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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.

Sweet pepper turkey zucchini boats - closeup

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

Sweet pepper turkey zucchini boats - flatlay

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. 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.)
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over zucchini boats as garnish.

Sweet pepper turkey zucchini boats - portrait

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.

If you’re looking for an entire Healthy Meal Plan for your weekly meals, your Super Bowl Party, or for any other special events throughout the year, check out the Ultimate Healthy Meal Planning Bundle.

I collaborated with my friends at Ultimate Bundles to provide you with party meal plans for 10 special events throughout the year. The Ultimate Bundles Team also collaborated with many A-mazing food bloggers to gather delicious healthy recipes for you and your family, over 1000!

Curious??? Check out the Healthy Meal Planning Bundle here.

Healthy Meal Planning Bundle 2019

5 from 15 votes
Sweet pepper turkey zucchini boats
SWEET PEPPER TURKEY ZUCCHINI BOATS
PREP TIME
15 mins
COOK TIME
40 mins
TOTAL TIME
55 mins
 
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.
COURSE: Main Course
CUISINE: American
Keyword: sweet pepper turkey zucchini boats
SERVINGS: 4 servings
AUTHOR: Catherine Baez Sholl
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
  1. 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.)
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over zucchini boats as garnish.
RECIPE 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.

 

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.

Sweet Pepper Turkey Zucchini Boats - Meal Planning favorite

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