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White Bean and Lentil Zucchini Boats

White Bean and Lentil Zucchini Boats

A flavorful zucchini dish filled with healthy plant-based proteins perfect for a fun and delicious summertime side dish.

Serves: 6 (Serving= 1 stuffed zucchini boat)

Ingredients

  • 3 large zucchini
  • 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
  • ¾ cup cooked green lentils
  • ½ cup canned great northern beans, reduced sodium, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
  • 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ cup chopped fresh basil

Garnish

  • 3/4 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Chopped fresh basil

Directions

Zucchini

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  2. Trim ends from zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. Use tip of a spoon to scrape out zucchini flesh. Roughly chop up zucchini flesh and set aside.
  3. Place the scooped out zucchini boats into a 9 x 13” baking dish, cover with foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes, until slightly tender. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

Beans & Lentils

  1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add olive oil, onions, garlic, zucchini flesh, and cooked lentils and cook until onions are translucent. Then add great northern beans and tomatoes followed by oregano, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and salt. Cook for about two minutes and remove from heat.  Stir in fresh basil.

Zucchini Boat Assembly

  1. Evenly distribute white bean and lentil mixture into 6 zucchini boats. The amount of stuffing needed for the zucchini boat depends on the size of the zucchini. Garnish with about ⅛ cup of mozzarella cheese.
  2. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Broil for about a minute, watching closely until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle some additional fresh basil, and let cool before serving.

 

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To make bariatric diet friendly:

Make half zucchini boats by cutting the zucchini slices in half and making smaller boats to fill.

Bariatric nutrition information (12 servings, ½ zucchini boat each): Calories 77, Total Fat 3g, Sat Fat 1.5g, Sodium 89mg, Total Carbohydrate 9g, Fiber 2.5g, Sugars 3g (none added), Protein 4.5g