Taco Zucchini Boats

Bursting with flavor and summertime goodness, Taco Zucchini Boats are a dinner the whole family will adore! Hollow out fresh zucchini and fill with a ground beef-onion-zucchini-salsa filling before baking to perfection. Flavorful, satisfying and a brilliant way to use up zucchini when your garden (or CSA box) is overflowing!

I love tacos. In fact, I eat them weekly because, hello, I live in Texas.

But sometimes you find yourself with an abundance of zucchini and a need to get creative.

A few years back, we received some gorgeous zucchini in our weekly CSA box, and I was looking for a way to use up a lot of it at once. That’s when I wondered: what if I turn tacos into zucchini boats?

The rest, as they say, is history.

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Why I love this recipe:

These Taco Zucchini Boats are comforting, spicy and taste like tacos… without actually being tacos.

They’re perfect when your zucchini plant is going bonkers in the garden and you need a creative way to use up your harvest that isn’t just baked goods. (No shade on zucchini flavored everything… but there’s only so much zucchini bread a lady can enjoy.)

Plus, you’re getting tons of vegetables in one meal: the hollowed-out zucchini, the zucchini you chop up for the filling, plus salsa and onions. It’s a win-win.

We’ve made these countless times since that fateful first batch, and they have never disappointed. They’re simple to assemble, incredibly flavorful and satisfying for the whole family. After all, this is a dish my kids actually request during the summer months.

More summer dinner recipes to make and enjoy: Caprese Chicken | Homemade Spinach Lasagna | Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Plates | Steak Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Sharp knife and wooden cutting board
• Nonstick skillet or cast iron skillet
• Liquid measuring cup
• Rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper

Here is what you need to get from the grocery store or the farmers market:

• Zucchini — medium-sized zucchini are where it’s at. However, if you cannot find medium-sized ones, just purchase zucchini. They’re all roughly the same size. This will ensure they bake at the same pace, and you won’t run the risk of some of the zucchini boats being overcooked while some of them are still raw on the inside.
• Ground beef — I used a leaner ground beef (90/10), but you can use whatever you have in your fridge. If you are using a fattier ground beef, I recommend draining the meat before you add in the liquid ingredients. You can also replace this with ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer that. (Just be sure to add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan before adding poultry since that is leaner than beef.)
• Yellow onion — Or white onion, comment if that’s what you’ve got on hand. You will want to dice this finely before you add it to the beef.
• Kosher salt — medium-grain kosher salt is my go-to. (Diamond Crystal is my favorite brand.)
• Taco seasoning — homemade or store-bought is totally fine. This usually is a mixture of chili powder, paprika, cumin, black pepper, garlic powder, etc. Keep in mind that store-bought seasoning blends are typically saltier than homemade ones, so you will want to use a little less salt if you are using a store-bought brand.
• Salsa — you can use homemade or your favorite store-bought brand.
• Beef stock — I recommend using low-sodium stock to prevent this from becoming overly salty. However, if you cannot find low-sodium stock, use half the salt the recipe calls for and give the mixture a taste as it is cooking to see if it needs additional salt.

How to make Taco Zucchini Boats

The base of this meal is zucchini. Lots and lots of zucchini.

Start by cutting the zucchini in half. Use a small spoon to gently scoop out the insides of the zucchini to make them into little boats. Place the hollowed-out zucchinis on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (You could also do this in a large baking dish if you don’t have a rimmed sheet pan, as

Chop everything. The insides of the zucchini you just scooped out? Chop those up into small pieces. You also want to chop the onion.

Cook the taco meat mixture. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, chopped onion, and the chopped zucchini. Season with salt and taco seasoning, and use a wooden spoon to break up the beef and stir the ingredients around the pan until they are browned and cooked through.

Add the liquid ingredients. When the ground beef is browned, pour in the salsa and beef stock and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the liquid ingredients have soaked into the filling.

You do not want this to be soupy! Otherwise, it’ll be challenging to get the filling into the zucchini boats.

Preheat the oven before you proceed.

Fill the zucchini boats. Use a spoon to carefully scoop the taco mixture into the hollowed-out zucchini boats.

Bake. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the tops of the boats have browned.

Garnish and enjoy! Garnish the zucchini boats with shredded lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes, guacamole, crushed up tortilla chips or anything you desire and enjoy warm.

SO simple, SO tasty and SO good.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick tips and tricks to the best zucchini boats:

• Don’t waste the zucchini flesh. Chop up the flesh that you scoop out of the zucchini and add it to the filling. That’s extra vegetables and flavors you would otherwise toss.
• Scared of hollowing out the zucchini? Use a melon baller.
• Use a rimmed baking sheet. This way, the drippings will not drip onto the bottom of your oven.
• Use quality salsa. Since this is the main flavoring agent that we are adding to the taco boats, you want it to be fresh and spicy and delicious.
• Don’t overbake. Zucchini can get mushy if it’s overcooked, so keep an eye on it as it bakes. If you are using smaller zucchini, it will take less time than larger zucchini.

More zucchini recipes:

• Lemon Zucchini Bread
• Parmigiano Reggiano Zucchini
• Grilled Zucchini

Now who’s ready to make some of this goodness for dinner?

You won’t be disappointed with these flavorful “taco” boats!

Do you have taco cravings, too?