Spiced Beef Zucchini Boats

zucchini boats but make them Middle Eastern - spiced ground beef with paprika, cumin, and garlic stuffed into hollowed zucchini and roasted until caramelized🥒🌶️ served over a dollop of lemony garlic yogurt sauce dusted with sumac. tastes incredible and comes together in under an hour. 🫶

recipe inspired by @nataliedewitt, made adjustments with what i had✨

Ingredients

• 8-9 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1/2 cup Fresh parsley, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1-2 tbsp avocado oil (or any neutral oil)

Yogurt Sauce

• ½ cup Greek yogurt

• 1/2 lemon, juiced

• 2 cloves garlic minced

• 1/2 tsp dill (dried or fresh)

• Sumac, to dust

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Serves 3-4

Prep time ~15 mins

Cook time ~30 mins

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Cooking Instructions

WASH YOUR VEGGIES

• Wash and prep your zucchini and parsley before getting started.

Prep the zucchini

• Halve zucchini lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the center flesh, leaving about a ¼-inch border all around to form a boat. Reserve the scooped flesh.

Make the beef filling

• To a mixing bowl, add beef, parsley, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, pepper.

• Finely chop the reserved zucchini flesh and add ½ of it to the beef mixture. I don’t add all of it because it could break the mixture while cooking.

Fill and pan fry

• Spoon the beef filling generously into each zucchini boat, pressing it in firmly.

  • the beef will shrink when cooked through

• Over medium heat, heat of the oil. Cook beef side down, covered, for 5 mins. Flip carefully so the meat doesn’t fall out. Cook uncovered for another 3-5 mins or until beef is cooked through (internal temp 160°F).

Make the yogurt sauce

• Add greek yogurt, garlic, lemon and dill and mix until combined.

Plate and serve

• Add yogurt sauce on the plate as a base then the zucchini boats, Sprinkle with sumac for extra flavor!

Tips & Notes

• Don't scoop too thin — keep about a ¼-inch border so the zucchini holds its shape when roasting.

• Chop and add the scooped zucchini flesh to the beef filling — zero waste and adds moisture and flavor.

• The yogurt sauce brings this meal together, don’t skip it — the cool creaminess create balance with the deliciously spiced beef

• Sumac adds brightness and a beautiful deep red color — find it at any international grocery or on Amazon.

• Great served alongside rice or warm pita to scoop up the yogurt and pan juices.