Stuffed zucchini boats are so versatile that there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of great recipes for making them. My favorite? Bacon-wrapped zucchini boats with cream cheese mixed into the stuffing. Just imagine tender, moist and creamy stuffing enveloped into crispy, smoky goodness that is roasted bacon.
Yes, bacon makes almost everything taste better. You just need to make sure to cook it right. This isn't a problem when cooking bacon on its own, but it is when baking it wrapped around something moist and watery, like chopped zucchini, onions and mushrooms. These vegetables release a lot of water during baking and the bacon will have a very hard time crisping up.
My solution is to bake bacon-wrapped stuffed zucchini boats placed on a cooling rack on convection. You don't get perfect crispiness like when you fry bacon on a frying pan, but it's close, and the bacon comes out delicious. And it makes the zucchini boats that much better, that much more flavorful and that much more delicious.
Needless to say, this is one of the most favorite recipes in our house. The prep is minimal, the dish is delicious, full of nutrients and doesn't feel heavy due to the lack of carbs.
I keep wondering how these zucchini boats would taste if smoked on my Big Green Egg. I love my smoked Texas Twinkies, pig shots and Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers. They taste great when baked, but when smoked, they are something else. I am definitely smoking these babies the next time I make them. After all, the grilling season is practically here. Though, to be honest, I never stop grilling and smoking, rain, wind or snow.
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini
- 12 bacon strips
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 sweet red pepper finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and pressed
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped dill
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley
- 8 mushrooms finely chopped
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F convection.
- Trim the ends off zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-inch thick shells.
- Chop the pulp very finely and place into a large bowl. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, pepper, herbs, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- Stuff each shell with an equal amount of stuffing. Wrap 3 strips of bacon around each zucchini boat such that the ends end up underneath.
- Line a large baking dish with foil or parchment paper, and fit with a cooling rack. Place the zucchini boats on top of the rack, tucking bacon strip ends underneath. This will help keeping the ends in place during baking. The bacon will shrink during baking and some of the ends will come out. This isn't a problem, they will only get crispier than other parts of the bacon.
- Bake on the middle rack at 350F convection for 30 minutes. Then turn the heat up to 375F convection and continue cooking for another 15 minutes, until the zucchini shells are soft and the bacon is nicely browned and crispy. Remember, everyone's oven bakes differently, so start checking at 35 minutes. If the bacon is dark and crispy, it's time to pull the boats out.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
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Loni says
These are really good but I was surprised at how many carbs are in them. I split this recipe between 3 medium zucchini's and ended up at like 9 net carbs each. I think next time I will leave out the onion and that will help a lot.
Jen says
Where do the mushrooms come in? They are in ingredients but not in directions.
victor says
Step 3... corrected.
Jill says
Row hat about a regular oven temps and time?
victor says
I assume 'row hat'was meant to be 'how'. I have no idea. I tried without convection initially but the bacon wouldn't crisp up and would come out rubbery. If I were to bake this in a regulary oven, I would pre-cook bacon to crisp it up, then bake. Maybe even pan-sear for a few minutes on each side. then bake at 375F for 30 minutes plus.
marie says
Delicious and very creative!
Christee says
Just made these today and they were delicious!!!! I added some sausage and Parmesan to the stuffing and they were super delicious!! Plus, it’s keto-friendly and will definite be on my regular meal rotation. Thanks for sharing the tip about baking on a cooling rack!
Marissa says
Made these last night and they turned out amazing. The only thing I did differently was sautéed the onion, red bell pepper , garlic and mushrooms before adding them to the cream cheese. My husband isn't a big fan of onions but will eat them if I sauté them till they are very soft. This will be a new addition to our favorite recipes. Thank you
Stacy | POP KITCHEN says
Yes, I agree! Bacon makes EVERYTHING better. These look so insane, and kind of healthy, that they on the queue for next week.
victor says
Thank you. Would love to know how they turn out.