Two of my favorite things—pizza and zucchini—have combined forces to make one of my favorite meals, Zucchini Pizza Boats! The zucchini replaces pizza dough and all the other fixings are kept!  This is an all-in-one meal that does not require a side dish.

Zucchini Pizza Boats

At first, this recipe may evoke cringe-worthy ideas like “skinny pizza” or a “healthy take on pizza”, but Zucchini Pizza Boats are just darn tootin’ delicious! The zucchini offers moisture and a sturdy structure to be stuffed with any additional ingredients you like and is naturally gluten-free!

You can make the recipe as simple or decadent as you like, depending on the amount of time and effort you want to put into it.  If you want to make my Zucchini Pizza Boats an easy week-night meal, simply top the boats with marinara, and pre-shredded cheese.

If you have a bit more time, definitely add the suggested topping of olives, thinly sliced or chopped red onions and fresh basil.  This will add a pop of color, texture and taste to my Zucchini Pizza Boats.  Keep reading to learn a few more of my favorite toppings!

If pizza is not complete without an animal protein for you, then you can add a cured meat like pepperoni or prosciutto or make a meat sauce.  Both beef and pork would be great in a meat sauce, but I am personally preferential to beef.

If you are not sure what grind of beef to use in my Zucchini Pizza Boats, check out my post for Greek Meatball Subs.  Here I explain what different percentages of lean beef actually mean!  I would recommend a 90-95% lean beef in my Zucchini Pizza Boats.

Zucchini vs Summer Squash

All zucchini are squash, but not all squash are zucchini—does that make you even more confused? Zucchini is a type of squash that is grown in the warm Summer months of New York.   The main difference is that zucchini have a solid, dark green color, and summer squash are typically bright yellow.   There are many varieties of summer squash so some color variation exists.  The recipe is titled, Zucchini Pizza Boats and not “Squash Pizza Boats” for a few reasons.

First, Zucchini are straighter than summer squash making it easier to cut in half, scoop out the center and fill with pizza fixings.  Second, zucchini have a thicker skin and hold their shape after being stuffed and baked.  You certainly can use summer squash, but zucchini is recommended!

Selecting the best!

The best zucchini or summer squash for Zucchini Pizza Boats are firm and have few blemishes. The perfect size would be about a medium. Too small and they will not be able to hold much sauce, cheese and toppings.  Too big, and the skin will be thick and tough and as you can guess, not as tasty.

You can make my Zucchini Pizza Boats any time of year you can find the star ingredient, but Summer is when they will be the most fresh and delicious.  Unfortunately, zucchini and summer squash do not freeze well and I do not recommend saving the summer bounty to be used in the Winter.

Toppings

The recipe, and the toppings suggested make for delicious Zucchini Pizza Boats, but there are so many additional options!  Pretty much anything that you like on pizza would be delicious on my Zucchini Pizza Boat.  Follow along as I explain some topping themes that you may want to try:

• Taco Pizza-this is my all-time favorite! Add taco season mix, ground beef or chorizo, cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream. It is super easy, and just as delicious to make vegetarian using black beans.
• Hawaiian- a classic using diced ham, pineapple (frozen works well) and red onions
• Mushroom-another great vegetarian option, I prefer to use cremini mushrooms. Make sure to sauté the creminis first to remove some of the high water content.

Let’s Get Cooking!

After selecting a few firm, medium zucchini and assembling all the ingredients you will be just 30 minutes away from enjoying the Zucchini Pizza Boats!  One zucchini will give you two boats, which depending on their size and your appetite is one to two servings. Enjoy!

Similar Pages

Looking for more squash recipes? Try my Cheesy Zucchini Noodles, Air Fryer Zucchini or my Lentil Bolognese.

Zucchini pizza boats

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Keyword: pizza, stuffed zucchini, vegetarian, zucchini boats

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Author: Chef Abbie Gellman RD

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini sliced in half lengthwise
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce or marinara sauce or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded or grated mozzarella cheese
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons sliced olives
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 2 teaspoons parmesan
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Scoop out the flesh of the zucchini, leaving a border of approximately 1/3-inch. Set aside zucchini flesh and place zucchini boats on the baking sheet.
• Sprinkle inside of zucchini boats with salt.
• Optional: Chop zucchini flesh and split between the 4 zucchini boats.
• Add pizza sauce evenly to the zucchini boats then top with mozzarella, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, olives, red onion, and parmesan.
• Bake for 20 minutes until zucchini is tender and cheese is bubbling. Turn on broiler to high and cook 2 minutes till top is golden brown.
• Garnish with basil and serve immediately.

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