With summer upon us, we’re probably all spending more time outside with our loved ones, friends and families. With these backyard parties comes plenty of barbecuing, lounging in baby pools and generally snacking on delicious food. But it also comes with the pressure to provide just the right kinds of foods to keep your guests happy. When it gets particularly hot, we don’t always want to eat the heavier dishes. After all, nothing is worse than having debilitating meat sweats when it’s 100 degrees out, right? Sometimes introducing a veggie to the mix can help to even things out.
With that in mind, today we’re making a delicious finger food recipe with a veggie twist—but don’t worry, it’s still packed with plenty of cheesy and meaty flavor. That’s right, we’re making zucchini pizza boats which you can whip up in no time at all (and they may even fit into some of the low-carb diets some of you may be on for swimsuit season). Just like regular pizza, these have all the ingredients you love in a fun new presentation that’s just a little bit lighter. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 6 zucchini
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 clove of finely minced garlic
- 1 cup of marinara sauce
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella
- 1/3 cup of finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup of mini pepperoni slices
- 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano
- baby tomatoes (optional)
Here’s what you do:
1. To start things off, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, get a rimmed baking sheet and line it with a sheet of parchment paper. With that done, get out your zucchini and cut them in half the long way so that they lie flat. Depending on much zucchini flavor you want in the recipe, use a spoon to scoop some of the zucchini out to create a hollow for your ingredients. Pat the insides of each one dry and keep the extra zucchini in a side bowl.
2. Next, get a small bowl and mix together your olive oil and garlic. Use a pastry brush to delicately brush the tops and insides of your zucchini with the mixture. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper as well.
3. After that, fill the insides of your hollowed-out zucchini with a layer of marinara sauce followed by a layer of mozzarella (feel free to use more of either ingredient as you see fit). With that in place, slice your baby tomatoes in half if you’re using them. Layer in your tomatoes and pepperoni afterwards as well.
4. When your zucchini boats are good to go, pop them in the oven on their baking tray and let them cook for 12 to 18 minutes. When enough time has passed, pull them out and sprinkle them with oregano and any additional salt and pepper you may want. Serve them hot and enjoy!
While this recipe is incredibly simple to put together, the results are delicious and fun to present to guests at any backyard party. Although the ingredients we’ve listed here are for a fairly traditional pizza, you can substitute whatever other meat and veggie ingredients you’d like to customize these. Similarly, you can cook the zucchini for more or less time depending on how thick they are and how crispy you want everything to be. As always, enjoy your pizza boats and let us know what you think of the recipe!
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