I first saw this on TheFeedFeed and decided that I absolutely needed to make a variation of it. Such a healthy, easy, and quick dinner option! An added bonus? Minimal clean up! I have never minded the clean up part that much but man did it feel nice to have an extra 15 mins to just lounge on the couch, snuggle up, and watch the second season of ‘Big Little Lies’ on HBO! 

My husband and I love spicy food so naturally we went a little overboard with the Calabrian chili pepper (as always). But trust me, I have found no chili more flavorful than the Calabrian chili pepper. In all forms it is all sorts of magical. The perfect amount of heat for us and just the right amount of flavor. Feel free to omit this part if you tend to steer clear of spicy food. Also, the soy chorizo from Trader Joes does come with a ton of flavor and a little bit of heat as well so just keep that in mind if you do decide to make this. The great thing about these boats is that they are so customizable. You can use regular sausage or chorizo or even just veggies drenched in sauce. 

I served these with some baked sweet potato fried and potato wedges. Super easy and super crispy! I’ll do a post for those soon as well.. A great accompaniment for any dish!

Either way, I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! Thank you for the love and if you do end up trying it, please feel free to share your pictures with me on Instagram @kavitaarjungi. 

Happy Eating!

What You’ll Need:

For the sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 Small Onion (finely chopped)
• 3-4 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
• 1/2 Pack of Trader Joes Soy Chorizo 
• 1 Cup marinara sauce (homemade or bottled)
• 2 Teaspoons Dried Calabrian Chili Pepper (or any red chili pepper)
• 1 Teaspoon Calabrian Chili Oil (optional)
• 1 Teaspoon Oregano
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper (or to taste)

For the Assembly:

• 6 Zucchinis 
• 1/2 Onion (diced and sautéed slightly)
• 1 Red Pepper (diced)
• 1 Green Pepper (diced)
• 3-4 Bell Mushrooms (sliced and sautéed in a little oil)
• Pepper Jack cheese (optional)

How to put it together:

1. Slice the zucchini in half length-wise, and spoon out the seeds creating a nice deep zucchini boat. Be careful not to puncture the skin of the zucchini or you’ll have a pasta sauce crime scene in your oven! Set aside once sliced and spooned. 
2. In a pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook on medium until onions are translucent and soft. Be sure not to brown the garlic. 
3. Add the soy chorizo, Calabrian chili pepper, Calabrian chili oil, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook for another 1-2 mins or until the soy chorizo begins to harden and form a meat-like texture. Lower heat and add marinara sauce to the soy chorizo mixture and combine. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until all flavors are nicely combined. Remove from heat.
4. In a separate pan, lightly sauté (I didn’t even use any oil) sliced mushrooms and chopped onions for 1-2 minutes or until the mushrooms are lightly brown and they shrink in size. Set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 400°
6. In a foil lined pan, begin assembly by pouring sauce into each zucchini boat, top with pepper jack cheese, red and green bell peppers, sautéed mushrooms and sautéed onion. Repeat steps for each zucchini boat.
7. Bake Zucchini boats in preheated oven for 15 mins. 
8. Remove from heat and enjoy!