These Sweet Pepper Turkey Zucchini Boats are perfect for a quick dinner or for a party table. Frankly, to me, they work well for dinner and lunch as well. The sweet pepper turkey mixture is packed with flavor and has added nutrition with riced cauliflower and onion mixed in.
This was another dish I made while I was in Florida for the holidays. And you know what I love about these? This is one of those recipes that you can cook a large batch of one component for several meals during the week. It’s perfect for easy, quick, and budget-friendly meal planning!
For example, double or triple the turkey mixture. Make the zucchini boats for dinner on Sunday night. You can pair them with a salad. Refrigerate or freeze the meat.
On Taco Tuesday, use the turkey mixture as a filler for your tacos, paired with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cheese, and salsa.
Later in the week, spiralize leftover zucchini and cook it in olive oil with garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix the turkey with tomato sauce and top the spiralized zucchini for a healthy zoodle pasta dinner.
Hosting a Super Bowl party or participating in a potluck? These Sweet Pepper Turkey Zucchini Boats will be a hit at your event.
I would say that the part that takes the longest is scooping out the centers of the zucchini, but it’s about 5 minutes.
Another thing to consider is that you can chop the zucchini into smaller sizes before splitting them to scoop in half. They can be turned into zucchini bites or smaller boats for the little ones in your home.
SWEET PEPPER TURKEY ZUCCHINI BOATS
These sweet pepper turkey zucchini boats are a healthy savory addition to any healthy meal plan. It has more veggies than you think. So even if the little ones will only eat the filling, they’ll be getting the nutrition they need.
INGREDIENTS
4 large organic zucchinis
6 organic sweet peppers
1/4 organic onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp organic garlic paste
3 Tbsp packed organic Parsley (separate 1 Tbps for garnish)
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 cups organic riced cauliflower
Himalayan salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 oz organic cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Cut the top and slice each zucchini lengthwise. Then, scoop out the centers of the zucchini halves, including the seeds, leaving approximately 1/4 inch thick shell for each zucchini. Set aside. (Optional: Dice the scooped zucchini centers to use in the turkey mixture.)
- Dice sweet peppers and onion into small pieces. In a large pan, heat olive oil and sautee onions for 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic paste, sweet peppers, scooped zucchini (optional), and parsley. Saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add the ground turkey, riced cauliflower, salt, and pepper. Mix with the other ingredients in the pan. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the turkey is fully cooked with no pink pieces of turkey. Once the turkey mixture is cooked, add the cream cheese and mix in thoroughly.
- Scoop turkey mixture evenly amongst zucchini shells and place on sheet pan. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over each zucchini boat. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F (177°C), or until the zucchini shells are cooked and the Parmesan cheese is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over zucchini boats as garnish.
NOTES:
- In an attempt to not throw perfectly good food away, I either mix the scooped zucchini into the turkey mixture or use it in another recipe, like zucchini bread with coconut flour.
- To make meal planning easier, double or triple the turkey recipe. You can then use it in tacos or with tomato sauce over zoodles.
- Another tip to make meal planning and meal prep quicker is to use frozen organic riced cauliflower. I always have it available in the freezer because it’s very versatile and can be seasoned and cooked very quickly.
INGREDIENTS AND MATERIALS FOR THIS RECIPE
BEFORE YOU GO…
Comment below and tell me if you’re making these zucchini boats for a party, like a Super Bowl party, or as part of your weekly healthy meal planning.
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- 4 large organic zucchinis
- 6 organic sweet peppers
- 1/4 organic onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tsp organic garlic paste
- 3 Tbsp packed organic Parsley separate 1 Tbps for garnish
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 2 cups organic riced cauliflower
- Himalayan salt to taste
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 oz organic cream cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
-
Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Cut the top and slice each zucchini lengthwise. Then, scoop out the centers of the zucchini halves, including the seeds, leaving approximately 1/4 inch thick shell for each zucchini. Set aside. (Optional: Dice the scooped zucchini centers to use in the turkey mixture.)
-
Dice sweet peppers and onion into small pieces. In a large pan, heat olive oil and sautee onions for 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic paste, sweet peppers, scooped zucchini (optional), and parsley. Saute for another 2 minutes.
-
Add the ground turkey, riced cauliflower, salt, and pepper. Mix with the other ingredients in the pan. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the turkey is fully cooked with no pink pieces of turkey. Once the turkey mixture is cooked, add the cream cheese and mix in thoroughly.
-
Scoop turkey mixture evenly amongst zucchini shells and place on sheet pan. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over each zucchini boat. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F (177°C), or until the zucchini shells are cooked and the Parmesan cheese is golden brown.
-
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over zucchini boats as garnish.
- In an attempt to not throw perfectly good food away, I either mix the scooped zucchini into the turkey mixture or use it in another recipe, like zucchini bread with coconut flour.
- To make meal planning easier, double or triple the turkey recipe. You can then use it in tacos or with tomato sauce over zoodles.
- Another tip to make meal planning and meal prep quicker is to use frozen organic riced cauliflower. I always have it available in the freezer because it's very versatile and can be seasoned and cooked very quickly.
AND DON’T FORGET!
Save this recipe on Pinterest so that you can come back to it and share it with your friends and family.
These zucchini boats look delicious! And I love your tip to prep 2x to 3x the turkey for future meals… what a great time saver!
All about meal prep made easy. 🙂 Thank you, Meredith!
So creative! What a beautiful presentation!
Need to share with some friends who will love this one.
I need to make it and have a low carb dinner!! May need to add some herbs….
Thanks!
Thank you so much, Carol! I appreciate you sharing the recipe with friends. Let me know what herbs you go with for these.
This recipe looks so delicious! I love the use of zucchinis as a vessel for a meal, so filling and healthy!
So true, Katie. Thank you!
I would eat this for dinner during the week and make a few extras for lunch. They look delicious!
Thank you, Anne! That’s exactly what I did the first time I made these. I couldn’t get enough of them, lol.
These look so full of flavour! My family are going to love these 🙂
Thank you, Hope! I hope you all enjoy. 🙂
Zucchini boats are so good, and I love the flavors you have going on in this filling!
Thank you, Kari!
What a great appetizer idea! And, the cauliflower rice is such a great way to get even more veggies into each bite! Yum!
So true. Thank you, Kathryn!
The addition of red peppers to this is brilliant! Great variation on zucchini boats ??
Thank you, Laura! Don’t you love how red peppers can totally change the flavor of a dish?
So yummy! I’d love these for dinner!
Thank you, Megan!
I love zucchini boats! This version looks so flavorful!
Thanks, Stacey! I love them too, endless possibilities for the fillings, right?