Traditional cookbooks have hundreds of delicious recipes made with various kinds of squash – a vegetable family that includes zucchini and pumpkin. Here are 10 traditional, healthy recipes you may want to try this summer. Your family and friends will definitely like any of these stuffed summer squash vegetarian recipes.
Table of contents:
- Stuffed squash with bulgur
- Squash with ricotta stuffing
- Stuffed zucchini
- Mushroom zucchini
- Italian stuffed zucchini
- Stuffed summer squash with Kamut
- Zucchini stuffed with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes
- Stuffed chayote squash
- Rice-stuffed sunburst squash
- Louisiana mirlitons
1. Stuffed squash with bulgur
Split squash in half along its length. Scoop the flesh out, chop it, and set it aside. Place the squash on a baking sheet with the cut side facing up. Cook the chopped-up flesh with almonds, onion, salt, and pepper in a little olive oil.
Add bulgur wheat and water. Cook for 10 minutes, turn the heat off and add some feta cheese. Stuff the squash with the bulgur mixture and bake for a half-hour. Serve with wedges of lemon.
2. Squash with ricotta stuffing
Split squash down the middle and scoop the insides out. Steam the squash for 5 minutes and set aside. Fry onion, garlic, and butter and add chopped spinach to the mix.
Cook for 3 minutes and drain excess water. Stir in Italian seasoning, 2 eggs, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stuff this mixture in the squash and bake for 20 minutes at 375°F. Serve with tomato sauce.
More: 10 Quick and Easy Summer Brunch Recipes
3. Stuffed zucchini
Cut the tops off a few ball zucchinis and hollow them out. Mix diced green onions, green chilies, low-fat Mexican cheese blend, Tabasco sauce, and black beans. Stuff the zucchinis with this mixture cover it in foil and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Crumble a little Cotija cheese and press it into the tops of the zucchinis and bake for a half-hour more.
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4. Mushroom zucchini
Split a zucchini along its length and scoop the pulp out. Steam until tender. Sauté the pulp with mushrooms and onion for a few minutes.
Add a little white wine and simmer until it evaporates. Season with salt and pepper, and stuff in the zucchini shells. Sprinkle with Parmesan and broil for 5 minutes.
More: 10 Best Vegan BBQ Recipes
5. Italian stuffed zucchini
Cut zucchini lengthwise and hollow it out. Chop up the pulp and mix with Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and pasta sauce. Stuff the hollowed-out zucchini with the mixture and place it in a baking dish. Cover with mozzarella cheese and bake for a half-hour.
More: 10 Best Summer Spinach Dishes
6. Stuffed summer squash with Kamut
Mix vegetable stock with Kamut (a kind of Egyptian grain that you can find at gourmet stores) and simmer over low heat. Sauté onion, garlic, hazelnuts, pepper, salt, cumin, and coriander for a minute.
Add to the Kamut mix and add thyme, mint, lemon juice, and zest. Split and hollow out zucchinis and stuff them with this mixture. Bake for a half-hour and serve with yogurt sauce.
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7. Zucchini stuffed with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes
Split zucchini lengthwise and hollow it out. Apply olive oil to a baking sheet and leave the zucchini on it. Mix tomatoes and vinegar in a bowl and stuff the zucchini with it.
Season with salt and pepper, and bake for 20 minutes. Top with mozzarella and broil for 2 minutes until it begins to bubble. Serve hot.
More: 10 Healthy, Low-Calorie Summer Snacks
8. Stuffed chayote squash
Steam a chayote squash for an hour. Cut it open and hollow it out. Sauté the pulp with onion and garlic to the mix.
Season with salt, pepper, and shredded cheddar. Stuff the squash, top off with sour cream, and bake for 15 minutes.
More: 10 Summer Family Dinner Ideas
9. Rice-stuffed sunburst squash
Place a sunburst squash in a pot with 3 inches of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add in long-grain brown rice and cook over dry heat for a few minutes.
Add water and cook. Hollow out the zucchini and fill it with the stuffing. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
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10. Louisiana mirlitons
Steam squash for a half-hour until it’s tender. Split it open and hollow it out. Mash the pulp together with tofu and sauté it in olive oil, together with salt, onion, celery, pepper, and carrot.
Add in cornstarch, parsley, bread crumbs, and wakame seaweed. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 40 minutes. Serve with tartar sauce.
While each of these recipes specifies zucchini, squash, or another vegetable, you can easily switch one for the other, depending on what’s available to you.
