These Ground Turkey Zucchini Boats are the perfect meal when you’re in the mood for something light and delicious. Warm zucchini is stuffed with juicy ground turkey, flavorful pasta sauce, and fluffy couscous.
About these Zucchini Boats
Almost four years ago, I ate a SunBasket meal that inspired me to make these Ground Turkey Zucchini Boats. I loved the idea of stuffing a vegetable with my favorite fillings. It’s a great way to enjoy the flavors and foods you love as a lower carb meal and also sneak in more veggies and a good amount of lean protein!
I stuffed my zucchini boats with juicy ground turkey, tomato sauce, and Trader Joe’s couscous. If you haven’t had their couscous, you need to buy it immediately. I personally think it’s the best in the market.
After stuffing, I topped my healthy stuffed zucchini boats with shredded cheese and let it get all melty. The whole meal felt like a gourmet Bolognese. It’s so good and your whole family will love it! Plus, it’s a great recipe for zucchini season so the next time you end up with too many courgettes on hand from the farmers market or your garden’s exploding zucchini plant, make sure to try this delicious stuffed zucchini recipe.
And if you love these stuffed zucchinis, I think you’d also love these Enchilada Stuffed Peppers or this Vegetarian Stuffed Pepper Soup. Or if you’d like to try another ground turkey recipe, try my Teriyaki Ground Turkey Rice Bowls!
FEATURED COMMENT
Recipe Ingredients
- Zucchini: Larger is better! They won’t break when you try to hollow them out.
- Couscous: Again, I highly recommend the Trader Joe’s brand!
- Ground Turkey: I used 93% lean ground turkey for this recipe. The extra fat makes this dish SHINE! If you love ground turkey, also try this Ground Turkey Skillet!
- Pasta Sauce: Use your favorite marinara sauce. I used Mid’s Garlic and Onion.
- Shredded Cheese: I used an Italian blend with parmesan cheese, asiago, and also mozzarella cheese. Skip the cheese or use a cheese alternative for a dairy-free option.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
There are so many different ways to enjoy this zucchini boat recipe. Change it up and try:
- Zucchini – Try this recipe using yellow squash, bell peppers, or with portobello mushrooms as your boat.
- Meat – Ground chicken, lean ground beef, or Italian sausage can also be used. Or keep it plant based and use black beans.
- Sauce – Try an alfredo variation or make the recipe with buffalo sauce (I suggest cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream if you’re going to make buffalo turkey zucchini boats).
- Grain – Instead of couscous, orzo would work great because it has a similar texture. You can also try brown rice, quinoa or Right Rice if you’re gluten-free. If you follow a low carb diet, skip the grain or use cauliflower rice instead.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Let’s start by preparing the zucchini. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Halve the zucchinis long ways and carefully remove the insides with a spoon. Then, spray the zucchini halves with cooking oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet or baking dish (ensuring they do not overlap) and bake for 25 minutes. You can save the zucchini pulp for another recipe or freeze and sneak into smoothies!
2. While the zucchinis bake, prepare the couscous according to the box instructions. While the couscous cooks, let’s work on the ground turkey. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium heat. Add ground turkey, diced red onion, and also the dried basil.
3. Sauté ground turkey until fully cooked, breaking up into smaller chunks with a meat masher it cooks. Pour in pasta sauce and mix so all of the meat is coated.
4. At this point, the couscous should be done. After draining and rinsing, add the pasta to the pan with the ground turkey filling.
5. Using a spoon, add the turkey mixture into each zucchini boat. You want them almost overflowing.
6. Top the boats with shredded cheese and put them back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!
PRO TIPS
Don’t throw out your zucchini guts! Save the inside of the squash that you scooped out for smoothies (throw it into this Apple Kiwi Smoothie and you won’t even know it’s there), add it to a stir fry, or pulse in your food processor and you’ve got a serving of zucchini rice.
Recipe FAQs
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. These reheat well in the microwave the next day making them a great option for meal prep. I advise against freezing them as zucchini have a high water content, which will cause them to become soggy after thawing.
If you have a melon baller, use it to scoop out the zucchini. If not, a spoon will also work. I recommend taking a sharp knife and tracing around the edges of where you plan to scoop to make the scooping easier. Fresh zucchini is VERY delicate, so scoop gently and try not to poke through to the zucchini skin. I broke a few of my boats when making them for the first time.
Besides the melted cheese noted in the recipe, I like to add fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or fresh cilantro if I have them on hand or some diced onion (red or green). I also like a drizzle of balsamic glaze over top, some cracked black pepper and toasted bread crumbs.
Serving suggestions
For a nutritious meal, serve these your Ground Turkey Zucchini Boats with a simple side salad like this Spinach Quinoa Salad or this Arugula Couscous Salad if you have extra couscous. This Pesto Focaccia would also go great to soak up any extra sauce on your plate.
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Ground Turkey Zucchini Boats
Equipment
- Chef's Knife
- Cutting Board
- skillet
- Spoon
- melon baller optional
- Meat masher
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Oven safe dish
Ingredients
- 3 large zucchinis
- salt + pepper
- ⅔ cup cooked couscous
- cooking spray or oil
- 1 lb 93/7 ground turkey
- ¼ red onion, diced
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 16 oz pasta sauce of choice
- ½ cup Italian blend cheese
Instructions
- Let’s start by preparing the zucchini. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Halve the zucchinis long ways and carefully remove the insides with a spoon or melon baller. Then, spray the zucchini halves with cooking oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.
- While the zucchini bakes, prepare the couscous according to the box instructions.
- While the couscous cooks, let's work on the ground turkey. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium heat. Add ground turkey, diced red onion, and also the dried basil.
- Sauté ground turkey until fully cooked, breaking up into smaller chunks with a meat masher it cooks. At this point, the couscous should be done. Add it to the cooked meat.
- Then, pour pasta sauce into the skillet and mix.
- Using a spoon, add the meat mixture into each cooked zucchini boat.
- Top the boats with shredded cheese and put them back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted to your liking.
- Serve & enjoy! 😊
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find TURKEY ZUCCHINI BOATS calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
This is an amazing recipe! I used quinoa instead of couscous and it worked really well and is SO delicious! Will definitely be making this one again.
Made this for me and my fiancé! We added an extra zucchini to have four servings for two nights and it was perfect! Super flavorful and easy to make.
I made these today for my husband and I and WOW. I am by no means a great cook, but these were super easy to make and my husband was so impressed. Definitely going to add these to our meal rotation throughout the week!
This was a slam dunk!! Will definitely make again.
I made these last night for dinner and loved them! I used lentils/barley instead of couscous and added mushrooms and they were delicious! Super easy too!
Such a fun option! Being gluten free this was something different with turkey! All the flavors mixed so well! Will definitely make it again
Made these for dinner last night and it was delicious! Will definitely be in the regular rotation.
Made these vegetarian with crumbled tofu and turned out AMAZING. So easy and versatile. I’m going to try with tempeh next.
I made this as an easy post-work meal and it did not disappoint. In fact, it’s now a staple in my weekly rotation!! I shared the recipe with my parents and they said it’s one of their new favs. 11/10!!
So yummy!! Definitely a weekly staple in my house!
So amazing!! I make these so often and they’re a hit every time!
This recipe is so yummy! The zucchini was perfectly cooked and i loved the stuffing! Super quick and easy
I love these turkey zucchini boats!
THESE ARE SO EASY AND SO YUMMY! She outdid herself on this recipe. These rival the feta ranch turkey burgers for her best dinner recipe, AND THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING! Will definitely be making often in the future.
I don’t think I’ve ever rated a recipe before but immediately had to do so with this one! So easy, really delicious, and a fun way to get in a high protein meal.
These made me feel good to eat and were so easy to make! Love this
This is SO good! I love stuffed peppers, but I think this recipe even tops stuffed peppers. I also added arugula to the mixture and loved that. Will be in my recurring recipes to make list.
SO good! I meal prepped these and looked forward to lunch every day so I could have them. They will definitely be in my meal prep rotation with how easy and yummy these are.