These cheesy and delicious Enchilada Style Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a lower carb meal you won't want to miss! Perfect for Taco Tuesday too.
Beef Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini
We've all been there…..that Mexican food craving hits and wouldn't you know it you're trying to count calories or carbs…..story of my life!
Well, I've got some GREAT news for you. You can get your Tex-Mex fix and still keep on track, yippee! This Beef Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini recipe is full of all those flavors you're craving but with only 13 net carbs and 369 calories per serving! 💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻
Plus, even your pickiest eaters will want these kid friendly zucchini boats. Give them a spoon and allow them to help with hollowing out their boat and they will be eager to gobble these up!
🍴 Menu Planning Note: You can also find this recipe in Week 6 of the Low Calorie Menu Plan launching March 21!
How do you make stuffed zucchini?
With just a few ingredients, these stuffed zucchini will come together in a flash. There aren't any crazy ingredients and if there is something you don't like or want more of, you can easily substitute to what your family prefers.
This recipe starts with several good size zucchini that have been hollowed out and placed in a baking dish.
That is then followed by making up a simple meat filling using lean ground beef (You could substitute turkey, chicken, or a plant based substitute too if you'd like!), red onion, garlic, smoked paprika and ground cumin.
The meat then gets piled into the zucchini boats and topped with enchilada sauce and cheese. You will then bake these in a preheated oven until the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted.
How do you hollow out zucchini?
The first thing you need to do is to remove any unwanted ends and then cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. The easiest way I've found to scoop out the zucchini flesh is to use a pointed spoon.
Using the spoon, scrape from the top down being careful not to go too deep or the zucchini will tear. Continue doing this all the way down until the zucchini is hollowed out and makes a boat for the filling.
You could probably even use this meat mixture with zucchini rolls or zucchini strips, but we didn't test it that way 😉
What do you put inside enchiladas?
All things yummy! For this beef version, we used lean ground beef, red onion, garlic, ground cumin and smoked paprika (it really kicks it up a notch). Then we finished them with the remaining enchilada sauce and topped with cheese.
I like to sprinkle with cilantro right before serving for presentation and a nice fresh flavor (but you can definitely leave that off if it isn't your thing).
Or, if you have a favorite enchilada filling you already love then give it a try inside a zucchini boat. Feel free to add in some salt and pepper, add an extra cup of enchilada sauce, or some sour cream. You could use shredded chicken instead of beef or a sausage mixture – even a black bean meat substitute if you're looking to make this completely meat free.
I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised at the zucchini enchilada recipes you could come up with.
What goes best with zucchini?
Since this stuffed zucchini is already lower carb, I like to keep it that way and serve a big ole' fresh green salad full of all types of veggies on the side. Maybe even a side salad topped with some fresh guacamole to keep with the Tex-Mex flavors going on. 🙂
Can you freeze zucchini boats?
I don't recommend freezing stuffed zucchini boats. The zucchini will be quite mushy after thawing so it's not really worth it.
However, the beef enchilada filling would freeze great. So, if you're looking to save some time later on you could go ahead and pre-make the filling and freeze. Your future self will thank you!
Beef Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 4 large zucchini
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups red enchilada sauce
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers to create a boat.
- In a medium skillet, brown ground beef and onion together until beef is browned and crumbly. Add garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and salt to taste. Stir until combined.
- In a 13x9-inch baking dish, add zucchini boats flesh side facing up. Spoon ground beef mixture evenly into each zucchini half. Pour enchilada sauce over filled zucchini and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes or until zucchini are tender.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.
Nutrition
Looking for more yummy meals like these Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats?
This recipe is from week six of our low calorie menu plans (launching March 21!), including this meal + 59 other AMAZING recipes (and 12 desserts too)! With most recipes being well under 500 calories and 15 net carbs.
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Margaret says
Trying this tonight… just curious as to what you did with “leftover” zucchini after it was scraped out….
Laurie says
Hi Margaret – let us know how it goes! And I would try making the zucchini into zucchini noodles maybe if you have a spiralizer!