READY IN ABOUT 1¼ hrs

Italian Meatloaf in Zucchini Boats

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"This is an easy Italian meatloaf baked into hollowed-out zucchini halves. Delicious!" — EGallagher55

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Scoop out and discard zucchini seeds, leaving the hollowed-out shells. Sprinkle the garlic salt into the hollowed-out zucchini, and set aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, basil, carrot, and Parmesan cheese together with the onion mixture. Stuff the zucchini halves with the meat mixture, and place them into a baking dish. Spoon about half the spaghetti sauce over the zucchini, covering all the meat and allowing sauce to drip down the sides of the zucchini boats.
Bake in the preheated oven until the meat is no longer pink in the center and the zucchini are tender, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the zucchini, and return to oven until the cheese melts, about 5 more minutes. Heat the remaining spaghetti sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat while the zucchini boats are cooking. Serve the zucchini boats with the additional sauce on the side.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 20 mins
COOK 50 mins
READY IN 1 hr 10 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Aug 23, 2010

I've been making these for years and we love them! If you use ground round there shouldn't be an accumulation of grease in the zucchini boat. If all I have is ground chuck (with 15% fat) then you are better off browning the meat first and mixing then mixing it with some of the sauce. Terrific way to use zucchini when your garden is producing more than you can handle! Toss a salad & serve with crusty bread or garlic toast.

—Liebermom

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Aug 20, 2010

These green, meaty boats looked so awesome going into the oven and I had really high hopes for the outcome, but I was a little disappointed. I will definitely make them again, but not without a couple changes. The "1 large zucchini" written for the original recipe, must've been from a mutant garden strain b/c I scaled the meat back to 1 lb. and ended up cramming 3 1/2 medium zucchinis with the meatloaf mixture, as well as making a couple random meatballs on the side. The end result was unfortunately on the bland side, (splash splash of Sriracha to the rescue!) so next time around, the meat and sauteed veggies need to be more heavily seasoned, possibly w/ more garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, Italian Seasoning, etc... Also, I think I would rather prepare these like a stuffed bell pepper where I'd brown the meat prior to stuffing, then just pop the boats in the oven to melt the cheese, only b/c I wasn't too thrilled with the accumulation of grease in the zucchinis. Oh yeah, I also dropped it to 1 egg and 1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs, since I had a little less meat, and the bake time was dead-on. Overall a 3.5 star recipe that (CHEER! My 3-year old gobbled up!) might just need some tweaking b4 I'd make again.

—Rock_lobster

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66 Ratings

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Aug 30, 2010

This was very good, what I do is cut off the ends of the zucchini and boil in water for approx 10 to 15 mins ...take out let it cool then slice inhalf and take out the pulp and I add it to the hamburger mixture, adds alot of flavor....

—crazyblonde

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Aug 23, 2010

This was a great recipe and didn't take long at all. Very easy prep work. I wasn't happy with the spaghetti sauce that I used but the rest was great. Just becareful on the type of sauce. I used one with the cheese in it. Thank you for the recipe..

—Jaap Family

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Aug 23, 2010

After cooking 45 minutes the zucchini was still not fully cooked. I then proceeded to cook it another 45 minutes checking after every 15 minutes. This was a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes. The zucchini was still partially uncooked. I added the mozaerella and cooked until it was melted. The zucchini was still partially un cooked but i removed it anyway, not wanting to burn it. The sauce in the bottom of the baking dish was burned but didn't affect the flavor. My first bite was almosy pure salt from the garlic salt. That should have been included in mixing the ingrediants and not sprinkled on the squash. The next bite was a pure nitghtmare of taste from parmesan cheese. I did not care for it. What is large any way when referrng to a vegatable. What is wrong with weighing or measuring instead of using such terms as , small, medium and large. These terms are subjective and one persons small could be anothers larger. My large zucchini for this recipe had to be trimed on the ends in order to fit into a 13x8 baking dish. To me that is really a medium one because I have them in excess of 24" in the garden that are going to become squash cakes after I shredd them.

—uwasvwaya

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Aug 30, 2010

The fat and sodium in this recipe are through the roof! Not to mention the cholesterol. While this recipe is very very tasty, I would not recommend eating often. Omit the bottled sauce and use your own or a low sodium brand. Omit the garlic salt completely and try garlic pepper, you might be surprised. The Italian seasoned bread crumbs have a lot of salt and Parmesan plus the recipe calls for extra Parmesan and mozzarella. Make you your own bread crumbs with herbs, no salt and just use the Parmesan as indicated in the recipe. Then try low fat Mozzarella. You can try ground turkey or chicken if you like but I do not think it will make much difference. I do cheat from low fat and low sodium diets but have found after very little time that a lot of recipes are very salty and although I love the velvety texture of some fat, greasy and oily becomes very cloying.

—Richard

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Aug 31, 2010

I tried it with spicy Italian turkey sausage instead of the ground beef and it was wonderful. I used the small zucchini that didn't need to have the seeds removed. Served for company and everyone loved it.

—Lambylover

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Aug 16, 2010

I MADE THIS YEARS AGO AND AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR,AND LOVE IT.EVERYONE AT HOME LIKES IT TO.

—Ron Houser

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Nutrition

Calories
596 kcal
30%

Carbohydrates
45 g
15%

Cholesterol
150 mg
50%

Fat
30.5 g
47%

Fiber
6.3 g
25%

Protein
34.8 g
70%

Sodium
1605 mg
64%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Italian Meatloaf in Zucchini Boats

Serving Size: 1/6 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 596
Calories from Fat: 274

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 30.5g 47 %
** Saturated Fat 9.9g 49 %
Cholesterol 150mg 50 %
Sodium 1605mg 64 %
Potassium 989mg 28 %
Total Carbohydrates 45g 15 %
Dietary Fiber 6.3g 25 %
Protein 34.8g 70 %
** Sugars 16g
Vitamin A 38 %
Vitamin C 26 %
Calcium 41 %
Iron 54 %
** Thiamin 27 %
Niacin 124 %
** Vitamin B6 49 %
** Magnesium 29 %
** Folate 51 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.