Mexican Zucchini Boats

Healthy, flavor-packed Mexican Zucchini Boats burst with robustly seasoned ground turkey, enchilada sauce, black beans, corn, and other veggies.

Looking for more zucchini boat variations? Try these Italian-inspired Zucchini Boats next!

Mexican Zucchini Boats

While the concept of replacing carbs with veggies is exciting if you are watching your carb intake, I am not one to think the flavor tradeoff is worth it. I love enchiladas, I love tortillas, and there are few things that can convince me otherwise.

These Mexican Zucchini Boats though, are one of those things. While I’d never truly give up enchiladas with tortillas, I’m convinced I could eat these just as often. This is not one of those recipes where you’re feeling the sacrifice of carbs and eating it in the name of weight loss or health; it’s legitimately delectable. No sacrificing flavor here!

The zucchinis are perfectly crisp-tender, the filling explodes with flavor, and the melty Cheddar on top pulls everything together just right.

The Zucchini

As I mentioned, the zucchinis are perfectly crisp-tender in these Mexican Zucchini Boats. Crisp-tender means it’s been cooked all the way through, but still has some snap to it. It is tender in the way that a knife can easily sink through it, but crisp meaning the zucchini still has structure and a slight crunch.

Since there are few things worse than mushy zucchini, you can rest assured, this recipe will not deliver that. To ensure crisp-tender zucchini, look out for a few things:

• Aim for even-sized zucchini. The bake time on these Mexican Zucchini Boats can be tricky if the zucchinis are all different sizes. While it’s hard to control what comes out of your garden, if you’re buying zucchinis for this recipe, take an extra minute to select four equal-sized, smallish zucchinis.
• Don’t over-crowd the zucchini. All the zucchini halves may not fit in one pan, so you might need two separate pans. Avoid crowding the zucchini together, so they can get more of a roasting (instead of steaming) effect from being baked.
• Use fresh zucchini. If the zucchinis feel too soft, they’re not a great candidate for this recipe. Zucchinis should be firm.

Do You Eat The Skin On Mexican Zucchini Boats?

Yes! The skin on properly cleaned zucchini is perfectly fine to eat, and it actually has a lot of nutritional benefits!

Large zucchinis typically have tougher skins with a slightly bitter taste to them. That’s is why I recommend small-to-medium veggies for this recipe.

Using the Leftover Zucchini Pulp

To make Mexican Zucchini Boats, we scoop out the inside pulp with a metal (or sharp) 1-teaspoon measuring spoon. I’ve found this pulp makes the zucchini boats too wet and takes away from the flavor.

While the pulp can be discarded, there are so many ways to use it so it doesn’t go to waste. Here’s a great forum on ways to use the pulp. I love adding it to omelets the next morning or blending it in this green smoothie recipe. (It adds nutrients without any strong detectable flavor.)

Mexican Zucchini Boats Seasoning blend

The seasoning in these Mexican Zucchini Boats is my go-to blend for Mexican-flavored ground turkey. You may recognize it from these Turkey Tacos or Turkey Taco Salad — we’re obsessed with it.

In fact, if you’re hesitant about ground turkey, I can confirm that my husband, friends, and family members have all been completely convinced I’ve made ground beef, not ground turkey, because of this seasoning blend. (The beef bouillon is the “secret” for making it taste more like beef!)

One way to speed up the cooking time for Mexican Zucchini Boats is to make this seasoning blend ahead of time. I often get out all the seasonings and make 10+ seasoning packets at a time. It makes dinner prep go so much quicker!

Mexican Zucchini Boat Tips

• A little bit of cilantro and lime juice add a lot of zing to this dish! Both ingredients add freshness and liveliness, as well as balance to the spices. The acid from the lime makes all the other flavors sing.
• We love fire-roasted crushed tomatoes; they add a great smokiness and extra flavor without any extra work on your part. Our favorite is Muir Glen® (not sponsored)
• Freshly grate the cheese if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has a cellulose coating (to keep it from clumping) that resists melting and tends to make these Mexican Zucchini Boats greasy. If you have a food processor with a grating attachment, you can have what you need in a flash!
• I recommend ground turkey that is sold in a carton, rather than in a chub (the plastic tube).  Chub-style ground turkey tends to be watery and less flavorful.

Mexican Zucchini Boat Storage

This recipe is best eaten right after baking. Baked zucchini doesn’t store especially well; it tends to get soggy and a bit mushy.

If you’d like to only eat a few zucchini boats at a time, I recommend storing the zucchini separate from the meat and baking only the amount you need for each meal.

Freezing

This recipe also isn’t a great candidate for freezing. Again, the zucchini gets mushy and wet when frozen and thawed. That said, the meat filling on this recipe does store and freeze well.

Although I don’t recommend freezing this recipe in its entirety, the ground turkey filling can be frozen for 2-3 months.

• Pack the completely cooled filling (without cheese) into a heavy-duty freezer-safe bag or container, leaving space for the sauce to expand once it’s frozen.
• Thaw the filling in the fridge overnight and then reheat on the stovetop over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Fill the zucchini halves, add cheese, and bake.

More ways to use up zucchini

• Zucchini Pasta Sauce with spaghetti
• Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins with chocolate chips
• One-Pan Parmesan Chicken and Zucchini
• Pork Stir Fry with zucchini and green beans
• Healthy Zucchini Bread with Greek yogurt