These easy stuffed zucchini boats are made on the grill and come together super fast if you’ve got your chicken and pesto made (or use store bought). This veggie twist on my favorite pizza flavors is comforting without feeling heavy. Chicken gets tossed in a simple (vegan) spinach pesto, stuffed into zucchini boats, and topped with marinara and cheese.
P.S. Highly recommend doubling the pesto to have on hand or freeze for future use.
Ingredient highlight
Zucchini! These summer squash have a water content of 95%, making them very low in calories and not as nutrient-dense as their winter squash relatives. However, they are great for hydration and are super refreshing in the summertime. They do contain potassium and vitamin C in smaller amounts.
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 10 minutes Ingredients
- 4 zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out*
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp black pepper, divided
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1 cup Spinach Pesto recipe below or use store bought
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup marinara sauce
For the Spinach Pesto:
- 2 cups frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 cup loosely packed basil
- ½ cup toasted almonds
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1-3 tbsp Water, as needed
- *Save that zucchini flesh that you scooped out for smoothies!
- Note: to make these in the oven, roast the zucchini’s cut-side-down in a 450F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until just tender. Add the fillings and bake for 5-10 more minutes, or until zucchini is tender and cheese is melted.
Instructions
- Heat your grill on high for at least 15 minutes.
- Add spinach to a colander and press out as much water as possible. Add all pesto ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. If the blender isn’t blending, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it blends. I like the pesto to be slightly chunky with crunchy almonds!
- Add spinach to a colander and press out as much water as possible. Add all pesto ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. If the blender isn’t blending, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it blends. I like the pesto to be slightly chunky with crunchy almonds!
- In a large bowl, add the chicken, 1 cup pesto, ½ cup mozzarella, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Divide between the zucchini, stuffing it into the scooped out center. Top with marinara, and remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese.
- Turn the grill down to medium and carefully place each zucchini back onto the grill and cook, covered, for 4-6 more minutes, or until the zucchini is tender and cheese is melted.Serve topped with black pepper and devour!
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Toast ½ cup almonds
- Prep chicken (cook and shred)
- Make Spinach Pesto
- Shred 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- Prep zucchini (halve and remove seeds)
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian, use 2 (15 oz) cans of cannellini (white) beans or chickpeas in place of the chicken.
- To make vegan, follow the vegetarian suggestion above and skip the cheese entirely or substitute with a vegan cheese option.
- You could also make these in grilled portobello mushroom caps.
- If you don’t want to bother with making the zucchini boats, you could just grill zucchini and mix it with the pesto chicken for more of a salad.
- Turn this into a pasta by grilling and chopping the zucchini and tossing it with the chicken, pesto, cheese, and pasta. Top with marinara and more cheese.
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Spinach Pesto: up to 3 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer
- Store leftover stuffed zucchini boats in the fridge for up to 4 days
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up your stuffed zucchini boats in the microwave until warmed through. These are great as is for leftovers.
- Chop up leftover zucchini boats and toss with pasta.
- Use leftover pesto in pasta, on toast, in bowls, stirred into scrambled eggs, or mixed with yogurt as a dip.
