Total Time: 55 minutes
Serves: 4; 2 boats per person
Ingredients
Pesto:
- 3/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup cashews (raw or roasted is fine)
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 lime, juice
- 2 TBSP avocado or olive oil
- 2-3 TBSP water, to thin pesto
- 3/4 tsp salt (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Zucchini Boats:
- Olive oil
- 4 medium zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise (look for zucchini smaller in size)
- 3/4 lbs (about 2 cups) cooked shredded chicken breast (can also be rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped cherry tomatoes
- 1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or low fat shredded cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
Garnish:
- Extra cilantro and quartered cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with olive oil.
- Make the pesto: add all pesto ingredients to the bowl of a food processor: cilantro, cashews, jalapeño, garlic cloves, lime juice, olive oil, water and salt and pepper. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides and processing again, if necessary.
- Transfer pesto to a large bowl and stir in the shredded chicken, chopped cherry tomatoes and ½ cup mozzarella cheese (we’re reserving the rest of the cheese for topping).
- Using a spoon, scoop centers from zucchini while leaving a 1/4-inch rim to create boats. Place zucchini in the greased pan; they should snuggle pretty tightly in there, but if you can’t fit them all in, you can use two pans. Brush zucchini with a little olive oil (about 1 tablespoon or so) and season with salt and pepper. You can also simply spray them with an all natural oil-only cooking spray.
- Spoon pesto chicken mixture evenly into zucchini boats. Top each with 1 1/2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.
- Cover with foil, and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the zucchini is tender. Once done, sprinkle the tops with cilantro and extra cherry tomatoes before serving. Serves 4; 2 boats per person.
Recipe and nutrition facts by Ambitious Kitchen
Total Time
- 55 minutes
Serves
- 4; 2 boats per person
Nutrition Facts
- Serving: 2 zucchini boats
- Calories: 405 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 15.7g
- Protein: 31.6g
- Fat: 25.4g
- Saturated Fat: 6.5g
- Fiber: 5g
