Tex-Mex Stuffed Zucchini with Avocado Salsa

What I love about summer:

Written by: Taylor Kiser of Food Faith Fitness

1. The sun. Obviously.
2. Not having to wear 4000 layers of sweaters to stay warm
3. Being up to my eyeballs in zucchini.

Now that the fall is up on us, I will definitely be missing the first 2 above mentioned items.

How-ev-er, I don’t know about you, but this girl is STILL up to her eyeballs in zucchini.

In fact, I could probably fill a swimming pool with it and do my morning laps.

A new Olympic sport?

A new leg to the Iron Man?

Whatcha think?

Anyway.

I will find any and every excuse to eat my favorite, green vegetal friend, and even more so when it’s filled with spicy turkey, covered with cheese and topped off with avocado salsa.

You guys, these boats are probably one of my most favorite recipe creations to date.

My taste buds told me so and, like Shakira’s hips, they don’t lie.

It also just so happens to be one of the easiest recipes, AND these boats have all the healthy goodness to boot!

I know, it’s like the unicorn of a food.

A mythical thing that we’re really not sure if it exists or not.

I can’t speak about the unicorn situation but I can, with a great deal of confidence, tell you that these stuffed zucchini boats do have it ALL.

And, they’re covered in cheese.

Did I mention that already?

Sorry.

Ooey gooey cheese-a-rific goodness does things to my brain that I will never understand.

If you’re taste buds are trying to picture what these taste like, let me help them along.

Exactly like the best taco you ever had BUT without all the fried, carby, not-so-good for you-ness and with an added element of avocado creamy-dreamy salsa-ness.

And…Cheese.

You in?

Good.

Move over “Taco Tuesdays” because “zucchini boat Wednesdays” are here to stay.

What’s your favorite way to prepare zucchini?

Tex-Mex Stuffed Zucchini with Avocado Salsa

Yield: 2-4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Zucchini is stuffed with a mixture of salsa and ground turkey and topped with cheese and avocado salsa for a quick, easy and healthy dinner!

Print

Ingredients

• ½ Tbsp Olive oil
• ¼ Cup Onion, diced
• ½ Tbsp Garlic, minced
• ½ lb 93% Lean Ground turkey
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• ½ tsp Smoked paprika, plus additional for sprinkling on zucchini
• ½ tsp Chili powder
• ¼ Cup + 2 Tbsp Salsa of choice
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 2 large Zucchinis
• ¼ Cup Reduced-fat cheddar cheese, grated

For the Avocado Salsa:

• 1 Large avocado, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Red onion, diced
• 1/4 Cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp White wine vinegar
• Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil up in a large pan on medium/high heat. Add In the diced onion and garlic and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add in the ground turkey. Cook until golden brown, and no longer pink inside, draining any excess fat.
4. Once the turkey is cooked, mix in the cumin, paprika, chili powder, salsa and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon, to create a “boat.” Sprinkle each boat with salt, pepper and a pinch of smoked paprika. Then, fill each boat with the ground turkey mixture and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle the cheese onto the boats and bake until the zucchini is fork-tender, about 10 – 12 minutes.
7. While the zucchini cooks, combine the diced avocado, red onion, cilantro and white wine vinegar in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Serve the zucchini boats right out of the oven, topped with the avocado salsa.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Cutting Boards
• 
  Knife Block Set
• 
  Wooden Spoon
• 
  Cast Iron Skillet
• 
  Filippo Berio Olive Oil, 25.3 Ounce
• 
  Baking Sheet

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 277Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 493mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 6gSugar: 5gProtein: 21g

GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.

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