Easy Keto Low Carb Beef Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats is a quick, healthy recipe with ground beef, homemade taco seasoning, and cheese that is perfect for Mexican Taco Tuesday. These zucchini tacos are low-calorie and low-carb. Use ground turkey as a substitute if you wish.
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This post was originally shared on June 30, 2018. It has since been updated.
Are you trying to follow a keto lifestyle, but struggling to celebrate Taco Tuesday? Well pull up a chair and grab your grocery list! This recipe is certainly for you.
One of the things I love most about the keto lifestyle is that you don't have to leave behind all of your favorite foods and dishes! I feel like I can flip pretty much any high carb dish into something with a lot fewer carbs, while not compromising at all on taste.
Last month I shared a recipe for Keto Shrimp Alfredo Zucchini Noodles. I used my spiralizer and it was amazing! I have been getting a lot of great feedback from you guys on that dish!
Table of Contents
How to Make Stuffed Taco Zucchini Boats
- Trim the zucchini and cut each in half horizontally. Scoop the flesh from the center and remove it.
- Add onions and garlic to a skillet with ground beef or ground turkey. Season the meat. Cook until no longer pink.
- Top the zucchini boat with the meat mixture. Bake.
- Finally, the baked tacos are topped with all of your keto-friendly favorites. YUM! Don't get stingy here! If it's keto-friendly then pile it on and enjoy!
How Long to Cook and Bake
Bake the zucchini boats for 20 minutes, until the zucchini has softened and the cheese has melted.
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How Many Carbs in Zucchini?
One whole zucchini has 4 net carbs.
What to Serve with the Zucchini
Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Broccoli Salad
Cauliflower Potato Salad
Green Bean Salad
Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Keto Taco Bowls.
What to Do If Your Zucchini Boats are Too Wet
Zucchini is naturally a vegetable that holds a lot of water. You can sweat out access water by placing the zucchini on a flat surface with paper towels and salt the zucchini. It will sweat out a lot of moisture, but not all.
I love to make this using my Homemade Taco Seasoning.
Keto Low Carb Beef Nacho Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Want to save this recipe for later?
I'll email it to you, so you can come back to it later! You will also get our free digital cookbook with 30-Minute One-Pot Recipes and weekly recipes and tips.
Ingredients
- 3 whole zucchini, sliced lengthwise to form 6 boats
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ packet taco seasoning Use your judgment for how much taco seasoning you wish to use. Some brands may be saltier than others. Season to taste. Refer to cooking note below on tips on how to make your own seasoning.
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (add to ground beef) You can also use taco/Mexican flavored cheeses
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (sprinkle over the boats) You can also use taco/Mexican flavored cheeses
- 1 jalapeno chopped optional, if you prefer spicy
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped black olives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Trim the ends of the zucchini. Then cut the zucchini in half horizontally.
- Scoop and remove the flesh from the center of the zucchini so that you can stuff the zucchini with ground beef. Be careful not to scoop out too much. The zucchini should resemble boat form.
- You can choose to discard the zucchini flesh or add more veggies to you nachos! Chop up the removed zucchini flesh and set aside.
- Place a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the ground beef, reserved zucchini, taco seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the ground beef is no longer pink.
- Add ½ cup of shredded cheese to the ground beef. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Place the zucchini boats in a baking dish.
- Load the ground beef mixture evenly into the zucchini boats.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese on top and throughout.
- Bake for 20 minutes (uncovered) until the zucchini softens and the cheese has melted.
- Remove the boats from the oven and load them up with toppings: sour cream, black olives, avocado, jalapenos etc. Sprinkle cilantro throughout.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Data
Macros are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. This information is calculated using MyFitnessPal.com. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Molly says
Wow! What a great idea for low carb finger foods. Great job!
Kristine says
These little zucchini boats look delicious and what a healthy way to still have those "nachos"!
Shanika says
I love tacos, but never thought about stuffing zucchinis with meat! This sounds so genius!
Pam Greer says
I love this healthier take on nachos! I'm not doing keto, but I do try to eat healthier!
Britt | Sweet Tea and Thyme says
How inventive! Love the use of zucchini in this.
Danielle Howard says
I love this idea! Never thought to use zucchini like this!
Debbiesue says
I am new to Keto so I have been scouring the internet for good recipes. This was absolutely amazing! My husband said "wow, this is really good" probably 5 different times!
staysnatched says
I’m so glad to hear that! I hope you guys try more recipes!
Ashley Judd says
I made this last night and it was delicious!!! I loved the Catalina dressing…it was so different yet so delicious. My husband loved it as well.
April says
How do you heat this up the next day? How well does it hold up the next day?
staysnatched says
If you want crunchy zucchini store the zucchini separate from the filling. It heats up fine the next day.
Lindsey Boyer says
Made this tonight and it was really good - and SO easy, too! I love the taco seasoning and cheese combo to flavor the meat (I've never been a fan of homemade taco seasoning compared to store bought but I finally found a homemade go-to here!) We are still new to zucchini - only ever having made zoodles - so this was a lot of zucchini for us to adjust to in each bite, but it was really good! We agreed we'd make it again for sure! Thanks so much for a great recipe!
staysnatched says
You're welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer says
This was delicious and so easy!! I love zucchini and am always looking for different ways to make it, this was a home run!!
staysnatched says
Wonderful! I'm so glad you liked it.
Trish says
Had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Always looking for new zucchini recipes once the garden starts cranking them out.
staysnatched says
Yay! That sounds so good.
Jovan says
Delicious and healthy!! I made these for.my weekly meal prep and they were awesome from day 1 to day 5!! Great for batch cooking! They were super filling and tasted incredible! The only thing I did different was add the shredded cheese on top after it cooked and cooled down so it would melt for the first time when I reheated them. Highly recommend!
staysnatched says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Qubilah says
Made these last nice! So much flavor and I love how you can customize. I shredded my own cheese as I’ve heard/seen Brandi talk about the difference in taste between pre-shredded cheese and cheese that you shred on your own. This will definitely be a repeat as the weather becomes consistently warm!
staysnatched says
I'm glad you enjoyed them!
Giselle Hernandez says
Brandi never lets me down! Absolutely love these, made mine with chopped up chicken breast since I don’t eat beef. Definitely a winner as far as dinner goes!
staysnatched says
Yay! Glad to hear it.
Katie Ann says
Such a simple recipe! I’ve done zucchini boats from a few other recipes but this one kept things the easiest and tasted the best, so it is my new go-to!
staysnatched says
So Glad you enjoyed it!
elizabeth says
Made these for dinner tonight and they were so good! So easy to make and pop them in the oven and you have a delicious and nutritious dinner in no time. Even my picky son loved them and asked for more. Thanks so much for an amazing recipe.
staysnatched says
I love to hear it!
Lisa says
I made these last week for Taco Tuesday and they were delicious! I have recently began a lifestyle change and Stay Snatched has helped me fill the gap of eating healthy and loving what I'm eating!!!
staysnatched says
So glad to hear it!
Elaina says
Thank you for this brilliant, quick, week night meal! Loaded it with fun toppings and it was filling and hit the spot.
staysnatched says
I'm so glad to hear it!