Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats

If you’re racking your brain for something to make for dinner, let me blow your mind with these delicious and healthy Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats!

Sometimes figuring out dinner can be a straight up chore, especially on a weekday. The last thing you want to do is have to wander up and down the grocery store aisle waiting for dinner inspiration to jump off the shelf and into your cart magically.

So what if I told you that these Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats only require a handful of ingredients. And that they only take 25 minutes to make! That’s 25 minutes from prepping the zucchini to pulling those babies out of the oven.

Count me in!

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Why You’ll LOVE these Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats

Now, lets talk why these Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats are quickly becoming a favorite dish of mine.

Veggie Loaded – From the tomatoes and carrots in the homemade Chunky Marinara Sauce to the zucchini, bell peppers, and onions in the filling, these boats are loaded up with veggies.

Low Carb – Don’t get me wrong, I’m a BIG fan of carbs, but sometimes you just need a low-key, low-carb dinner. And these zucchini boats are perfect for enjoying a pizza without all the carbs.

Lean Protein – Chicken sausage is a leaner substitute for typical pork sausage, but it packs a similar flavor profile and texture. In the same 3oz serving, chicken sausage has only 3g of fat (1g saturated), while pork sausage has 21g of fat (8g of saturated).

BIG Flavor – Trust me, these Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats are as loaded with mouthwatering flavor as they are pizza toppings. But don’t take my word for it, give them a try!

Oven Ready Dish – Possibly the best part of this dish is the fact that once the zucchinis are stuffed, you just pop everything into the oven and wait for everything to bake. It’s pretty straightforward.

How to Make Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats

Step 1: Prepare the Zucchini Boats

Knot shore how to get started? Let me help! (Sorry, couldn’t help but sneak one boat pun in there…hehe).

First, preheat the oven to 375F and lightly mist your baking dish.

Now we’re ready to prepare the zucchini. It’s actually pretty simple to carve out your zucchini boats. It just takes a little bit of patience and practice.

First, wash and dry your zucchini. Next, chop off the top and bottom and carefully slice the zucchini lengthwise in half, exposing the seeds.

Now you can begin hollowing out your boats. Take a regular spoon (like one you’d eat a bowl of cereal with) and place it at the top of the inside of the zucchini. Applying pressure, gently scrap the spoon along the length of the zucchini. A layer of flesh and seeds should peel up as you go. Scoop out that layer and set aside.

Repeat as many times as you need to until a thin layer of zucchini flesh remains. I also like to scrape purposefully along the sides in a similar fashion so that I have an even layer throughout the zucchini, rather than fat sides and a thin bottom.

I prefer to have a thinner layer of flesh left on the inside so that my zucchini boats cook evenly and are not still raw long after the filling has warmed and the cheese has browned in the oven. But do not get too thin, as you run the risk of tearing your boats or having them fall apart when you try to serve them. There’s a happy medium.

Step 2: Prepare the Sausage Pizza Filling

Now, set aside the boats. It’s time to prepare the filling!

First, heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.  Add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the veggies begin to soften slightly.

Add in the ground chicken sausage. Break it up into smaller chunks with a spoon or crumble it before adding it to the frying pan. Let the sausage cook 3 to 5 minutes until it is no longer pink.

While the meat is cooking, finely dice the zucchini filling. It may be more like a seedy wet sludge than real diced zucchini, but it doesn’t really matter. Finely dice the Roma tomato and add it to the diced zucchini.

Add the zucchini-tomato filling to the pan and season with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes.

If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, try adding in a few shakes of oregano, basil, and parsley. That’ll get you the bulk of the flavor you’re looking for. Besides, the sausage also has Italian seasoning, so you should be covered.

Now is a good time to drain the excess fluid out of the pan. I like to do this by putting on the lid a little loosely and tilting the pan so the liquid drains out into the sink. We don’t want a lot of excess liquid because it tends to make the zucchini boats mushy.

Once the liquid is drained, add in 2 cups of marinara sauce. If you used my Chunky Marinara Sauce recipe, you’ll likely have less added liquid than a jar sauce, depending on the type of sauce you bought. I always do a second draining just because I HATE soggy zucchini.  But if you don’t care one way or the other, you’re good to go.

Step 3: Fill the Zucchini Boats with Sausage Pizza Filling

The zucchinis are now ready to be stuffed. Spoon in a generous amount of filling into the boats so that they are slightly overfilled, but not spilling over.

You will have excess filling. But it works great on the side if you’re still hungry or want extra goodness to hide your zucchini a little better. My husband and I used our leftover filling as pizza topping on a whole wheat pizza crust a few days later! It was delish!

Lastly, garnish your filling with a nice thin layer of part-skim mozzarella cheese. I like to use the thinly sliced mozzarella so it’s cheesy, but not overwhelmingly cheesy.

Step 4: Bake Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats

Now you’re ready to pop the zucchini in the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the zucchini boats are soft (but not mushy) and the cheese is lightly golden brown. Enjoy!

Let us know what you think about this recipe for Sausage Pizza Zucchini Boats by dropping a comment and/or rating below! We love to hear from you! 🙂

If you’re looking for more squash recipes

• Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter
• Roasted Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup
• Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto
• Apple Cider Farro Stuffed Acorn Squash
• Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Miso Mushrooms