Southwest Stuffed Zucchini Boats
with Pico de Gallo, Avocado Crema & Cilantro
- Milk
Send your taste buds on a flavorful cruise—a yacht to Yumtown, if you will—with this crowd-pleasing stuffed zucchini. These boats are filled with Southwest-spiced rice, then blanketed with a layer of kickin’ pepper jack cheese, and finished with fresh pico de gallo, avocado crema, cilantro, sour cream, and hot sauce. There’s something about this recipe that’ll really put the wind back in your sails.
Ingredients
1 unit
Yellow Onion
2 unit
Zucchini
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Roma Tomato
1 unit
Lemon
¼ ounce
Cilantro
4 tablespoon
Guacamole
4 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Pepper Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and finely dice onion. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds with a spoon.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add ¾ of the onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. • Add rice and Southwest Spice; stir to coat. • Stir in stock concentrate, 1¼ cups water (2¼ cups for 4 servings), and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to use in step 5.
• While rice cooks, season zucchini with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper; rub to evenly coat. Arrange, cut sides down, on a baking sheet. • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dice tomato. Roughly chop cilantro. Zest and halve lemon. • In a small bowl, combine tomato, half the cilantro, a squeeze of lemon juice to taste, and as much remaining onion as you like. Season with salt and pepper. • In a separate small bowl, combine guacamole, lemon zest, and half the sour cream (save the rest for serving). Add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Once zucchini are tender, remove sheet from oven. Heat broiler to high. • Fluff rice with a fork and season with salt and pepper. TIP: Stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) for extra richness. • Carefully flip zucchini and stuff with as much rice as will fit (there will be plenty left over; save for serving). Evenly top with pepper jack. • Broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning.
• Divide remaining rice between plates and top with stuffed zucchini. Top with avocado crema, pico de gallo, remaining cilantro, and remaining sour cream. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the delicious blend of Southwest spices, fresh pico, and creamy avocado sauce; some found it a bit bland.
- Ease of prep: Generally easy to make, though a few found hollowing the zucchini tricky or time-consuming.
- Suggestions: Consider adding black beans, corn, or ground meat for extra protein and texture; try sautéing the scooped zucchini with the rice.
- Portions: Plenty of rice, but some wished for larger zucchini to make proper "boats"; leftovers reheat well.
- Customization: Great vegetarian base; many enjoyed adding their own proteins like chicken, shrimp, or vegetarian crumbles 🍲.
