Tasty quinoa and hummus stuffed zucchini boats are topped with red peppers and Parmesan cheese for a light vegetarian main dish or summer side!
I had a glorious garden at our old house.
And after the first few years, we got raised beds and that took it to the next level. My plants were growing so beautifully!
That's my daughter M, who loved the garden too. She would walk in and around the boxes and check all of our veggies. I loved seeing her delight at discovering a new sprout, a new pepper starting to form, a new tomato to track.
Sadly, I had only one growing season with those amazing raised beds before we decided to move.
Our new house is unbelievably fabulous and everything I wanted. Except for my gardening options. They are limited, to say the least.
So now I'll just buy zucchini at the store or the farmer's market. And stuffing them is still one of my favorite ways to use zucchini.
Today's recipe features zucchini stuffed with quinoa and hummus to give us a hearty base. They're topped with sautéed red bell peppers and Parmesan cheese.
Then they're baked until melty and hot and delicious.
(In fact, we’re baking the zucchini part twice to get them perfectly tender and cooked. It’s a good trick!)
These stuffed zucchini make an amazing side to anything grilled. You could also make them a vegetarian main dish - I’d probably add some toasted pine nuts to bulk it up a little more.
(Or if you're looking for a meat lovers version, check out these turkey sausage stuffed zucchini.)
OK, let's get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make vegetarian stuffed zucchini. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Zucchini: You’ll want the zucchini to be evenly sized and not too skinny or misshapen. You need to be able to halve them lengthwise and have an area to hull out for stuffing. They also shouldn’t be too long that they can’t fit in your casserole dish.
- Quinoa: I love the extra heft and protein that quinoa brings to this recipe, but you could swap it out for a different grain, like brown rice or farro. Couscous would work, too.
- Hummus: Feel free to use a store-bought hummus or your own homemade hummus. You could even try this recipe with roasted red pepper or another flavor of hummus.
- Red pepper: You could use roasted red peppers instead of the sautéed red pepper.
- Parmesan cheese: This adds a great cheesy flavor. You could also try it with mozzarella cheese or crumbled goat cheese. Or serve them with feta cheese on top instead.
Lots of ways to make this recipe your own.
(Or make it work for what you have on hand in your kitchen.)
So, prepping the zucchini is probably the “hardest” part of this recipe, and it’s really pretty easy.
You’ll slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Place in a baking dish with some water and bake for about 20 minutes, until tender.
Then use a small, sharp knife, such as a paring knife, to cut along the sides of the zucchini halves, leaving a small border so each zucchini boat stays upright. Use a spoon to scrape out the flesh in the middle and discard.
Baking the zucchini on their own first, while you’re making the quinoa filling, helps speed up the recipe and also ensures the zucchini get perfectly tender without falling apart.
Once they are prepped, you’ll fill the zucchini boats and then return to the oven for about 10 more minutes. Everything gets melted and warm and delicious.
And then they’re ready to serve!
And feel free to add some roasted red pepper flakes if you want to give these a little kick!
And as mentioned, you could serve them with some toasted pine nuts for a little crunch on the top.
Whether it was purchased or discovered in your garden, get some zucchini to make these tasty little boats. I think you'll love the flavors.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Quinoa and Hummus Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients
- 3 zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise
- ⅓ cup quinoa
- ⅔ cups water
- 1 cup original hummus (homemade or store bought)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Place zucchini halves (cut side up) in a large pan. Pour about 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan.
- Bake zucchini halves for 20 minutes (25 minutes if they are large), until tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to package directions. Once cooked, measure out 1 cup of cooked quinoa and add to a large bowl. Add hummus to the cooked quinoa and mix well.
- While the quinoa is cooking, heat a small pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the diced red peppers and saute 5-7 minutes, until tender. Don't worry if it picks up char marks - looks and tastes great!
- Once the zucchini is ready, remove the pan from the oven. Carefully scrape out the insides of the zucchini halves, leaving a hull. (Discard the zucchini mix.) Sprinkle the insides of the zucchini boats with salt and pepper.
- Add quinoa-hummus mixture to the middle of each boat, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle with the red peppers and Parmesan.
- Return to the oven and bake another 10 minutes. Or you can broil it for 2-3 minutes (but watch closely so it doesn't burn).
- Sprinkle with extra Parmesan, salt and pepper, and serve!
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