Got zucchinis? Stuff zucchinis with this simple, delicious, protein-rich lentil filling, bake, and then smother with this vegan pistachio pesto. Yum! This vegan gluten-free zucchini recipe is like a meal in one–just scoop out the center of the zucchinis to form boats, then cook up this Italian lentil stuffing and whizz up the pistachio pesto and your set. I love to serve these Italian Zucchini Boats with Vegan Pesto with a crusty whole grain bread and olive oil on the side. Any leftover zucchini boats are just as good the next day, too.
Zucchinis, like other veggies including bell peppers, winter squash, and tomatoes, make excellent containers for stuffing. And what better way to fill those zucchinis than with this hearty, nutritious, flavorful stuffing, and a homemade creamy pesto sauce? Filled with the Italian flavors of garlic, tomatoes, and basil, these zucchini boats are brimming with good taste, and good health. Look for medium-sized zucchinis to create these zucchini boats–or use smaller zucchinis, but plan on getting a couple extras to use up the filling. If you’ve got summer zucchinis coming out of the year, this is the perfect zucchini recipe to use up those beauties. You can also swap out pistachios for another nut in the pesto, including walnuts, or almonds. Or make a nut-free pesto using sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of pistachios.
Description
These Italian Zucchini Boats with Vegan Pesto are filled with a hearty, flavorful lentil filling, baked, and then slathered with a creamy pistachio pesto. Serve it with whole grain bread to make it a meal.
- Prepare Italian Lentil Filling by heating olive oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper and sauté for 6 minutes.
- Add oregano and chili flakes and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add lentils and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add broth, stir well, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes (if using fresh tomatoes, include the juice left from chopping them; if using canned tomatoes, measure out juice and tomatoes) and salt (optional). Stir well, and cover. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, until lentils are just barely tender (al dente stage). Drain any leftover liquid.
- Prepare zucchini boats by slicing each one in half horizontally. Scoop out interior flesh from zucchini leaving about ½-inch thickness around the margin of the zucchini (see photo above). Reserve the unused zucchini flesh for smoothies, muffins, or soup.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place zucchini boats, empty side up, in a 9×13-inch baking dish with ¼-inch of water added to the bottom.
- Fill each zucchini boat with the Italian Lentil Filling, heaping and rounding it in each shell. Reserve any leftover filling to enjoy as a side-dish or in a grain bowl.
- Cover with foil and bake filled zucchini boats in the oven at 350 F for 40-45 minutes, until zucchini is tender yet firm.
- While zucchini boats are baking, make pesto by placing basil, garlic, nutritional yeast, pistachios, and lemon juice in a food processor or small blender. Process the pesto, gradually adding olive oil, until smooth and creamy. May need to stop and scrape down sides as you process. Set aside.
- Remove zucchini boats from the oven. Drain leftover water from baking, or transfer the zucchini boats to a platter or to four individual dinner plates. Spoon pesto over each zucchini boat, dividing it evenly among each zucchini boat. Sprinkle ½ tablespoon vegan parmesan over each zucchini boat (optional).
- Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings (1 zucchini boat per serving).
Notes
Select zucchinis that are about 7 inches long and 3 inches in diameter for best results. If your zucchinis are too small, the zucchini boats will be smaller, and you will have leftover filling and pesto. Alternatively, you can choose three smaller zucchinis for this recipe, dividing ingredients among three zucchinis.
- Category: American
- Cuisine: Entree
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 359
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 102 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 18 g
Keywords: zucchini boats, vegetarian zucchini boats,
For other zucchini recipes, check out:
Easy Zucchini Tomato Sandwich
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Sweet Potato Home Fries with Zucchini
Vegan Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles and Walnuts
Zucchini Pate
Zucchini Carrot Spice Muffins
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