Zucchini Taco Boats with Chicken
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Zucchini Taco Boats with Chicken are a light and simple dinner. They’re a great way to get your veggies in!
Summer is almost over and I’ve barely gotten my summer produce fix. I’ve had so many other things to focus on that I haven’t had a chance to savor the peaches, summer squash, or tomatoes. I’ve only had one BLT this summer. ONE. I don’t even know how that happens.
There’s still time, though. I’m thankful for our vegetable delivery bringing us the best of the season each week so I can plan with those goodies. While I used to visit our farmers market every week, life’s other issues have gotten in the way of that. At this point of the summer I’m trying to eat up all of our food so we don’t have to pack up our entire fridge and freezer for the move, which can mean some weirder meals.
These zucchini taco boats with chicken were something I had been craving for a while, but couldn’t make because of my travel schedule. The first day back into routine, however, I made sure they were on the dinner menu.
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.
I used diced chicken instead of ground chicken, but you can use ground if you like. We prefer the larger pieces of meat because they’re easier for the kids to eat, otherwise they’re chasing bits of ground meat on their plate for 15 minutes after everyone else is done eating.
You could also use crispy tofu for these, 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.
Some people prefer to parboil the zucchini before filling and baking, but I skip that step and just bake it a little bit longer. I prefer zucchini to still have some bite, but prepare it how you like best!
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!
Zucchini Taco Boats with Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 zucchini
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce or salsa
- Shredded cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly coat a baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out centers, reserving the flesh into a bowl. Place zucchini into baking dish.
- Cut chicken into small pieces. Lightly coat a saute pan with nonstick spray and cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through and starting to brown. Add onion and reserved zucchini flesh and continue to cook for 1 minute.
- Mix together chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and salt, and sprinkle over chicken. Stir to coat and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce or salsa and let simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened.
- Divide chicken mixture into zucchini (you might have extra filling) and top with cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
AGHGH! This looks amazing. I’m tempted to try this tonight and sub in tofu and Daiya cheese.