Recipe for Stuffed Zucchini with ground beef or lamb, pine nuts, tomato sauce and spices. Low carb, paleo, grain free.
Stuffed vegetables are such a comfort on a chilly autumn evening. In this meat-stuffed zucchini recipe, I took a page from my mother-in-law’s kitchen playbook and used the innards from the hollowed-out zucchini as part of the filling… that way, nothing is wasted or lost. Unlike many stuffed vegetable recipes I omit rice and grains for a leaner, low carb result (I’m not super up on the paleo diet, but my friend tells me this is also paleo-friendly). In this lull between Rosh Hashanah and the winter holidays we try to watch our waistline. Here, we’ve got a healthy meal in one dish with protein, vegetables, and nuts. It’s also got lots of delicious spices including turmeric, which fights inflammation.
For this recipe, I usually use the light green chubby variety of squash sometimes referred to as Mexican Zucchini. They are generally wider around the base, giving them more room for filling. I’ve also found their flavor to be somewhat milder that dark green zucchini, which can occasionally be prone to bitterness. Sauteing the filling before stuffing the squash keep it from cooking into one solid mass, giving it a better texture. It also allows you to gauge the spice and salt levels before you bake, so the end product is exactly the way you like it. Enjoy!
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Stuffed Zucchini with Meat and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 4 wide and fat zucchini about 2 lbs. total - the light green variety has the best shape and flavor
- 15 ounces tomato sauce or tomato puree, unsalted 1 can
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste divided
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne if you like spicy flavors, use 1/2 tsp
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground lamb you may substitute ground beef or dark meat ground chicken
- 1 whole onion minced
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch allspice
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley plus more for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes if spice sensitive, omit
NOTES
Instructions
- If you can find them, light green zucchini work best for this recipe-- they are fatter and shorter than regular zucchini, making them better for stuffing. If you can't find them, choose the widest zucchini you can find, no longer than 7 inches.
- Slice the stem ends and bottom tips off of the zucchini, then cut them in half lengthwise.
- Use a melon baller to scoop the insides of the zucchini out, leaving a 1/4 inch wall around the edge and a 1/4 inch layer on the bottom of each zucchini. Reserve the part that you scoop out, chop it into small pieces and place it in a bowl. Reserve.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, stir together the tomato sauce or puree with 1 tbsp tomato paste, paprika, cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 cup water until well blended.Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saute the ground meat, breaking it up into little pieces as it cooks, until it is evenly browned (it can be a bit "rare" at this stage).
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop the meat out of the skillet and place it into the bowl with the chopped zucchini innards. Drain most of the fat from the skillet, reserving about 1 tbsp. Place the skillet back over medium heat and add the minced onion. Saute for a few minutes until the onion softens and browns a bit. Add the garlic and continue to saute for 1-2 minutes more until fragrant.
- Add the ground meat and chopped zucchini innards back into the skillet along with the remaining 1 tbsp tomato paste, pine nuts, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, chopped cilantro or parsley and 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture. Stir to blend all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I use about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper). Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then remove from heat.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Place the zucchini halves into the dish (it can be a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to make them all fit-- it's okay if they're snug). Fill each zucchini half mounded with the meat filling. Side note: you may have a small bit of filling left over. It never lasts long in our home, but if you have a lot left over you can repurpose it by stirring it together with some tomato sauce, then serving it over pasta, quinoa or rice.
- Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the stuffed zucchini, making sure each squash is fully covered with sauce. Pour any excess sauce into the bottom of the dish.
- Cover the dish with foil. Bake zucchini at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until squash is tender. Serve warm garnished with fresh cilantro or parsley.
Nutrition
Delicious and very easy to follow! This is a family favorite. Yummy!
Thank you for such delicious ,easy and beautiful recipes that cover so many dietary needs!!! They are all healthy and looking forward to making the stuffed zucchini with meat and pine nuts and the mooshi’s cooked eggplant salad for my family for Sukkot and other meals….thank you so much…will keep you posted!!
Enjoy Dorothy!
Hi Tori, just came across this in an online search. Question tor you: if it’s baking for an hour anyway, does the meat need to be pre-cooked? Would it not cook through in the time alotted?
I love your recipes and food history. Thanks for all you do.
Precooking breaks up the texture of the meat, so it doesn’t cook solid in the zucchini. I prefer a looser texture in the filling. Glad you’re enjoying the site!
Wow! Served this last night – everyone had seconds (and some, thirds). Have provided the recipe to several friends and will be serving this as one of the dishes at a party for 30 in a few weeks. I had a large (4.5 pound) zucchini so just cut it in half and it fit perfectly in a 9″x13″ baking dish. This is a keeper!
Lovely recipe! I made these tonight using regular green zucchini. This is a definite keeper! We loved the texture of the pine nuts!
Hi Tori, Love this recipe, we keep coming back to it all year round!
I’m wondering if this can be prepared the day before and left in the fridge only to pop in the oven? Or can it be made in advance and frozen?
Thanks 🙂
Josie it can definitely be refrigerated! While I haven’t frozen it, my guess is that might work too, though the zucchini may lose some of its structure and become a bit mushier… without trying it myself it’s hard to say. But the refrigerator method can certainly be used. Enjoy!
Hey Tori!
I haven’t been posting cause I haven’t found anything lately I am dying to make…. But this is something I am dying to try 🙂 I loved stuffed zucchini. Normally I stuff them with well seasoned meat and some cheese (Kosher no-no I know! I’m not Jewish though) and bake them. This looks SOOOO much better and so much healthier too. I love that you don’t use a lot of cheeses in your recipes, because that is probably my biggest temptation when trying to eat healthy. Thanks for all the delicious meal ideas.
Love all the spices in here, Tori! And the use of lamb, I can almost taste it.
Mmmmmmmmmm
Dinner tonight! Stay tuned.
Yum!!
MMMmmmm Looks good enough to eat….
So glad I fished this recipe out of my Spam box Tori. (I don’t know why your post always end up there:) Thanks so much for sharing…
Louise if you have a safe list add subscriptions@toriavey.com to it, that will help. Enjoy!