This enchilada stuffed zucchini boats recipe is full of flavor. Tender, sweet zucchini are stuffed with a hearty mix of seasoned black beans, bubbly cheese, cool drizzle of cumin-lime sour cream, and topped with lots of fresh avocado and vibrant cilantro. These enchilada stuffed zucchini boats make the perfect meatless main course.
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Favorite Enchilada Recipes
- Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats Recipe
This recipe is…
Plucked straight from the vegetarian chapter of my 3rd book, Cook Once Dinner Fix, this enchilada zucchini boats recipe required lots of testing to fine tune. If you’ve ever attempted zucchini boats before, you know there’s a bit of a trick to perfecting the method. In my opinion, not overcooking them is the key to this light and fresh recipe.
And since we are already talking about Cook Once Dinner Fix, we would be remiss not to mention our enchilada stuffed zucchini boats companion recipe – a comfort-in-a-bowl vegetarian chili with vegan cornbread. Curious about how to make these two meals work together, check out this guide on cooking these two black bean dinners. And if you’re looking for another delicious vegetarian option that lets black beans take center stage, try these crispy black bean tacos with avocado cream sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bold and flavorful – These enchilada stuffed zucchini boats are anything but bland, and they pack all the same delicious flavors of a classic enchilada dinner into one veggie-forward low-carb entree.
- Make ahead dinner – Don’t be afraid to make a big batch ahead of time, these enchilada stuffed zucchini boats will store in your fridge for up to 5 days.
Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats Ingredients
This enchilada zucchini boats recipe requires just a few ingredients to make this flavor-packed dish come together. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Black Beans – If you’re making these enchilada stuffed zucchini boats recipe with dried black beans, you’ll need ¾ cup of dried beans. If you’re making this recipe with canned black beans (totally acceptable, I promise!), you’ll need 2 (15-ounce) cans.
- Zucchini – this ingredient is, of course, a must for stuffed zucchini boats! You’ll need to grab 4 medium zucchini for this recipe. Once you’ve got them, go ahead and halve each one and scrape out the seedy core so that they’re ready for stuffing.
- Enchilada Sauce – amp up the flavor in this recipe by adding a cup of your favorite store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce.
- Shredded Cheese – bubbly, melty cheese is a must for enchiladas, so sprinkle on a generous cup of shredded cheese before popping these stuffed zucchini boats in the oven.
- Sour Cream – finally a drizzle of sour cream, thinned with lime juice and seasoned with a sprinkle of cumin will give these enchilada zucchini boats a creamy, fresh kick they need.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it dairy-free – if you’re dairy-free, omit the cheese from the zucchini boats (or use your favorite vegan cheese). Also, swap out the sour cream for ½ cup of coconut cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk.
- Swap dried beans for canned beans – use canned black beans instead of dried to save time! If you’re going this route, omit the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and sea salt that go into the pot with the dried beans. Simply, drain, rinse, and combine the beans with the enchilada sauce!
How to Make Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
These enchilada stuffed zucchini boats are an incredibly satisfying and easy to make vegetarian dinner. Fall in love with this easy method for turning zucchinis into a delicious vessel for any filling you can dream up. To find out how to make it yourself, follow along below.
Step 1: If you are using dried black beans, put them in a large pot with enough water to cover. Then set aside to soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Step 2: Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Return the beans to the pot, cover with water and add the quartered onion, smashed garlic, bay leaf and salt to the pot. Bring to a slow rolling boil over medium heat, then cover. Cook, removing the lid to occasionally stir, for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the beans are tender. Remove the beans from the heat and discard the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. (skip the whole cooking process if you are using canned black beans).
Step 3: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together the beans and enchilada sauce.
Step 4: Slice the zucchini lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the middle. Place the halved zucchini cut side up in a large baking dish. Spoon the beans into the zucchini boats and sprinkle the tops with the cheese.
Step 5: Bake the zucchini boats for 30 minutes or until the tops are bubbling and begin to brown and the zucchini is tender and cooked through. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, cumin and lime juice.
Step 6: Drizzle the sour cream mixture over top of the zucchini boats and garnish with sliced avocado and chopped fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Make the beans filling ahead of time and keep in the fridge for a quick and easy dinner on busy weeknights.
- Many other zucchini boat recipes call for blanching the zucchini boats before stuffing and filling, but we found you can skip this step by adding just a few more minutes to the final baking time.
How to Serve
Serve your enchilada zucchini boats garnished with a sour cream drizzle, sliced avocado, and cilantro. This recipe makes enough for each of your dinner guests to have 2 boats.
These enchilada stuffed zucchini boats incorporate all three macronutrients (fat, carbs, and protein), so they are a complete meal all on their own! But you could always serve alongside this Mexican street corn and kale slaw or this basic cauliflower rice.
How to Store and Reheat
To store: Your enchilada zucchini boats will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat: Simply microwave or pop back into the oven until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
While zucchini are usually readily available at most grocery stores, you could easily swap yellow summer squash for zucchini in this recipe.
Technically, yes! Yes technically you CAN freeze these zucchini boats …but the texture will change quite a bit. Because zucchini is a water-logged veggie, the texture will be altered once it’s thawed (think: more likely to be mushy). My advice if you want to freeze this meal is to freeze the filling (beans + sauce) and then assemble everything else fresh.
You do! The skin will get nice and soft in the oven, so you won’t even notice a change in texture between it and the flesh of the zucchini.
You can swap the black beans for any other kind of bean, just follow the directions on the package for soaking and cooking times. Alternatively, you could swap beans altogether with a protein-rich grain like quinoa if you prefer.
More Favorite Enchilada Recipes
If you tried this Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dried beans or 2 15-ounce cans
- ½ small yellow onion quartered
- 1 garlic clove smashed and peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup prepared red enchilada sauce
- 4 medium zucchini halved and seed/core scooped out
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream for garnish
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin for garnish
- Juice from 1 lime for garnish
- 1 avocado sliced, for garnish
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- If you’re using dried black beans, place them in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Set the pot aside to soak for at least 8 hours or up to overnight.
- Once the beans are done soaking, drain and rinse them. Then, return them to the pot, add fresh water to cover, and drop in the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt. Bring the beans to a low boil over medium heat, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the beans are tender. Remove from the heat and discard the onion, garlic, and bay leaf.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, stir together the beans and enchilada sauce.
- Place the halved zucchini cut side up in a large baking dish. Spoon the beans into the zucchini boats, and sprinkle the tops with the cheese.
- Bake the zucchini boats for 30 minutes, or until the tops are bubbling and starting to brown and the zucchini is cooked through.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, cumin, and lime juice.
- Drizzle the sour cream mixture over the zucchini boats, and garnish with the sliced avocado and chopped cilantro. Then serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
This was dinner tonight – SO GOOD! My first time making zucchini boats & these did not disappoint! I made the black beans in my instant pot, because it’s so easy. A winner recipe for sure!
That is so great! We are so glad you enjoyed. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us! -Team FF