Oversized zucchini can be awkward in recipes designed around thin slices, small rounds, or quick sautés. Once a zucchini gets big enough, however, its size opens up another option.
Instead of cutting the whole vegetable into pieces, use each half as the container for dinner. This turkey-stuffed zucchini recipe calls for large zucchini, hollows out the centers, and fills the space with seasoned ground turkey before adding mozzarella and sending the boats to the oven.
The extra width that can make a large zucchini seem cumbersome becomes useful here. There is more room for filling, while the outer shell keeps everything together as it bakes.
Large Zucchini Have Room for a Full Filling
Start by removing the woody stem and cutting the zucchini in half lengthwise. A spoon can scoop out the center, creating a channel for the filling.
Don't scrape all the way to the skin. The recipe cautions against digging too deep because the zucchini can break. Leaving enough flesh around the sides and bottom creates a sturdier boat for the cooked turkey.
That makes large zucchini a practical choice rather than something that needs to be chopped down to resemble smaller squash.
Ground Turkey Turns the Hollow Center Into Dinner
The filling starts with diced onion and minced garlic cooked in olive oil for about seven minutes. Ground turkey goes into the pan next with salt, black pepper, oregano, and thyme, then cooks until browned.
Spoon the cooked mixture into the hollowed zucchini instead of adding the squash to the skillet. Each half becomes its own portion, with the vegetable surrounding the meat rather than disappearing into it.
The recipe isn't tied to turkey, either. Ground beef or chicken can replace it, while cooked quinoa offers a meat-free direction.
Mozzarella Covers the Open Top
Once filled, the zucchini boats get a layer of shredded mozzarella across the exposed turkey.
They bake at 395°F for about 20 minutes, enough time for the zucchini to soften and the cheese to melt across the top.
The goal isn't to cook the zucchini until its structure disappears. The shell still needs to support the filling when each boat is moved from the baking tray to a plate.
Oversized Zucchini Don't Have to Become a Problem
Garden zucchini can get away from you fast, leaving a squash much larger than the ones normally picked for dinner. Stuffing changes what looks like a disadvantage into useful space.
Turkey, onion, garlic, herbs, and mozzarella fill that space in this version, but the same recipe also suggests combinations built around vegetables, quinoa, black beans and corn, or spinach and feta.
Instead of wondering how to use up one enormous zucchini, cutting it open may reveal exactly why its size is useful.
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