My mother-in-law gave us a huge zucchini from her garden. Right away I thought, “I’ll fill that.” In the past, I filled zucchini with different meat fillings, but I wanted to do something different this time and use the veggies that I had around.
Stuffed Zucchini with Mushrooms, Brown Rice, and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini
- 5 ounces mushrooms, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 3/4 cup brown rice, cooked
- 1 egg (not pictured above)
- Tomato sauce, about 1 cup
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, about 1/4 cup
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Olive oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with tomato sauce.
- Cut zucchini in half and take out the middle with a spoon, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put into the casserole dish.
- Spray a sauté pan with olive oil and add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. Sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes.
- Add the cooked rice to the pan. [Great way to use leftover rice or other grains.]
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Let the mixture cool and then add the egg.
- Fill the zucchini halves with the filling.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake for about 50 – 55 minutes. [While baking, coat the outside of the zucchini with the tomato sauce a few times so that the zucchini cooks evenly and doesn’t get dry.]
Servings: About 4
We all really enjoyed this dish (and hubby actually surprised me by saying he liked it just as much as the eggplant casserole). I think it’s a great dish for someone who is trying to eat less meat (or trying to introduce others to eating less meat). The mushroom/rice filling is very hearty, and if you are used to zucchini filled with meat, you really won’t miss the meat in this dish. Well, at least we don’t.
Questions: Do you like zucchini? What’s your favorite zucchini recipe? Feel free to link in the comments.
Be well,
Andrea
