Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats
So, I fully realize this is only my…ninth recipe post. But it is freaking DELICIOUS and therefore it’s my favorite. You can pick a favorite out of a group of nine things, right? Do parents have favorite children when they only have two or three? I think so. My mom has a favorite. It’s me, obviously, because I create delicious, healthy recipes like this one.
Lee, if you’re reading this, I’m just joking, okay? Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m actually the favorite because I eat all of Mom’s non-vegetarian meals. Get with the program. Eat the meat. Eat THIS meat. I remember when you were obsessed with pepperoni. It’s still delicious and now I guess I get it all to myself.
Sorry this blog post turned into a weird family drama. I’ll stop talking to my two family members exclusively and I’ll try to direct this more toward the only other human on the planet reading this post. Thank you for reading my blog.
If you’ve never made a zucchini boat before, I have a little trick to share with you. The first time I tried making a zucchini boat it did not go well. I ended up chopping into the outer skin of the zucchini, which breaks the boat. It’s tragic. Since I’ve now done this a few times, I’ve really perfected my technique. I start by slicing the stem off of the zucchini and then cutting the zucchini in half along the length. Then I make diagonal cuts down the zucchini starting on each side. Each diagonal cut is only a few inches long at most. The result ends up looking like this.
It is now very simple to remove the insides of the zucchini using a spoon. Run the spoon over the diagonal cuts and the insides come right out, leaving you with a blank canvas to stuff with pizza filling!
As usual, this recipe is paleo as written and is easily Whole30 compliant by simply omitting the pepperoni topping. As a side note, if you happen to find pepperoni that IS Whole30 compliant, help a sister out and leave a comment below. It’s so frustrating that even the healthier options contain some sort of sugar.
Also as usual, I made a whole bunch of these and I’m excited about eating them for lunch every single day. Lunch has never been tastier and it always makes me happy when my coworkers at my day job ask what I’m eating because it smells so good. So give my favorite recipe a try and let me know what you think!
Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400° F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Cut the stem off of each zucchini and cut in half along the length of the zucchini, resulting in two long halves. Scoop out the inside of each piece and place cut side down onto the parchment paper lined sheet pan. Bake at 400° F for 15-20 minutes until softened to your liking.
- While the zucchini bakes, prepare the pizza stuffing. Heat the avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the onion and red pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add ground pork and break into small pieces until browned and cooked through.
- Add the pizza sauce and all of the spices, from sea salt through oregano. Mix to combine and simmer for 10 minutes.
- When the zucchini is done, use a spoon to fill the insides of each zucchini half with the pizza mixture. Top with toppings of choice and serve! If not paleo or on Whole30 and you want to add cheese, now is the time to do so. Add cheese to each zucchini half as desired and place back in the oven until the cheese has melted.
