Meatloaf in Zucchini
Here's a really interesting and delicious take on meatloaf - baked in hollowed out zucchini. Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
- 1 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 750g beef mince
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup grated carrot
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 800g tomato spaghetti sauce, divided
- 120g grated mozzarella cheese
Directions
Preparation:20min ›
Cook:50min ›
Ready in:1hour10min
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
- Scoop out and discard zucchini seeds. Sprinkle the garlic salt into the hollowed-out zucchini and set aside. Heat olive oil in a frypan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a mixing bowl mix the beef mince, eggs, bread crumbs, basil, carrot and Parmesan cheese together with the onion mixture. Stuff the zucchini halves with the meat mixture and place them into a baking dish. Spoon about half the spaghetti sauce over the zucchini, covering all the meat and allowing sauce to drip down the sides.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the meat is no longer pink in the center and the zucchini are tender, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the zucchini and return to oven until the cheese melts, about 5 more minutes.
- Heat the remaining spaghetti sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat while the zucchini are cooking. Serve the zucchini with the additional sauce on the side.
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Reviews and Ratings
Global Ratings:
(95)
Reviews in English (66)
A mum of two teenagers, i rarely find a meal that all four of us enjoy. I used only 500gms of mince and that made plenty, with leftovers for lunch. This dish is easy and delicious. I will be making it again. - 08 Jan 2012
These green, meaty boats looked so awesome going into the oven and I had really high hopes for the outcome, but I was a little disappointed. I will definitely make them again, but not without a couple changes. The "1 large zucchini" written for the original recipe, must've been from a mutant garden strain b/c I scaled the meat back to 1 lb. and ended up cramming 3 1/2 medium zucchinis with the meatloaf mixture, as well as making a couple random meatballs on the side. The end result was unfortunately on the bland side, (splash splash of Sriracha to the rescue!) so next time around, the meat and sauteed veggies need to be more heavily seasoned, possibly w/ more garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, Italian Seasoning, etc... Also, I think I would rather prepare these like a stuffed bell pepper where I'd brown the meat prior to stuffing, then just pop the boats in the oven to melt the cheese, only b/c I wasn't too thrilled with the accumulation of grease in the zucchinis. Oh yeah, I also dropped it to 1 egg and 1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs, since I had a little less meat, and the bake time was dead-on. Overall a 3.5 star recipe that (CHEER! My 3-year old gobbled up!) might just need some tweaking b4 I'd make again. - 19 Aug 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I've been making these for years and we love them! If you use ground round there shouldn't be an accumulation of grease in the zucchini boat. If all I have is ground chuck (with 15% fat) then you are better off browning the meat first and mixing then mixing it with some of the sauce. Terrific way to use zucchini when your garden is producing more than you can handle! Toss a salad & serve with crusty bread or garlic toast. - 20 Aug 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)