Cheesy Sausage Zucchini Boats – Barefeet In The Kitchen

Cheesy, saucy, rich and hearty Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a favorite in my house. Whether you serve them on their own, with a side of rice or potatoes, or chopped up and tossed with pasta (that’s my favorite way to enjoy these for lunch leftovers!), these zucchini boats are likely to be a win with your whole family.

Zucchini Boat Recipes

I stumbled across these Cheddar and Sausage Zucchini Boats from The Garlic Diaries a while back and I couldn’t get them out of my head. They were absolutely delicious!

To make this recipe, fresh zucchini is hollowed out and roasted and then filled with cheesy sausage and vegetables. Loaded with plenty of great flavors, this is a terrific way to make the most of the summer’s harvest.

I’ve been making all kinds of stuffed zucchini boats on repeat and I love how endlessly adaptable they are. From taco-inspired boats to chicken parmesan zucchini boats, saucy bbq chicken and zucchini pizza boats, we LOVE them.

As I mentioned above, I especially enjoy these recipes when I chop up the leftovers and toss them with angel hair pasta. I usually add a splash more marinara sauce over the pasta.

I reach for the zucchini and start filling them with chicken, pork, or beef as soon as they are in season each year. In all seriousness though, the leftovers are some of my favorite lunches and I’ve been known to bake some of these just to have them on hand for lunch.

Zucchini Boats with Sausage

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• medium zucchini
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• sausage
• onion
• red bell pepper
• mushrooms (optional)
• garlic
• Italian seasonings
• marinara sauce storebought or homemade
• shredded mozzarella

Not a fan of mushrooms? Skip them and mix in a different vegetable. Sausage isn’t your favorite? Switch it up with ground chicken, turkey, or beef!

Just a note though, if you decide to switch out the sausage, be sure to heavily season the meat with salt, pepper, and your favorite spices. Taste it when after cooking and make sure there is plenty of flavor there.

How to Make Zucchini Boats

Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise, scooping out the seeds and part of the zucchini flesh. Leave about 1/4-inch of zucchini along the skin of each halved squash.

Place the zucchini halves on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and rub with your hands to coat. Season with salt and pepper pepper. Bake for 15 minutes.

While the zucchini is baking, start the filling. Warm a teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage. Cook and crumble into very small pieces. Transfer the cooked meat to a plate, leaving any grease in the pan.

Add the onion to the empty skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until it begins to soften. Add the peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. Continue cooking for 3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the vegetables are tender. Season with remaining salt and pepper.

Return the sausage to the skillet. Add the marinara sauce and spices. Stir to combine and taste the mixture. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add about ⅔ of the cheese and stir once more.

Generously fill each zucchini half with the filling, pressing it firmly into each zucchini. Top each zucchini with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve warm.

What To Do With Zucchini

About 12 years ago, I was the person asking, “What am I supposed to do with all the zucchini?!” We were planting our first garden and Sean asked me how many squash plants I wanted him to plant. In total cluelessness, I answered, “you can’t plant too many squash plants for me!” HA! Live and learn.

60+ squash plants later… I had far more squash than I knew what to do anything with! As a simple side dish with zero prep and minimal effort, I learned that broiled zucchini is a great simple way to go.

If you too have an abundance of squash in the house, you can check out all 30 Zucchini Recipes I came up with that year as we baked it, roasted it, sauteed it, stir-fried it, dehydrated it, slivered it, chopped it, and spiralized it.

Round zucchini are awesome for stuffing with all kinds of deliciousness. I love this Round Zucchini Stuffed with Lemon Butter Orzo. And the fillings for these Mexican Stuffed Peppers and Spicy Italian Peppers work beautifully in zucchini too.

{originally published 2/3/20 – recipe notes and photos updated 9/30/23}