Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
A fun twist on a Mexican favourite! Zucchini hollowed out and stuffed with shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, cheese and spring onions.
This idea is the perfect way to use up leftover chicken, plus it’s perfect for low-carb and gluten-free diets – and yellow squash would also work well.
If you wish to have shredded chicken on hand, you can throw a package of chicken breasts in the crockpot to use for recipes throughout the week, otherwise just grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.
You can make your own enchilada sauce (nothing beats homemade), but to speed this up you can of course use jarred. And finally, you can blanch the zucchini first so that it bakes quicker, but if that seems like too much work, just bake it an additional 10 minutes and it should be fine.
Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
from Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 8
Size: 1 zucchini boat
Calories: 116
Fat: 3.5g
Protein: 12g
Carb: 11g
Fibre: 3g
Sugar: 4.5g
Ingredients:
For the enchilada sauce:
olive oil spray
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 or 2 tbsp mild Taco sauce, or ‘medium’ if you like it spicy
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2/3 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
salt and fresh pepper to taste
For the zucchini boats:
4 (about 800gm total) medium zucchini
1 tsp oil
1/2 cup brown onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup diced green capsicum
1/4 cup chopped coriander
8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chilli powder
3 tbsp water or fat free chicken broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
For the Topping:
3/4 cup reduced fat shredded sharp cheddar
chopped spring onions and coriander for garnish
Directions
For the enchilada sauce: In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, taco sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
For the Zucchini Boats:
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Preheat oven to 200°. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a small spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 0.5 cm thick. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside
Drop the zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute; remove from water.
In a large sauté pan, heat oil and add onion, garlic and capsicum. Cook on medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini and coriander; season with salt and pepper and cook about 4 minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, water, and tomato paste and cook a few more minutes, then add in chicken; mix and cook 3 more minutes.
Place 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a large (or 2 small) baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up. Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup chicken mixture, pressing firmly.
Top each with 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce, and 1 1/2 tablespoons each of shredded cheese.
Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.Top with spring onions and coriander for garnish and serve with low fat sour cream if desired.