Zucchini boats are nothing new. It’s one of the easiest ways to use up the astounding amount of zucchini that I seem to amass every summer. Last night I set out to change mine up from the usual by making them Mexican-inspired.
I started by preparing the zucchini. Simply slice them in half lengthwise and then using a spoon, or a melon baller, scoop out the flesh to make something that resembles this:
I chopped up about 1/3 of the zucchini innards to add to my filling and saved the rest for another dish.
Next, the filling. Along with the zucchini, I chopped up some onion, garlic and one jalapeno. I sauteeed these in a hot pan and then added some black beans, cumin, chili powder and the juice from one lime..
While that was cooking I pricked a sweet potato all over and microwaved it for 5 minutes. Then I cut it in half, scooped out the insides, diced it up and added it to the mixture, along with some tomato and leftover wheatberries.
Here’s where ingenuity struck. I thought, “I like sweet potatoes better than zucchini anyways so why not make some sweet potato skins too!” I knew I would have extra filling because I always seem to make too much. For the other half of the sweet potato, I scooped out less of the innards to make the boat more stable. If i’d had this idea in the beginning, I would have cut the sweet potato lengthwise as well.
When all your boats are ready, pop the zucchini boats on the grill for 10 minutes or so to help them cook about half way.
Remove from the grill and stuff. Sprinkle with cheese and put them back on the grill. This time I used a grill pan to catch anything that fell out. Put the lid on the grill and let them cook until the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted.
Serve and enjoy!
They were both good, but the hubby and I agreed that we both liked the sweet potato boats better!
See that piece of chicken hidden in the middle there? That’s grilled chicken with a quick plum sauce I whipped up. Recipe coming tomorrow!
Have you ever made veggie boats?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
Get my free Table Talk email series where I share bite-sized nutrition information about carbs, protein, and fat, plus bonus information about snacks and sugar!
These look delicious. Such a fun way to use zucchinis!
thanks! i do what i can to make it a bit more exciting 😉
what a great idea! love these. i’m definitely trying these out next time we have mexican night
woohoo! enjoy 🙂
I’ve never tried to eat a boat at all, veggie or otherwise! I think, though, if I was going to start…. it should be with these. Though the sweet potatoes look more like my style.
you should definitely get on board with the boats 😉
I love the Mexican twist on this, and grilling them is a great idea, too!
thanks! the grilling aspects makes them much more fun for summer!
YUM YUM YUM!! Adding this to my favorites!
yay!! enjoy!
Such a fun twist! I’ve made zucchini boats once and really enjoyed them. I really love the idea of a sweet potato boat!!!
i thought you might 🙂
what a great idea! i have some zucchini hanging out in the fridge now… now i know what to make 🙂