Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Italian sausage and veggies stuffed into zucchini boats and drizzled with a homemade creamy Italian dressing makes for one tasty and satisfying, Whole30-friendly meal.

Wholesome, hearty and delicious.

I love meals that are nourishing yet delicious and satisfying. I’m not one to eat a certain food just because it’s ‘healthy’. If it doesn’t appeal or taste good to me, I’m just not going to eat it. Are you with me?! Do you agree that food should taste good…period?

With that said, in any of the recipes I create, my goal is to include as many veggies as possible in a way that you and I will enjoy. I feel like we all need to eat more veggies! These Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats are jam packed with mushrooms, onions, spinach and tomatoes.  In this recipe, you’re going to love the combination of flavorful Italian-Sausage and ground meat of choice as well as the drizzle of homemade creamy Italian dressing (similar to our popular ranch) which brings the veggies to life. Even your non-veggie eaters might just enjoy this recipe…kids’ and spouses.

You can get dinner on the table fast with these prep ahead tips.

If you’re looking to turn these Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats into a fast & easy weeknight dinner, here are a couple of steps you can do the day before or on your meal prep day.

Pre-chop the veggies.

Prepare the zucchini and get choppin’. Chop all of the veggies and store them in a sealed container in the fridge until you’re ready for sautéing.

Make the dressing.

Whip up the dressing. Store it in a mason jar or sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. The dressing does thicken a bit when refrigerated so I would recommend removing it from the fridge 15-minutes before serving.

A delicious Whole30-friendly meal but if you’re not on a Whole30, feel free to add your favorite Organic cheese such as mozzarella or parmesan.  Yum!

With any of our dairy-free recipes that would be good with cheese, by all means add the cheese. We recommend going with an Organic, good quality cheese such as Organic Valley.

Speaking of good quality…we also recommend choosing a quality-made, additive free sausage (we love Mulay’s Italian Sausage) and also a grass-feed and/or organic ground meat. In short, know where your meat comes from!

If you give these Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats a try be sure to leave this recipe a review in the comments below!

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Let's Get Cookin'

Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Italian sausage and veggies stuffed into a zucchini and drizzled with a homemade creamy Italian dressing makes for one tasty and satisfying, Whole30-friendly meal. Our Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a musty try! Feel free to add some cheese if you’d like!

• Author: Stacie Hassing
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 servings
• Category: Entree, Whole30

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Stuffed Zucchini:

• 3-4 medium/large zucchini, uniformed size
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. Italian sausage (such as Mulay’s)
• 1/2 lb. ground meat of choice (beef, chicken, pork or turkey)
• 1 cup diced mushrooms
• 1 (14 oz.) canned diced tomatoes, lightly drained
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 handfuls of spinach, roughly chopped
• Sea salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade  or thinly sliced)

For the dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayo (homemade or Primal Kitchen Mayo)
• 1/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (may need to blend to mix together)
• 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. sea salt (add additional sea salt if desired)
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions

For the Stuffed Zucchini:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and halve the zucchini length-wise. With a spoon, scoop the insides out, about 1/2 inch deep (depending on size) leaving 1/4 inch around the edge. Feel free to save the zucchini innards to add to smoothies. Place zucchini on a baking sheet, bush with oil and bake zucchini for 6 minutes. When time is up, remove from oven and set aside.
2. While zucchini is baking begin preparing the sausage filling. Over medium-high heat, in a large pan add Italian sausage and ground meat. Once partially browned, add the mushrooms, canned tomatoes, onions and garlic. Cook until veggies are soft. Add the spinach and continue to cook until wilted. Season with sea salt & pepper to taste.
3. Next, stuff the partially-baked zucchini with the Italian Sausage filling.
4. Bake stuffed zucchini for 12-15 minutes or until zucchini is nice and tender.
5. To serve, drizzle stuffed zucchini with the Creamy Italian Dressing and top with fresh basil.

For the dressing:

1. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combine.

Notes

Prep Ahead Tips

Pre-chop the veggies.

• Prepare the zucchini and get choppin’. Chop all of the veggies and store them in a sealed container in the fridge until you’re ready for sautéing.

Make the dressing.

• Whip up the dressing. Store it in a mason jar or sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. The dressing does thicken a bit when refrigerated so you may want to remove it from the fridge 15-minutes before serving.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/5 of recipe made with turkey + 1 tbsp. dressing
• Calories: 350
• Sugar: 6 g
• Sodium: 575 mg
• Fat: 25 g
• Carbohydrates: 12 g
• Fiber: 3 g
• Protein: 17 g

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About Stacie Hassing

Stacie is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian from rural southern Minnesota where she and her husband reside on 5 acres with their two pups, Walter & Lucy. She’s a creator of simple and wholesome recipes, a lover of nature, a crossfitter, a seasonal runner, and she’s on a mission to inspire as many as she can live a healthier and happier life from the inside out.