Stuffed zucchini boats filled with the flavors of chicken parmesan. This low carbohydrate, high protein meal will leave you feeling satisfied!
I love swapping out the processed ingredients in recipes for whole fruits and vegetables!
That was the idea for these chicken parmesan zucchini boats. Instead of having a fried piece of chicken on a bed of pasta, this recipe calls for sautéed ground chicken served in hollowed out zucchini. It gets the chicken parmesan essence from mixing pasta sauce into the chicken. And, of course, the whole thing gets covered in mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
For another fruit and vegetable swap, try this Cranberry Tuna Salad on Apple Slices.
To make this recipe, start by cutting some zucchini in half. Use a spoon to scrape the seeds and the middle out of the zucchini, creating zucchini boats.
Brown some ground chicken in a skillet. Stir in some garlic and pasta sauce. Then, spoon the chicken mixture into the zucchini boats.
Cover the zucchini with shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese. Cover, and bake until the cheese is melted and the zucchini is soft.
Find more of my recipes on TikTok
Chicken Parmesan Zucchini Boats Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini about 1 ¾ pounds
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup pasta sauce
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Optional: sliced fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and break it apart with a spoon. Add the salt and pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally and break down the chicken into small chunks.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic to the chicken. Cook 1 minute stirring often. Add the pasta sauce. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- As the chicken cooks, cut the zucchini in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop the seeds and center out of each zucchini half, leaving a ¼ inch thick zucchini boat.
- Place the zucchini in the baking dish cut-side up.
- Spoon the chicken mixture into the zucchini boats. Press the mixture down into the zucchini using the back of the spoon.
- Sprinkle the zucchini evenly with the parmesan, then the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.
Nutrition
Check out all of my great chicken recipes.
Delicious Clean Dinner
Amazing taste
Only suggestion is bake for 20 minutes
In addition to the salt, pepper, and garlic, I added some rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder (roughly 1/2 tsp of each) to the chicken as it was cooking. My hubby, who is a notoriously picky eater, loved it!!! Will definitely be making these again!!!!
could you swap out the ground chicken for regular chicken, like in strips? will it cook through?
Just made these. Super yummy!
I seen this recipe on your website today and decided that I would try it out. 2019 is the year I am making healthy choices and this looked scrumptious. However, not only does it look scrumptious, but it is absolutely scrumptious and a whole lot more filling and satisfying than I had thought. I am a type 2 diabetic who should be on low carbohydrate diet. This one is a keeper for the weekly. Thank you so very much. Tomorrow I am trying out your Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Zoodles. This is a good opportunity to use the spiralizer attachment that was bought for my kitchenaid. Thanks again.
I havent tried this yet. It looks amazing. Going to the store after work to get what I need. The best part is no carbs. 🙂
I just made this and brought it to work. Had people ohh-ing over it! It tastes even better than it looks! And I didn’t miss the heavy carbs at all.
These were great! My husband was skeptical. He loves chicken Parmesan, but wasn’t sure about this twist with zucchini. He had seconds! I used pre-cooked chicken strips, cut up, as I had those on hand, otherwise believe I followed the recipe as is. Zucchini and fresh basil both from our garden. Delicious recipe. Thanks!
My family loved it. Because ground turkey has a tendency to be bland, I added onion and some italian seasoning. My husband said I could make it any time I want.
35 minutes was too long. I did 25 minutes, uncovered it and broiled for just a minute so the cheese got a bit crispy.
My husband said I could make this once a week and he wouldn’t complain. This is so delicious and flavorful. I popped mine under the broiler after the oven and it gave the cheese a nice crust. Delicious and clean!
Have you tried making ahead and freezing? If so – any tips on reheating?
I froze after assembly of boats. After thawed, baked uncovered and put cheese on then. If I have extra meat mixture I will keep in extra bag to add when heating it.
Tried these lastnight and was very impressed! I minced the chicken myself, when I did that I put garlic and parsley through the mincer with the chicken too. Before I cooked the chicken I sautéed onions and the pulp from the zucchini as there was so much it seemed a waste to not use it, added in some Italian herbs and some season all. When I dug out the zucchini I salted it and turned upside down on kitchen paper to help with the excess moisture. When it was all assembled I cooked uncovered for 20 mins which I think helped avoid the excess moisture that would happen when they are “steamed” covered cooking in the oven. Even the kids enjoyed it!! They mince was bulked up with the zucchini pulp and the kids had no idea how healthy the dish was (winning!) great recipe for my current diet plan and it makes HEAPS! So great for the freezer! Thankyou!
Would you recommend a specific pasta sauce for the dish? I’ve been trying different brands of sauce and have yet to find one that I love.
Prego Farmers market Sauce Classic Marinara
Did it but I’m not sure… water got out of zucchinies and so there was just lots if water on the bottom of the baking dish so everything was very soaked in it :/
I made this and it came out really good !!I wish they were a little crunchy but it was a success.
I made this tonight for dinner with a few modifications and it was delicious! I added some Italian Seasoning and Basil to the meat mixture to give it more flavor. Also, I chopped up the pulp that I scooped out from zucchini and added that to the meat as well. I also salted and peppered the zucchini shells before filling, and then topped the filled shells with a bit more of the pasta sauce before adding the cheeses. With a few extra touches, this is a keeper!
Really surprised how well these went down in my house, I knew they would be right up my street but I wasn’t sure about my other half as he isn’t a fan of zucchini / courgettes but he raved about them and went back for seconds! So quick and easy to make, will definitely be a regular on the weekly meal plan!
I love it! Easy, light, and delicious!!family approved?
The flavor of the chicken did not come through. My family thought I made hamburger spaghetti sauce and used that. I was disappointed! I was hoping for a lot more chicken taste. If I try again, I will use shredded chicken. We prefer a mushroom stuffed zucchini. Good base method tho and easy to customize for your family’s taste.
I made it with ground turkey and I could definitely taste it, maybe try that next time?
I made these tonight… It was just delicious and so easy to prepare!!! Great idea, it looks great and its healthy too ☺ I put swiss cheese instead of mozzarella/parmesan cheese and chopped green onions instead of fresh basil. Thank you for this recipe!
Hey, the recipe sounds tasty but i was wondering where all the protein came from, on buzffeed’s page it’s written that it has 56g of protein and here it’s 36, also 1 lb of groud chicken is like 22g of protein and zucchinis barely add any more proteins, so how does it work? Thanks for taking the time to explain !