My favorite vegetable of all-time! Such a versatile little thing… So much to create and experiment with! It was about time to get more creative and make these beautiful zucchini boats… Stuffed… Stuffed with cottage cheese filling and freshly prepared Marinara sauce! Oh yeah… you’re in for a treat!

Like I always say.. very easy and quick to prepare and perfect as a side or main course!

There are two parts to this dish – 1> filling and 2>fresh marinara sauce

Shucking the zucchini is lots of fun! If using medium sized zucchini then you can part them in middle and then divide them in half, lengthwise. If using smaller zucchinis then just divide them lengthwise. After this zucchinis are hollowed-out and stuffed with the prepared filling and topped with Marinara sauce. All the elements here are raw so it all comes together in no time! Bake them and they are ready to be gobbled!

Eat as many as you want as they are pretty light and low-cal! 😉

Skinny Zucchini Boats

Yields: 8 zucchini boats | Serves: 2 for lunch/dinner and 4 as side-dish

Ingredients:

Marinara Sauce:

• 4-5 tomatoes, blanched, skin peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Skinny Zucchini Boats:

• 2 medium zucchinis, halved and cut lengthwise
• 100 gm cottage cheese, grated
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, diced
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

For Marinara sauce: 

• In a small pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic. Be careful not to burn.
• Add tomatoes, bay leaf, chili flakes, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf and mash tomatoes nicely. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

For Skinny Zucchini Boats:

• Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F. After cutting zucchini in half lengthwise, use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4″ thick. Discard the flesh or use it in your next veggie recipe.
• In a small bowl, mix together cottage cheese, red bell pepper, parsley, chilli flakes, salt and pepper.
• Place scooped out side up on the baking sheet and season it with salt and pepper. With spoon, fill each hollowed-out zucchini with about 2 Tbsp of cottage cheese stuffing and press firmly. Top it generously with marinara sauce.
• Bake for 25 minutes or till zucchini is cooked through. Serve hot!

*Cheese-lovers don’t be disappointed! ~ Top zucchini boats with mix of grated Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese before baking. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or till cheese melts completely.
*Basil-lovers can replace parsley with basil leaves, both in filling and Marinara sauce.