If you’ve ever eaten at an old-school American diner, you know the draw of a chocolate malt, French fries, a burger, and potato skins. These stuffed zucchini boats are a knock off of those potato skins, using fresh zucchini.
Zucchini is delicious in this Italian farfalle, too!
Make at home zucchini boats, diner style
Good ole Guy Fieri takes us to diners all across America with his over the top TV show. And watching people on TV make and devour those meals can leave a human wishing for dinner out. At a diner. With loud music and fried food and cheesy goodness.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you can replicate that experience right at home with these deliciously cheesy zucchini boats.
Make up a big batch and serve them up hot, or do them “bar” style and allow each person to choose their own toppings for this easy stuffed zucchini recipe. Like this quesadilla bar!
Ingredients
Zucchini: Delicious in its own right, zucchini becomes a vehicle for even more deliciousness when it’s loaded with toppings that mimic potato skins. This recipe is perfect for using zucchini that has gotten oversized in the garden. If you don’t have access to really large zucchini, by all means, use several smaller ones.
Cheese: Yeah, cheese makes anything better, amiright?? In fact, if you’ve got veggie-hesitant people dining with you, this cheese-laden recipe might be just the thing to convince them to embrace zucchini!
Bacon: Choose your favorite brand. Opt for turkey bacon if you like. But cook it until it’s crispy.
Sausage: This recipe calls for Italian sausage, but again, you can use whatever you like. I’ve used ground beef or ground turkey, too.
Toppings: Green onions and sour cream are the toppings of choice for people trying to replicate the diner vibe, but people. Be free. Chop up some spicy hot peppers. Or tomatoes. Or mushrooms. There are no rules here!
Making the zucchini boats
For large zucchini, cut into quarters, slicing once lengthwise and again across the length. For smaller ones, simply cut in half lengthwise.
Use a spoon to scoop out the seedy middle. Bake the zucchini, add fillings, and return to the oven to bake more.
Serve with sour cream or ranch dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large zucchini about 12″ long
- 16 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 pound bacon
- 1/2 pound Italian sausage
- 1 small bunch green onions sliced
- Sour cream for topping
Instructions
- Quarter each zucchini by cutting in half and then in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and some of the flesh so they resemble little boats.
- Place zucchini in an oiled 9"x13" pan, skin down. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
- While zucchini is baking, cook sausage and bacon; drain on paper towel.
- Crumble bacon and sausage.
- Remove zucchini from the oven. Fill boats with sausage, cheese, bacon, and green onion. Bake 350° for 25 minutes.
- Serve hot with extra green onions, sour cream, and other desired toppings. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in a sealed container for 3 days.
Leave a Reply