A delicious, easy, and healthy dinner for the whole family! These zucchini boat turkey tacos are stuffed with lean ground turkey, taco seasoning, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and chilis. It’s topped with melted cheese, fresh cilantro, and green onions and baked to cheesy perfection! Add this to your Taco Tuesday rotation.
Jump to RecipeMise en Place Ingredients
Start with preparing your mise en place ingredient station. Wash and chop produce and herbs (cilantro and green onions). Set aside other ingredients in bowls, containers, or plates until ready to start cooking.
Making the Zucchini Boats
To make the zucchini boats, cut each zucchini lengthwise and trim off the ends. Then, take a spoon and scoop out the pulp from the centers of each zucchini.
After scooping, transfer the pulp to a cheesecloth or a paper towel. Squeeze out as much water from the pulp as possible. It’s important because it will make your filling less watery/runny.
In a large skillet, combine the ground turkey with all the other ingredients for about 8-10 minutes. Then add the taco seasoning, kosher salt, reserved zucchini pulp, and diced tomatoes with green chiles. Stir until thickened.
Transfer mixture to zucchini and top with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes. Serve your turkey taco stuffed zucchini with avocados, salsa, or sour cream.
Yes, it’s that simple!
Recipe Tips:
- Prepare all produce and herbs beforehand (aka mise en place). This method helps make all recipes go faster.
- Utilize the pulp from zucchini in the filling to reduce food waste.
- Squeezing out excess water from the zucchini pulp helps reduce your filling from turning watery or runny.
- Other types of cheese may be substituted in place of the sharp cheddar cheese. (Other recommended cheeses: Colby jack, Monterey jack or Mexican blended cheeses).
- If you’re not a fan of lean ground turkey, lean ground beef may be used.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Do not freeze.
Other Zucchini Recipes
If you’re a fan of zucchini, try out some of these recipes.
- Stuffed Zucchini Pizzas
- Zucchini Chicken Enchiladas
- Zucchini Cajun Shrimp Scampi
- Zucchini al Pomodoro
- Instant Pot Zucchini Corn Chowder
Questions? Leave me a comment below. If you make this recipe, tag me @the.design.foodie on Instagram or @thedesignfoodieashlee on Facebook! Happy cooking!
Simple Zucchini Boat Turkey Tacos
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 (10 oz can) diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup yellow kernal corn
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
- Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 2 green onions, chopped
For Garnish:
- fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- green onions, chopped
For Toppings:
- avocado
- fresh salsa
- sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly coat 9 X 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cut each zucchini in half horizontally. Trim off the ends. Carefully scoop out the center of zucchini. Reserve zucchini pulp for later and leaving 1/2" of zucchini skin. Lay zucchini in prepared baking dish.
- Take zucchini pulp and squeeze out excess water with a cheesecloth or paper towel.
- In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and onion. Cook turkey until no longer pink and onions are fragrant, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add taco seasoning, kosher salt, reserved zucchini pulp, and diced tomatoes with green chiles. Stir until thickened and flavors have blended, about 5 minutes.
- Drain and rinse black beans. Add black beans and corn to mixture. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Stir in cilantro until well combined.
- Add turkey mixture to each zucchini. Top with sharp cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Place into oven and bake at 400ºF for 25-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Garnish with more cilantro and green onions. Serve with avocado, fresh salsa and sour cream.
