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Enjoy these Spinach and Cheese Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats for a quick weeknight meal! (Vegetarian & Gluten Free)

Stuffed Zucchini Boats with tomato sauce and cheese

It’s the season for zucchini! Is your garden overflowing with zucchini yet? I wish mine was, but sadly we planted just one summer squash plant this year and we’ve yet to harvest any. We do have an artichoke that’s looking promising, though. 😉

I’d been wanting to make a stuffed zucchini recipe for a while, and have been testing various zucchini recipes. I started from scratch and made these stuffed zucchini boats. With four cheeses. Because we love cheese around here! They look and taste like lasagna stuffed in a zucchini.

For more delicious zucchini recipes see my post of 35+ fresh zucchini recipes! And be sure to try my spinach lasagna roll ups and easy roasted zucchini.

These lasagna zucchini boats are light enough to pass for a healthy dinner. We are trading the pasta for zucchini in this lasagna, right? I’ve used a combination of part-skim ricotta and low fat cottage cheese in the creamy filling for these stuffed zucchini. Both cheeses add protein so this vegetarian meal will fill you up. We like to serve it with a green salad topped with chickpeas and toasted nuts for even more protein and fiber.

Zucchini Preparation

Halve and remove the center of zucchini halves.

how to scrape out the center of a zucchini half with a spoon

Place zucchini halves in an oven-safe baking dish.

prepared zucchini halves lined up in white baking dish

Stuffing the Zucchini

The filling for these stuffed zucchini is based off of the filling in my Stuffed Shells Recipe. The stuffed shells are one of my family’s favorite recipes, and they’re pretty popular on the blog, too.

Prepare the filling with cheese and spinach as indicated in full instructions below. Carefully spoon the filling into each zucchini boat.

step of zucchini halves stuffed with cheese and spinach mixture

Top with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

step of stuffed zucchini before baking topped with sauce and cheese

Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 more minutes to brown. Serve warm.

finished baked stuffed zucchini just out of the oven

Enjoy with an Italian Salad or simple green salad. Craving real lasagna? Try my easy slow cooker lasagna.

closeup view of baked stuffed zucchini in white baking dish

baked stuffed zucchini in white dish

Spinach and Cheese Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Enjoy these Spinach and Cheese Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats for a quick weeknight meal! (Vegetarian & Gluten Free)

Ingredients

  • 5 ounces frozen chopped spinach
  • 4 large zucchini
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup cottage cheese*
  • 1 ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided, (6 ounces)
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups marinara sauce

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Defrost the spinach in the microwave. Squeeze out the excess liquid using a clean kitchen towel. Set aside.
  • Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the insides of the zucchini, forming a well for the filling. Place zucchini in a baking dish.
  • Place ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, the Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine. Stir in the defrosted spinach.
  • Spoon the filling into the zucchini. Top with marinara sauce and the remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese.
  • Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes more, until cheese is melted and zucchini are tender. Serve.

Notes

*Alternatively, you may omit the cottage cheese and increase the ricotta cheese to 2 cups.
Stuffed zucchini can be made up to a day ahead and then baked when you are ready to eat them.
 
Serving: 2halves, Calories: 389kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 1697mg, Potassium: 1219mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 5779IU, Vitamin C: 46mg, Calcium: 655mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Dish, Vegetarian
Tried this recipe?Mention @kristines_kitchen on Instagram or tag #kristineskitchenblog.

 

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