Stuffed Zucchini Boats, Tex-Mex Style

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With tempting Tex-Mex flavors, these stuffed zucchini boats will blow your mind with just one bite!

zucchini boats

Are you ready for a healthy low-carb recipe that actually tastes so good your family will be requesting it again and again? Well then, I think you will love this stuffed zucchini boat recipe, Tex-Mex style. It ticks so many boxes, as it’s low-carb and gluten-free. But these zucchini boats are still stuffed full of flavor, thanks to the Tex-Mex seasoning and additions, like guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. So if you’re looking for a guilt-free Mexican-inspired dinner, you’re in the right place.

Now, this recipe does have a little kick, but if you aren’t into the extra spice you can leave that right out. This is also a fun recipe for the kids to help with too. Allow them to choose what toppings they want to place on their zucchini boats. Add whatever you like and transform your kitchen bench into a taco bar if you want to go a little crazy!

Ingredients for vegetarian stuffed zucchini boats recipe.

Recipe Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 zucchini
  • ¾ cup jasmine rice or cauliflower rice (to make this a true low-carb meal)
  • ¼ cup veggie stock (recipe to make your own is below)
  • 1 Roma tomato
  • 1 lime
  • ¼ ounce cilantro (if you can’t stand cilantro, use parsley or basil)
  • 4 tablespoons guacamole or smashed avocado
  • 4 tablespoons sour cream
  • ½ cup pepper jack cheese
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, for those who like a little kick)

Southwest Spice Blend

  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1/2-1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 -1 tsp chili powder

Dicing onions.

Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Halve, peel, and finely dice the onion.

Scooping out inside of zucchini.

Trim and slice zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds with a spoon and add the zucchini pulp to the next step.

Cooked onion in large pot.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add ¾ of the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, or about 4 to 5 minutes.

Rice and spices in large pot.

Add rice and spice combination and stir to coat.

Vegetable stock added to rice.

Stir in vegetable stock and 1 cup of water for 4 boats/2 zucchini (double if making with 4 zucchini) and a big pinch of salt (optional).

Lid over boiling rice in large poit.

Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender – about 15 to 18 minutes. Keep covered and off heat until ready to use.

Scooped out zucchinis drizzled with oil on baking tray.

While the rice cooks place the zucchini shells on a baking sheet. Rub all over with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then arrange them scooped-out sides down. Roast on top rack until browned and tender – about 15 to 20 minutes.

Roughly chopping cilantro for pico de gallo.

Meanwhile, let’s make our pico de gallo! Dice tomato, roughly chop cilantro, and zest and halve lime.

Pico de gallo ingredients in small bowl.

In a small bowl, combine diced tomato, half the cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice to taste, and as much remaining onion as you like. Season with salt and pepper.

Guacamole ingredients in small mixing bowl.

In a separate small bowl, combine guacamole, lime zest, and half the sour cream (save the rest for serving). Squeeze in lime juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Add water 1 teaspoon at a time until the mixture reaches drizzling consistency.

Fluffing rice with fork.

Once the baked zucchini is tender, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Heat broiler to high. Fluff rice with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

TIP: Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter (2 tablespoons for 4 servings) for extra richness.

Rice-stuffed zucchini boats being topped with cheese.

Flip over zucchini and stuff with as much rice as will fit (there will be plenty leftover). Evenly top with pepper jack cheese. Broil until shredded cheese is melted and lightly browned, or 2 to 3 minutes.

TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning.

Vegetarian stuffed zucchinis topped with guacamole and pico de gallo.

Divide remaining rice between plates and top with stuffed zucchini. Top with avocado or guacamole, pico de gallo, remaining cilantro and remaining sour cream. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired and serve.

How to Make Veggie Stock

Recipe Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 carrots
  • 3 to 4 celery stalks
  • 4 to 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • a small bunch of parsley
  • 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

Carrots and celery give the stock a great base flavor, and you can round these out with 1 to 2 onions.

Directions

  1. Roughly chop all the vegetables: Wash any visible dirt off the vegetables and give them a rough chop. Throw all the vegetables in a pot big enough to hold them plus a few extra inches of water. Add the herbs.
  2. Cover with water and simmer: Cover the vegetables with enough water that you can easily stir them in the pot. Less water means that your stock will be more concentrated; more water makes a lighter-flavored stock. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to just under a boil. Once you start to see some bubbling around the edges of the pot and a few wisps of steam on the surface, turn the heat down to medium-low.
  3. Cook for one hour: This isn’t an exact science, but one hour is generally enough time to infuse the water with vegetable goodness. Give it a stir every now and again to circulate the vegetables.
  4. Strain and store: Take the pot off the stove and remove all the vegetables with a slotted spoon. Set your strainer over a big bowl and line it with a cheesecloth or coffee filter. Pour the stock through. Divide the stock into storage containers, cool completely, and then freeze.

Storage

  • Store these zucchini boats in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat, I recommend placing them on a baking sheet and warming them in the oven rather than the microwave.
  • You can freeze zucchini boats, but they’ll be a mushier texture once reheated in the oven. If you do decide to freeze this recipe, ensure the zucchini is fully cool before double-wrapping them and placing them in the freezer for up to three months.

Row of vegetarian stuffed zucchini boats.

Recipe Notes

  • If you are using cauliflower rice, I like to thaw and squeeze the heck out of it with a cheesecloth before adding it to the mix.  This makes it a bit more fluffy when serving and you likely won’t need the whole cook time of 15-18 minutes.  You could probably cut that cook right down to 5-8 minutes.
  • If you want to add even more heat to these stuffed zucchini boats, you can add some jalapenos on top and a dash of cayenne pepper when you add the other spices.
  • Don’t want to be low-carb? Then beef up the recipe with beans and corn. You can add them when you’re cooking the rice.
  • To prepare this taco stuffed zucchini recipe up to two days in advance, prepare the filling and the boats and store them separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Then on the day, make the toppings while the zucchini boats are baking.

Recipe FAQs

Are these zucchini boats vegan?

With two simple substitutions, they can become vegan stuffed zucchini boats. Just remove the cheese and sour cream or use vegan alternatives. You should also ignore the butter recommendation mentioned in the above directions.

What do you serve with zucchini boats?

These zucchini boats make a great main meal or appetizer at a dinner party. But if you’d prefer to serve them as a side dish, you can opt to serve them with your choice of meat, like grilled chicken.

How do you prevent the zucchini from being too hard?

First, ensure you choose a zucchini that isn’t too large and that’s bright green. Then, you can soften them further by microwaving the zucchinis for two to three minutes before baking. If you choose to microwave the zucchinis, the baking time will decrease.

Need more Tex-Mex in your life? Check out these recipes:

Grandmama’s Tex Mex Dip

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Mexican Cornbread Recipe

Vegetarian stuffed zucchinis topped with guacamole and pico de gallo.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats, Tex-Mex Style

These stuffed zucchini boats, Tex-Mex style, are low-carb, gluten-free, and make the perfect weeknight family-friendly meal.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: vegetables
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 zucchini
  • 3/4 cup jasmine or cauliflower rice
  • 1/4 cup veggie stock (recipe to make your own in the post)
  • 1 Roma tomato
  • 1 lime
  • 1/4 oz cilantro
  • 4 tbsp guacamole or smashed avocado
  • 4 tbsp sour cream
  • 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
  • 1 tsp hot sauce

Southwest Spice Blend

  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1/2-1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2-1 tsp chili powder

Instructions

  • Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Halve, peel, and finely dice the onion. Trim and slice zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds with a spoon and add zucchini flesh to the next step.
    1 yellow onion, 2 zucchini
  • Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add ¾ of the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, or about 4 to 5 minutes.
    1 yellow onion
  • Add rice and Southwest spice combination and stir to coat. Stir in vegetable stock and 1 cup of water for 4 boats/2 zucchini (double if making with 4 zucchini) and a big pinch of salt (optional). Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender - about 15 to 18 minutes. Keep covered and off heat until ready to use.
    3/4 cup jasmine or cauliflower rice, 1 tsp garlic, 1/2-1 tsp cumin, 1/2-1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 cup veggie stock (recipe to make your own in the post)
  • While the rice cooks place the zucchini shells on a baking sheet. Rub all over with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then arrange them scooped-out sides down. Roast on top rack until browned and tender - about 15 to 20 minutes.
    2 zucchini
  • Meanwhile, let’s make our pico de gallo! Dice tomato, roughly chop cilantro, and zest and halve lime. In a small bowl, combine tomato, half the cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice to taste, and as much remaining onion as you like. Season with salt and pepper.
    1 Roma tomato, 1 lime, 1/4 oz cilantro
  • In a separate small bowl, combine guacamole, lime zest, and half the sour cream (save the rest for serving). Squeeze in lime juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Add water 1 tsp at a time until the mixture reaches drizzling consistency.
    4 tbsp guacamole or smashed avocado, 4 tbsp sour cream, 1 lime
  • Once zucchini is tender, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Heat broiler to high. Fluff rice with a fork and season with salt and pepper.
    TIP: Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter (2 tablespoons for 4 servings) for extra richness.
  • Flip over zucchini and stuff with as much rice as will fit (there will be plenty leftover). Evenly top with pepper jack cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned, or 2 to 3 minutes. TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning.
    1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
  • Divide remaining rice between plates and top with stuffed zucchini. Top with avocado or guacamole, pico de gallo, remaining cilantro and remaining sour cream. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired and serve.
    1 tsp hot sauce
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76 Comments

  1. These look amazing!! I always love finding new zucchini recipes!! Great for summer when we are over run with them from our garden! Thanks for such a great recipe!! Love your website!!

  2. Love recipes using zucchini. I haven’t tried this one yet, but plan to. It sounds delicious and the southwest flavors are right up my alley. Can’t wait to try it.

  3. By using some low fat sour cream and cheese, I could readily eat this on my WW program. Thank you for the recipe.

  4. 5 stars
    Is there a possible recipe for the Southwest Spice Blend or a substitute please? If it’s very spicy I probably won’t be able to use it. The recipe sounds really good!

    1. Hi Robyn, I updated the post to make it more clear that the Southwest Spice Blend is the cumin, garlic and chili powder. Sorry for the confusion. You can take out the chili powder if you don’t want that spice. Hope you love it.

  5. So besides being a tasty meal, this meal will help me control my Type 2 diabetes. A win-win situation that I can surely live with.

  6. Thanks for this recipe. I am always looking for a meatless meal at least once or twice a week. My husband prefers meat but if I put some black beans in this he would like it that way. Love the vegetable broth recipe too!

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