Chicken Taco Zucchini Boats

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Zucchini boats are a great way to enjoy summer’s peak zucchini. They’re filled with a savory, zesty chicken taco mixture for a twist on taco night!

This recipe has been retested and reshot since first posting in August 2016.

Each summer I plant zucchini in the garden, so every morning I head out to check the progress of the burgeoning squash.

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that seems like it takes forever to get to the right size for picking, and then you blink and you’re suddenly confronted with a two-foot monster.

I save the big ones for making chocolate zucchini muffins, but when I can grab them at the perfect size I like to make zucchini boats.

If you’ve never made zucchini boats before, they’re incredibly easy. Simply halve the zucchini, scoop out the insides with a spoon or melon baller, and fill with whatever you like. I used chicken cooked with onions, the zucchini insides, and taco seasonings.

It’s very family-friendly, and even if your kids don’t want to eat the zucchini boat itself, at least you’ve gotten some veggies in them from the filling.

Grab some zucchini from the garden or farmers market and give this one a try for an easy dinner!

Ingredients for zucchini boats

Full list of ingredients with quantities is located in the recipe card.

You’ll need:

• Chicken breasts or thighs (boneless and skinless)
• Zucchini
• Olive oil
• Onion
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Mexican oregano
• Paprika
• Salt
• Salsa – Use your favorite!
• Shredded pepper jack cheese

Look for zucchini that are medium size, about 8 inches long. You don’t want them to be too thin, or you won’t be able to stuff them with the chicken filling. If you only have extra-long zucchini, simply cut them in half.

How to make this recipe

Preheat the oven to 400°F, and lightly coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

Trim the tops from the zucchini if needed, then slice them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the centers, creating a trough in each zucchini half. Make sure you do not scoop too deeply and create a hole in the bottom.

Save the scooped out bits in a bowl for later, and place the zucchini halves in the baking dish with the cut sides facing up.

Pour olive oil into a sauté pan and heat over medium high. Once hot, add the diced chicken and cook until lightly browned, which will take 3-5 minutes.

Add the onion and the reserved zucchini flesh and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Mix together the spices and sprinkle over the chicken mixture. Stir to coat well and cook another 2 minutes.

Stir in the salsa, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened.

Scoop the chicken mixture into the zucchini and top each with shredded cheese.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes, until zucchini is tender and cheese is melty.

Recipe suggestions

I used diced chicken instead of ground chicken, but you can use ground if you like, or swap in ground beef or turkey.

You could also use crispy tofu for these, seasoned black beans, or maybe even jackfruit. I haven’t tried cooking with jackfruit, but I’ve heard it’s a great vegan substitute and I think it would work well here.

Want to make an Italian-inspired dish instead? Swap the spices for an Italian seasoning blend, the salsa for marinara sauce, and the pepper jack for shredded mozzarella cheese.

If you’re looking for other gluten free zucchini dinner recipes, this quinoa with summer vegetables is a quick and easy recipe, or you can go creative with this zucchini crust pizza!

Serve these zucchini boats with a quick fruit salad and enjoy your summer!