When you have a sea of fresh produce from the garden, it’s fun to find new ways of enhancing an old favorite. Stuffed Zucchinis will be a wonderful addition to your fleet of zucchini recipes, and we think you are going to love it. These zucchini boats are filled with a flawlessly seasoned ground beef and tomato sauce mixture. Then, they’re topped with melted mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, setting sail to a new island of food adventure. Let the winds of change do you some good with these Stuffed Zucchinis at the helm. Be the captain of this new voyage of food fun, and your mates will love you for it! Bon voyage!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce or marinara, divided
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more, to taste
- 3 medium zucchinis
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2 –In a large skillet, cook the ground beef, the onion, and the garlic until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the excess fat.
Step 3 –Stir the bell pepper into the beef mixture and cook until it begins to soften, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 4 –Stir 1 cup of the pasta sauce, the Italian seasoning, the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper into the beef mixture and simmer until it thickens, about 10 minutes.
Step 5 –Slice the zucchinis lengthwise and use a teaspoon to scrape out the center to create 1/2-inch-thick shells.
Step 6 –Brush the zucchinis with the olive oil and season with the salt and the extra pepper.
Step 7 –Place the zucchinis in a large baking dish.
Step 8 –Fill the zucchinis with the beef mixture and evenly top with the remaining pasta sauce.
Step 9 –Bake the zucchinis for 15 minutes.
Step 10 –Top the zucchinis with the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese and bake until the zucchinis are soft and the cheese is bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.
Step 11 –Serve.
