Zesty Mexican zucchini enchilada boats stuffed with a delicious mixture of turkey, lentils, peppers, rice or quinoa, and enchilada sauce, topped with more saucy goodness and melty cheese.
Every year after Thanksgiving, I just want Mexican food. I think it has to do with just wanting something DIFFERENT (and spicy!) after all the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie. Plus I just want cheese in a bad way. Fortunately, Mexican food is the perfect cuisine to satisfy both cravings.
So how to get rid of some of that excess turkey, satisfy those cravings for Mexican food AND eat a little lighter? Because let’s face it. Thanksgiving is wonderful and all, but it’s really filling and makes me feel horribly fat and lazy. Hello, zucchini. The perfect lighter, healthier enchilada vessel option.
I discovered this idea from Joyful Healthy Eats a while ago. I was intrigued, but at first I was a little reluctant to try it … how could a zucchini boat possibly resemble an enchilada? But after reading her post, she convinced me. My mouth was watering and I was ready to give it a try … but of course I had to give it my own twist because that’s just what I do.
Leftover turkey + my lentil taco filling sounded like the perfect enchilada filling. I stirred in some cooked quinoa that I had in the fridge, some peppers from my garden and my spicy cashew enchilada sauce. Onions and cheese too, of course. I like multi-dimensional enchiladas. Not just plain meat. Let’s have some other textures and flavors WITH the meat!
The crisp-tender zucchini boats were not at all like tortillas, but they added another interesting and quite pleasant dimension to the dish. I was originally going to call them “enchilada boats” like the rest of the world, but my son came along and said, “how are your zucchini-ladas, mom?” … and once he said that, well, then, that had to be the name.
I really really loved these zucchini-ladas, like almost as much as I love enchiladas. They are full of bold delicious Mexican flavors, light and healthy, yet satisfying. You can turn the level of spiciness up or down to your own preferences.
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Turkey Zucchini-ladas
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 40 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Liven up your leftovers with these zesty Mexican zucchini enchilada boats stuffed with leftover turkey, lentils, peppers, rice or quinoa, and enchilada sauce, topped with more saucy goodness and melty cheese. SO good and healthy too.
Ingredients
- 2 medium skinny zucchini (9 – 10 inches long … or use 4 smaller zucchini 4 – 5 inches each)
For the filling:
- 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped sweet pepper
- Red Robin Seasoning (or your favorite seasoned salt)
- 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded (feel free to use more or less, to taste)
- 1 cup cooked chopped turkey meat
- 1 cup cooked quinoa or rice
- 1 cup lentil taco filling (recipe here – or substitute black beans tossed with a bit of taco seasoning)
- 3/4 cup shredded Mexican blend of cheeses
- 1/4 cup enchilada sauce
For the top:
- About 1 cup enchilada sauce
- 1 – 2 cups shredded Mexican blend of cheeses
- Optional garnish: fresh cilantro leaves, avocado slices, snipped green onion
Instructions
- Slice the zucchini lengthwise, then scoop/scrape out the inside of the zucchini using a grapefruit spoon (or regular spoon), leaving about 1/2 inch shell. Chop the zucchini. Measure 1 cup of chopped zucchini and save any extra for another use. Cut the two long boats in half and arrange the four zucchini pieces in a rimmed baking pan.
- Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the peppers and zucchini and saute until tender, sprinkling with a bit of Red Robin Seasoning.
- Remove from heat and stir in the turkey, quinoa or rice, lentils, 3/4 cup cheese and 1/4 cup enchilada sauce. Taste and add taco seasoning or chopped hot pepper if the mixture needs flavor/spice. Stuff the zucchini with the filling (you will have extra filling — put it in an oven safe bowl or small casserole dish.
- Top the zucchini with enchilada sauce, then sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Bake at 350 F. for 20 – 25 minutes or until the cheese on top is fully melted and the zucchini are tender.
Notes
© Copyright 2020, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. I love it when you share, but please do not use my images on your own site/page without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. Sharing, pinning, and tweeting is always appreciated as long as the shares and pins link back to here for the recipe. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Keywords: Zucchini, Enchilada, Boats, Cheese, Heart healthy, Gluten free
2 comments
I’ve never heard of a ladas but so glad that I’ve seen the light. This version looks delicious!
[…] enchilada stuffed zucchini boats – a.k.a. zucchini-ladas. A low-carb version of enchiladas that’s really really […]