How to Make Stuffed Zucchini

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 12, 2021

Stuffed zucchini is a delicious and nutritious meal that is perfect for grilling on a nice summer's day or great for eating on a cold winter's night. It's hearty enough to be enjoyed as a meal but light enough to not make you feel as full as you would after eating a lasagna or similar stuffed dish. The most common way to make stuffed zucchini is to use your oven, but you can also grill it or cook it in the skillet. You can use anything you want in the stuffing from veal to mushrooms, depending on what suits your fancy. If you want to know how to make stuffed zucchini, see Step 1 to get started today.

Ingredients

Oven-Baked Stuffed Zucchini ^{[1]
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½ pound ground beef
1 large zucchini, ends trimmed
½ cup bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 16-oz jar favorite spaghetti sauce
½ 6-oz can sliced black olives, drained
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini ^{[3]
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6 zucchini (overgrown yet not woody being the best, but any zucchini will do), sliced in half lengthwise
Olive oil
Non-stick olive oil spray
1 cup diced white onion
½ cup cooked ham, diced
2 diced roma tomatoes
2¾ cups diced white button mushrooms
1 lightly beaten egg
3 tablespoons fresh or day-old bread crumbs
⅔ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste

Pan-Cooked Stuffed Zucchini ^{[4]
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8 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
¼ cup olive oil
10 oz ground veal
2 garlic cloves, smashed
⅔ cup asiago cheese
1 small red onion, diced
½ cup dry white wine
1 pound ripe roma tomatoes, peeled and seeded
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Oven-Baked Stuffed Zucchini

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and brown ground beef 10 minutes, breaking up beef as it crumbles, until it's completely cooked through. Drain fat then transfer browned ground beef, using a slotted spoon, to a mixing bowl. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, and, using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, leaving about ½ inch-thick boat. If zucchini is too tough to scoop out, boil it for a few minutes or soak it in cold water for 10 minutes first.
In the mixing bowl, combine zucchini pulp, bread crumbs, garlic, black olives, spaghetti sauce, and cheese in the bowl with the cooked ground beef until all are fully incorporated. Taste and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Stuff each zucchini half with the stuffing mixture, packing it in pretty tightly.
Cover baking dish with foil.
40-45 minutes. They should be knife-tender, but not so tender that they fall apart at the touch or are mushy. When they are done, remove from oven and remove foil. Season with a few grinds of black pepper if desired.
Place oven rack 6 inches (15.2 cm) from the broiler element, turn broiler on, and broil zucchini 5 minutes until the mozzarella is browned and bubbling. Remove zucchini from the oven and cool for at least 3-4 minutes.
Enjoy this hearty dish on its own or with a side of rice or pasta.

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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil then cook zucchini 10 minutes. This will tenderize the zucchini, making it easier to scoop out the pulp.
Dice white onion, ham, tomatoes, and mushrooms, reserving the trimmed ham fat. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Remove the zucchini from the pot and drain. Transfer the squash to a cutting board and pat dry. Cool zucchini a few minutes.
Using a small spoon, scoop out zucchini flesh and discard. (It should be pulpy and filled with seeds.)
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté reserved trimmed ham fat trimmings and onion until onion is translucent. Stir in garlic and sauté until garlic is aromatic. Add tomatoes and simmer 1-2 minutes. Then add diced mushrooms and sauté until they are soft.
Transfer vegetable mixture and diced ham to a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add beaten egg, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly until ingredients develop a creamy texture.
Alternately, you can use an oiled grill pizza pan instead.
Place zucchini halves on a plate with skin side down and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Spoon equal amounts of stuffing into the zucchini boats.
Place stuffed zucchini on the grill and grill squash 30 minutes, making sure the zucchini doesn't burn. (It should be crispy on top, but it should not char.) When it is knife-tender, remove stuffed zucchini off the grill with grill tongs and let zucchini cool for a few minutes before serving.
For extra creamy and richer taste, sprinkle more cheese on top before serving.

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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Pan-Cooked Stuffed Zucchini

1
Prepare zucchini. If using long zucchini, halve the squash crosswise. Soak zucchini 30 minutes in cold water to soften the squash. Using an apple corer or a special zucchini corer , hollow out the zucchini, trying to scoop out the centers so all you have left are zucchini "tubes" that will hold the meat stuffing.
- Don't throw out the zucchini flesh. Instead, chop it up and set it aside to use for the stuffing later.
Brown ground veal 4 minutes until it is golden brown and the oil has absorbed evenly. Using a slotted spoon, transfer browned ground veal to a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Leave the remaining fat in the skillet.
In same skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes until gold and fragrant. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and discard it, leaving behind garlic-infused oil.
Add reserved chopped zucchini flesh to the skillet and sauté 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Then transfer sautéed zucchini flesh to the bowl containing the ground veal.
Mix zucchini flesh and ground veal to combine. Fill the zucchini tubes with the stuffing.
In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1-2 minutes over medium-high heat. Place as many stuffed zucchini tubes that can fit in a single layer in the skillet without overcrowding or dropping oil temperature too much. Sear zucchini 10 minutes total on all sides, turning stuffed squash when needed. Once zucchini has been seared, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a platter. Repeat this with any remaining zucchini until they are all cooked, reserving cooking fat in skillet.
In the same skillet, add chopped onions and sauté 3 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until onion caramelizes to a golden brown.
Season stuffed squash with salt and black pepper then add dry white wine to the skillet, bringing it back to a boil. Add tomatoes to the skillet. (Alternately, you can used canned diced tomatoes if you wish to save time.)
Turn zucchini tubes from time to time, making sure that they cook evenly. When stuffed squash is fork-tender, remove skillet from heat. Wait at least 5 minutes for them to cool a bit before serving.
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