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Black beans, corn, salsa... everything you love inside your meatless tacos stuffed inside a zucchini boat!

Get ready to enjoy an easy meatless dinner idea that’s easy to make and the oven does most of the work!

Meatless Stuffed Zucchini

When zucchini is abundant, I try to look for ways to use this nutritious veggie in recipes my family will enjoy; and this meatless stuffed zucchini is one of them! It not only tastes delicious it’s also healthy and that’s #winning.

With this simple recipe, and other family-friendly zucchini recipes such as baked parmesan zucchini, zucchini chips, and zucchini spaghetti noodles, you, too, can incorporate this veggie more often into your meatless dinner rotation.

You’ll love it because everything gets heated in the pan, and the hot mixture gets stuffed in the zucchini and baked to cook the zucchini boats and melt the cheese. It’s a tasty, effortless, and packed-with-vegetables meal that the whole family will love!

Ingredients

Meatless zucchini boats are a fun and healthy meal you can pull together with zucchini, cheese, and cans you always have on hand in the pantry. The measurements are on the recipe card below, but first, take a look at what you need:

Zucchini: sliced in half to make our tasty boats.
Olive oil: for cooking.
Black beans: the substitute for meat in this recipe.
Corn: you can use canned or frozen corn.
Taco seasoning: adds tons of flavor!
Salsa: your favorite store-bought or homemade salsa.
Shredded cheese: I love Mexican blend cheese, but you can use any other.

How to Make Zucchini Boats

Heat the filling in a pan, add it to the zucchini boats, and let the oven do the rest. It’s that easy! Check the step-by-step for this terrific dinner:

Prep the oven
First, preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Prep the zucchini
You wash the zucchini, trim the ends, and slice them in half lengthwise. Using a spoon or a melon baller, you scoop out the flesh, leaving the shell about ¼-inch thick. Place the zucchini boats, cut side up, inside the baking sheet.
Remove moisture
Since zucchini is quite watery, place the zucchini meat inside a mesh strainer or between a few paper towels to absorb the moisture.
Make the filling
In a skillet, you cook the zucchini meat, black beans, corn, taco seasoning, and salsa for 5 minutes. Then, you add half of the cheese to the meatless mixture and toss to combine.
Fill the zucchini boats
Now, generously fill each zucchini boat with the cheesy meatless mixture and sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheese.
Bake
In 30 minutes, the cheesy tops will melt, and the sides of the zucchini will feel soft when poked with a fork.
Serve
Add your favorite taco toppings and sides, and enjoy!

How to Keep Zucchini from Getting Watery

Zucchini is one of the most watery vegetables, so you need to remove some water to keep the boats from getting soggy. To do this, place the zucchini meat inside a mesh strainer or between a few paper towels before making the filling.

More Meatless Stuffed Zucchini Toppings

I’m a sucker for toppings! Pizza, tacos, pancakes: if there’s room for something extra on the top, I’ll add it! While they are not listed in the recipe, you can top these Meatless Stuffed Zucchini with your favorite taco toppings and make this meal tastier, if that’s even possible.

Everyone at home can add their favorites according to the flavor profile they prefer. Some delicious ideas? Chopped cilantro, green onions, sliced jalapeños, olives, hot sauce, Corn and Black Bean Salsa, Chunky Avocado Salsa, or sour cream. Yummy!

What to Serve with Zucchini Boats

Serve these Meatless Zucchini Boats with this delicious Panzanella Salad (with or without chicken) or this epic Southwest Quinoa Salad. More of the baked team? Roasted vegetables and corn on the cob are delicious sides to pair with these veggie boats.

To give dinner a cozy twist, you’ll definitely want to serve this Mexican Cauliflower Rice or a bowl of Tomato Soup on the side. SO good!

Meatless Zucchini Boats

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 45

Black beans, corn, salsa… everything you love inside your meatless tacos stuffed inside a zucchini boat!

5 from 7 votes

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Ingredients

4 large zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cans (15oz each) black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (14oz) of corn (1 ½ cups frozen), rinsed & drained
1 ½ tablespoons taco seasoning
1 ½ cups salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Instructions

Prep:

Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Wash the zucchini with warm soapy water. Trim the ends and slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon or a melon baller to scoop out the flesh, leaving the shell about ¼-inch thick. Put the zucchini meat inside a mesh strainer or between a few paper towels to absorb the moisture. Place the zucchini boats, cut side up, inside the baking sheet.

Make the filling:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and once hot, add the zucchini meat, black beans, corn, taco seasoning, and 1 ½ cups of salsa to the pan. Mix to combine and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is heated through, turn off the heat.
Add half of the cheese to the meatless mixture and toss to combine.
Divide the cheesy meatless mixture among all the zucchini boats, making sure to fill them generously. Sprinkle the tops of the zucchini boats with the remaining cheese.

Bake:

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until the cheesy tops are melted and the sides of the zucchini feel soft when poked with a fork. Remove from the oven and serve.