Description
Turkey Santa Fe Zucchini Boats are a flavorful, healthy dish featuring hollowed zucchini halves filled with a cumin-spiced ground turkey, black bean, and corn mixture. Topped with melted reduced-fat Mexican cheese and baked to perfection, this recipe combines fresh ingredients and Tex-Mex flavors for a delicious, nutritious meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Filling Ingredients
- 12 oz 93% lean ground turkey
- 3/4 cups canned black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 3/4 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- 1 hot pickled serrano pepper (chopped, or jalapeño, more to taste)
- 1 large diced tomato
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp cumin
- Kosher salt to taste
- 3/4 cup chopped zucchini flesh (reserved from hollowing zucchinis)
Zucchini Boats and Toppings
- 5 medium zucchini (7 oz each, cut in half lengthwise)
- 1/2 cup jarred mild salsa
- 15 tbsp shredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Prepare Zucchinis: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and preheat oven to 400°F. Using a small spoon or melon baller, hollow out the center of each zucchini half, leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell. Chop the scooped-out zucchini flesh finely, squeeze out excess water with a paper towel, and reserve 3/4 cup for the filling.
- Blanch Zucchini Halves: Drop hollowed zucchini halves into the boiling water for 1 minute to soften slightly, then remove from water and set aside.
- Cook Turkey Filling: In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey with kosher salt to taste. Once browned, add chopped onion, minced garlic, rinsed black beans, chopped cilantro, chopped serrano pepper, diced tomato, reserved chopped zucchini flesh, and cumin. Stir well and cover to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Add Corn and Reduce: Remove the lid, add the corn kernels, and simmer uncovered for an additional 5 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Assemble Zucchini Boats: Pour jarred salsa into the bottom of a large or two medium baking dishes. Place zucchini halves cut side up in the dish. Fill each hollow generously with about 1/3 cup of the turkey filling, pressing firmly to pack the filling.
- Add Cheese and Bake: Top each filled zucchini boat with 1 1/2 tablespoons of shredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese. Cover the dish(es) with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.
Notes
- Make sure to squeeze out excess water from the chopped zucchini flesh to avoid soggy filling.
- You can adjust the heat level by adding more or less serrano or jalapeño peppers.
- Leftover zucchini flesh can be saved for soups, sauces, or other recipes.
- This dish is perfect for meal prep and reheats well.
- Using reduced-fat cheese helps keep this dish lighter without sacrificing flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 zucchini halves
- Calories: 273 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 437 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Cholesterol: 49 mg
