Don’t let the zucchini season pass without enjoying this stuffed zucchini with chicken breast and vegetables.
If you’re used to making stuffed peppers, you’re sure to have an easy time with stuffed zucchini too. Just clean the inside of the zucchini and prepare the meat and vegetable mixture separately. Stuff the zucchini, pop in the oven and in a few minutes you’ll be indulging in a fresh and deliciously spicy taste.
You can opt for any type of meat, but in summer, chicken is the most recommended as it’s healthier, lower in calories and quick to prepare. If we’ve convinced you to make stuffed zucchini, here’s the recipe with a list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions.
Ingredients
- 2-3 medium-sized zucchini
For the stuffing:
- 500 g chicken breast
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 carrot
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4-5 cherry tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- a little thyme for flavor
- 1 sprig parsley
- 2 eggs
- 200 g grated mozzarella
Preparation
Start by preparing the zucchini, then the ingredients for stuffing the zucchini. Follow the tips below, as you can also use the scooped-out zucchini cores for the stuffing.
Steps to follow when preparing the zucchini
Wash the zucchini well and cut them in half crosswise. Cut edges of 1 cm in thickness with the tip of a sharp knife. Then, with a spoon, scoop out the inside of the zucchini halves, following the edge marks.
Chop the zucchini cores and place in a sieve. Sprinkle a little salt over them and allow to drain.
Sprinkle salt inside the zucchini halves as well and set them aside to dehydrate.
Before filling the zucchini halves with the chicken and vegetable mixture, pat them dry with paper towels to remove the liquid formed as a result of salting.
Steps for preparing the stuffing
For the stuffing, proceed as in the stuffed peppers recipe, but do not add rice. Clean and chop the vegetables finely and grind the chicken breast in a meat grinder. Wash the parsley well and chop finely.
Place a deep frying pan on the stove and heat up some oil in it. Add the onion and garlic and gently stir. When they turn slightly glassy, add the carrots and pepper and gently mix with the onion and garlic. When the carrots are cooked, add the chicken and the finely chopped and well drained pumpkin cores. Sprinkle salt and spices and stir intensely to homogenize the mixture and to penetrate the ingredients evenly.
When the meat is well cooked, turn off the heat. Allow the stuffing ingredients to cool slightly, then add the finely chopped parsley and the two eggs. Mix well.
Steps to bake the stuffed zucchini with chicken breast and vegetables
When you have the zucchini ready, as well as the stuffing, turn on the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Fill the zucchini with the meat and vegetable mixture and place in an oven tray. Top the stuffing with cherry tomato halves or quarters. Sprinkle grated mozzarella on top.
Slide the tray with the stuffed zucchini in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
You can enjoy them plain, garnished with green parsley, or with a tomato sauce, sour cream or cheese sauce.