Name: Greek Turkey Zucchini Canoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: -
Ingredients: 2 Medium zucchini cut in half horizontally and the insides scooped out and chopped; ½ Lb. 99% fat free ground turkey; ¼ Chopped onion; 1 Garlic clove finely minced; 2 Tbsp. chopped Kalamata Olives; 1 Tbsp. Capers; 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil + more for brushing cut zucchini; ½ Cup Marinara or tomato sauce or petite chopped tomatoes; 1/2 Tsp. dried Oregano; 1/2 Tsp. dried Basil; ½ Tsp. dried Thyme; Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; ½ Cup crumbed Feta; Fat Free Greek yogurt (optional); Chopped Parsley (optional); Warm Pita Bread (optional)

YIELDS:

2 servings

PREP TIME:

0 hours 15 mins

COOK TIME:

0 hours 15 mins

TOTAL TIME:

0 hours 25 mins

My Curated Tastes is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

ingredients

2 Medium zucchini cut in half horizontally and the insides scooped out and chopped

½ Lb. 99% fat free ground turkey

¼ Chopped onion

1 Garlic clove, finely minced

2 Tbsp. chopped Kalamata Olives

1 Tbsp. Capers

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil + more for brushing cut zucchini

½ Cup Marinara or tomato sauce or petite chopped tomatoes

1/2 Tsp. dried Oregano

1/2 Tsp. dried Basil

½ Tsp. dried Thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

½ Cup crumbed Feta

Fat Free Greek yogurt (optional)

Chopped Parsley (optional)

Warm Pita Bread (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil to make clean up easy.

2. Prep your cut and hollowed out zucchini “canoes” by brushing them with a little olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Put them on the prepared baking sheet and roast in oven for 10 minutes to soften slightly.

3. Meanwhile, add the tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet and heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for one minute. Add the turkey meat, chopped zucchini and the seasonings and break up the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook stirring, until there is no pink meat showing.

4. Add the tomato product of your choice, olives, and capers and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Add a couple of tablespoons of feta and mix in.

5. Remove the “canoes” from the oven and fill each zucchini half with a quarter of the meat mixture. Top each with equal amounts of the feta cheese. Place under the broil and broil until the cheese is warm and brown in spots. If you like, serve topped with some yogurt, and chopped parsley. Serve with some warmed pita on the side. Enjoy.

NOTE: OK, here is my Greek version of zucchini canoes. This version uses lots of Greek flavors to get a really tasty meal. If you like this dish or like the idea of stuffed zucchini, I’ve come up with all kinds of combinations. I have done Italian canoes, Mexican Zucchini Canoesand a shrimp stuffed canoe. Grab those recipes on the blog through the links above. All of them give me a fast and easy meal in the middle of the week.

A couple of tips for getting great “canoes” every time. First, soften up the zucchini a little bit before broiling them and getting that cheese all melted. Roast them for 10 minutes. By brushing them with the olive oil and adding salt and pepper, you are just giving the dish a flavor boost. Don’t overcook the zucchini because they’ll get too soft and fall apart when stuffed. 10 minutes seems to be the magic number in my oven.

You can use a basic marinara sauce, plain tomato sauce or chopped tomatos in the recipe. It is very flexible, so use what you have on hand. When it comes to spices, I’ve used pretty traditional Greek flavors: onion, garlic, basil, oregano and thyme. The capers and olives give it that unique flavor. The Feta cheese brings it all together.

FYI: for my WW friends, I’ve used 99% fat free turkey to keep the points at zero. I added the oil to give it moisture and flavor. However, for anyone trying the dish, you can easily use ground beef, ground lamb, 97% fat free turkey, etc. Again, this is more of a guideline than a recipe. Be sure you keep the flesh you scoop out of the core of zucchini. It is great chopped up and added to the mix.

While I almost always use Fage fat free Greek yogurt, feel free to use full fat. Warm pita bread on the side is the perfect add-on. A Greek Salad would be the perfect start to this meal.

By now, you must be wondering why I don’t just call them boats like everyone else. Very simply, these things always fall over…LOL. It’s a lot easier to flip over a canoe than it is a boat and while I like to put these on a baking sheet to broil, you can use a small casserole dish to keep them standing up straight. These are really cute casserole dishes that are great for cooking for two. Small Casserole Dishes

Give one or more of the “canoe” recipes a try and you’ll have lots of options when you are tired, stressed and in a time crunch. They are all easy, fast and healthier choices.