Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
Craving pizza but eating low carb? Or just looking for a more healthful alternative? This"pizza" has all of the flavor and none of the guilt.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini
- 1 small onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup pepperoni slices
- Extra Parmesan and fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°. Halve each zucchini lengthwise and cut a small slice off the "bottom" so that it sits flat on your surface. Using a spoon, remove the flesh and any seeds from the zucchini. Finely chop the zucchini flesh and set aside.
- Slice the pepperoni slices into thin strips and reserve.
- Spray the bottom of a baking dish, large enough to hold the zucchini with baking spray or spray oil.
- Using a box grater, grate the onion. Finely mince or press the garlic clove. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and zucchini flesh and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer zucchini mixture to a medium sized bowl and add the marinara, ricotta, 3/4 cup of mozzarella, 1/2 the zucchini strips, Parmesan, oregano and thyme. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the mixture among the zucchini shells. Sprinkle filled zucchini with remaining mozzarella and zucchini slivers. Bake zucchini until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. If desired, broil zucchini for 2-3 minutes for additional browning.
- Garnish zucchini with additional Parmesan and basil slivers, if desired.