloves and up the amount according to your own taste)
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp fresh chopped dill
Preparation
Cook rice according to package instructions.
Half zucchini in half lengthwise. Remove the middle of each zucchini boat and place it in a bowl.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Brown meat in a large skillet for about 5 minutes until done. Season meat with salt, freshly ground black pepper, oregano, and cumin. Transfer to a plate.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in the same skillet. Add chopped onion, season with salt and cook until translucent. To the same skillet add chopped carrots, season with salt and cook until carrots are tender (about 3-4 minutes). Add 3/4 of the zucchini mixture and finely diced tomato. Season again with salt, freshly ground black pepper and oregano. Cook until vegetables are tender and flavors are well incorporated (about 2-3 minutes).
Add ground beef and cooked rice to the skillet and mix everything.
Season zucchini boats inside with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Fill zucchini boats with the vegetable-beef-rice mixture and place them on a large baking sheet. Add water to the baking sheet (about 1/2 inch). This helps keep the zucchini boats tender and moist. Bake at 400 F for about 40 minutes.
While the zucchini boats are baking, prepare the yogurt garlic sauce.
Just before serving, top stuffed zucchini boats with the garlic sauce. It’s so delicious!
Garlic Sauce
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk Greek yogurt, mayo, minced garlic, and salt. Finally, add chopped dill and stir well. You can adjust the ingredients according to your liking, Add less or more mayo or garlic according to your taste.
Enjoy!
More Delicious Summer Dinners:
- Easy Stuffed Zucchini Cups
- Stuffed Peppers
- Grilled Chicken with Raspberry Balsamic Glaze
- Bacon-Wrapped Chicken
- Grilled Chicken & Vegetables
Stuffed Zucchini Boats with Garlic Sauce
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INGREDIENTS
- 3 zucchini
- ½ lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, sliced in small quarts
- 1 tomato, finely diced
- ½ cup dry rice
- cumin, to taste
- oregano, to taste
- salt & freshly ground pepper
Garlic Sauce
- 1 ½ cup yogurt
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 10 garlic cloves, minced (start with 5 cloves and up the amount according to your own taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped dill
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook rice according to package instructions.
- Half zucchini in half lengthwise. Remove the middle of each zucchini boat and place it in a bowl.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Brown meat in a large skillet for about 5 minutes until done. Season meat with salt, freshly ground black pepper, oregano, and cumin. Transfer to a plate.
- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in the same skillet. Add chopped onion, season with salt and cook until translucent. To the same skillet add chopped carrots, season with salt and cook until carrots are tender (about 3-4 minutes). Add 3/4 of the zucchini mixture and finely diced tomato. Season again with salt, freshly ground black pepper and oregano. Cook until vegetables are tender and flavors are well incorporated (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add ground beef and cooked rice to the skillet and mix everything.
- Season zucchini boats inside with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Fill zucchini boats with vegetable beef rice mixture and place them on a large baking sheet. Add water to the baking sheet (about 1/2 inch). This helps keep the zucchini boats tender and moist. Bake at 400 F for about 40 minutes.
- While the zucchini boats are baking, prepare the yogurt garlic sauce.
- Just before serving, top stuffed zucchini boats with the garlic sauce. It’s so delicious!
Garlic Sauce
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk Greek yogurt, mayo, minced garlic, and salt. Finally, add chopped dill and stir well. You can adjust the ingredients according to your liking, Add less or more mayo or garlic according to your taste.
TIPS & NOTES
- Remove the middle of the zucchini with a melon baller or teaspoon.
- I used white rice, but the recipe will work just as well with wild or brown rice.
- The garlic sauce will keep covered in the fridge for about 5 days.
NUTRITION
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Just made this, it was delicious! The garlic sauce definitely makes the dish!