Quinoa Zucchini Boats

All aboard! We are headed to Quinoa Island on board the Zucchini Boat.

Whatever it takes to get excited about making dinner, right? My zucchini boats were an odds-and-ends dinner re: cheap that turned out surprisingly well.

Quinoa Zucchini Boats

Serves 4 | Prep time: 40 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/3 cup marinara
• 2 tbs yellow onion, minced
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash of salt + black pepper
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Slice zucchini lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the center of the zucchini. Be careful maintain ~ 1/2″ of flesh so the zucchini doesn’t fall apart in the oven. Wrap the zucchini slices in aluminum foil, and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, turning them over midway.

In the meantime, cook quinoa in 1 cup of water on the stove top for approximately 20 minutes. Stir in marinara, onion, and season with salt and pepper. Remove zucchini from the oven and unwrap tin foil. Sprinkle with chili powder, salt, and pepper. Place spoonfuls of the quinoa mixture in the center of each zucchini piece. Top with cheeses. Return zucchini to the oven, uncovered for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

They look pretty meaty and substantial, don’t they? I loved how the cheese melted over the quinoa, it really gave it the look of ground meat. I think chili powder on the zucchini is a good addition to give the sweet vegetable fruit a kick of heat. Note: Squash is a Fruit.

Served with a side of corn on the cob, perhaps the last ear of the year. Onto heartier winter vegetables to fill out my plate: sweet potatoes, hard rind squash, and cauliflower.

Recipe Mix-n-Match: If you don’t have zucchini on hand, the quinoa filling would go great in bell peppers, mushroom caps, or roasted tomatoes.