Keto Tex-Mex stuffed zucchini boats

Keto Tex-Mex stuffed zucchini boats

Zucchini takes on the taco and delivers keto tastiness instead of crunch. This boat delivers more veggie goodness than the original, but with all of your fave Tex-Mex cargo. Anchors aweigh!

Keto Tex-Mex stuffed zucchini boats

Zucchini takes on the taco and delivers keto tastiness instead of crunch. This boat delivers more veggie goodness than the original, but with all of your fave Tex-Mex cargo. Anchors aweigh!
USMetric
4 servingservings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 450 g ground beef or ground turkey
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp Tex-Mex seasoning
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup (¼ oz.) 120 ml (8 g) finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
  • 2 (14 oz.) 2 (400 g) zucchini
  • 1 tbsp 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup (4 oz.) 240 ml (110 g) Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Serving
  • 7 oz. (5½ cups) 200 g (1.3 liters) lettuce
  • 4 tbsp 4 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tbsp ½ tbsp red wine vinegar or white vinegar 5%
  • salt and pepper
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Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
  2. Split each zucchini in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
  3. While the zucchini is sitting, brown the ground meat in olive oil in a frying pan. Add salt and Tex-Mex seasoning. Let it cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  4. Blot off the drops of liquid with paper towels. Place the halves in a greased baking dish.
  5. Mix a third of the cheese into the ground beef. Add finely-chopped cilantro (optional).
  6. Divide the ground beef and cheese mixture evenly among the zucchini boats. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown. Take the zucchini out and let it cool for five minutes.
  7. Mix oil, vinegar, salt and pepper into a simple vinaigrette. Prepare the salad and serve alongside the zucchini boat.

Tip

Try this recipe with pepper jack or an authentic Mexican cheese like Chihuahua. And don't be afraid to spoon on some Keto Salsa Verde to spice things up!

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💬 Have you tried this recipe?

What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

25 comments

  1. Joy
    How much is the subscription please?
    Reply: #2
  2. Peter Biörck Team Diet Doctor
    Hi Joy!

    $9/month. Read more here:
    https://www.dietdoctor.com/member

    How much is the subscription please?

  3. Brandy
    Worth every penny!
  4. Dana
    I love supporting a website that is trying to help others!!!
  5. Mark
    These were good but way too salty. The Tex-Mex seasoning has salt and you salt the zucchinis. I suggest rinsing the zucchini after they weep and also eliminating the extra salt on the meat and/or salad.
  6. Robin
    We don't have any ground beef in the fridge, but we DO have some hot Italian sausage. Going to try this idea but modify appropriately to use the hot sausage and mozzarella and Italian seasonings instead of taco stuff.
  7. Jen
    Super delicious! I omitted the cheese on top but did put the cheese inside the meat. My meat was a little dry so I made a quick salsa (https://www.thatslowcarb.com/keto-low-carb-salsa-recipe/) and put that on top which was amazing! Will be making this again for sure!
  8. Susan
    Delicious, but make sure you have big zucchini! If you like the zucchini a bit softer pre-cook them but not too much. I added sour cream and chipotle salsa. Some of the cheese on top fell into the baking pan and made yummy cheese crisps.
  9. Emily
    I made this with zucchini from my garden, and there was waaaay too much filling. Perhaps this is intended for large zucchini? Also, just one half zucchini struck me as quite miserly for a meal, but again perhaps others are using up the whole filling in jumbo zucchini. I ate two halves, and I still think the carb count was as given but for only one half. Tasty, though!
    You can easily impress guests with zucchini skins done on the BBQ - in that case, parboil the zucchini for 2 minutes (also easier to scrape them out). Stuff, refrigerate and you're good to go when the guests arrive! They won't get as bubbly and crisp on the tope on the BBQ, but it's low maintenance high impact summer dining fare!
    Reply: #10
  10. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    I made this with zucchini from my garden, and there was waaaay too much filling. Perhaps this is intended for large zucchini? Also, just one half zucchini struck me as quite miserly for a meal, but again perhaps others are using up the whole filling in jumbo zucchini. I ate two halves, and I still think the carb count was as given but for only one half. Tasty, though!
    You can easily impress guests with zucchini skins done on the BBQ - in that case, parboil the zucchini for 2 minutes (also easier to scrape them out). Stuff, refrigerate and you're good to go when the guests arrive! They won't get as bubbly and crisp on the tope on the BBQ, but it's low maintenance high impact summer dining fare!

    I also had more filling in my zucchini boats than shown in the image, but the proportion of filling to zucchini outline in the recipe was spot on for being filling and low carb.

  11. Michelle
    I would like to know if Diet Doctor has an app that is compatible with Fitbit so we can log our keto recipes in Fitbit s food log?
    Reply: #12
  12. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    I would like to know if Diet Doctor has an app that is compatible with Fitbit so we can log our keto recipes in Fitbit s food log?

    The Diet Doctor Eat App is available for recipes and menu planning, but it does not connect with Fitbit. https://www.dietdoctor.com/app

  13. Vivian
    This was delicious. I like my vegetables a little more cooked so I added time for that. I'm adding this recipe to my favorites. I like that it could be changed up with different fillings.
  14. Danielle Wilson
    What are the serving sizes for these recipes? Are you supposed to eat everything or divide it up?
    Reply: #15
  15. Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor

    What are the serving sizes for these recipes? Are you supposed to eat everything or divide it up?

    Hi, Danielle! The default serving size for this recipe is set to 4, but you can adjust the number of servings as needed. (This is located above the Ingredients list.)

  16. Lynn
    Can I use a plant base ground meat instead of beef or Turkey?
    Reply: #17
  17. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    Can I use a plant base ground meat instead of beef or Turkey?

    Many of the plant based meat substitutes have ingredients that may be best to avoid and may be higher carb. If you are a vegetarian, here is our guide to keto as a vegetarian.
    https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/vegetarian

  18. Cristina Torres
    I don't like zucchini. What can I have to substitute it? Thanks!
    Reply: #19
  19. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    I don't like zucchini. What can I have to substitute it? Thanks!

    There may not be a very good substitute for the zucchini in this recipe. You may wish to find a different meal.

  20. Erinn West
    What's the best way to store and reheat these? They're delicious!
    Reply: #21
  21. Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor

    What's the best way to store and reheat these? They're delicious!

    Hi, Erinn! I would store them in the fridge and reheat in the oven or a toaster oven.

  22. Laura Reifschlager
    I made this tonight. I used a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the zucchini. I sprinkled with salt and rinsed after 10 minutes. I put the zucchini in the oven to start baking while I cooked the meat. I added a tablespoon of tomato paste. Baked all the in oven for around 15 min. I used a convection oven. I had 4 zucchini so 8 boats. I had extra meat so in the fridge for another day. May freeze later. We enjoyed it. I will repeat it because it was a fairly simple meal. I used the taco seasoning but I'd made that another day and put less cumin in and only a pinch of salt.
    Reply: #23
  23. Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor

    I made this tonight. I used a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the zucchini. I sprinkled with salt and rinsed after 10 minutes. I put the zucchini in the oven to start baking while I cooked the meat. I added a tablespoon of tomato paste. Baked all the in oven for around 15 min. I used a convection oven. I had 4 zucchini so 8 boats. I had extra meat so in the fridge for another day. May freeze later. We enjoyed it. I will repeat it because it was a fairly simple meal. I used the taco seasoning but I'd made that another day and put less cumin in and only a pinch of salt.

    Sounds great! So glad you enjoyed it!

  24. Amanda
    Can you freeze for later?
    Reply: #25
  25. Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor

    Can you freeze for later?

    Hi, Amanda! I would think the filling would freeze just fine, but it would probably be best to use fresh zucchini.

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