Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats: Tender roasted zucchini are stuffed with creamy and spicy chicken making for a main dish or appetizer of every buffalo chicken lover’s dreams. Make this recipe year-round with common pantry staples and just a few simple steps.
Whether you have armloads of late summer zucchini to use up, are a buffalo chicken enthuasiast 🙋🏻♀️, or are simply looking for new ways to serve your family nutritious but delicious meals, this buffalo chicken zucchini boat recipe is for you!
Traditional zucchini boats are made even better with the addition of creamy and cheesy buffalo chicken filling. Made with buffalo sauce, shredded chicken, cream cheese, ranch seasonings, and a hanful of other pantry staples, this chicken filling is easy to make, rich in protein, and big on flavor.
Serve these zucchini boats with buffalo chicken for a zippy and satisfying main dish or enhance your game day appetizer spread with a platter of these boats cut into thirds, making for easy hand-held servings. Either way, their easy prep and zesty cheesy flavor will be sure to delight!
For more buffalo chicken recipes, check out my Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip and Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip.
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Why You Will Love Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats
- Use Up Extra Zucchini. Looking for creative ways to enjoy your late summer zucchini harvest? This buffalo chicken boats recipe is a perfect pick! It’s unique, delicious, and mild flavor of zucchini is a dream complement to the spicy and creamy buffalo chicken filling.
- Great For Meal Prep and Make-Ahead Dinners. Leftover zucchini chicken boats stored well and reheat like a dream, making them a fantastic option to prep ahead and enjoy on busy weeknight evenings.
- Simple Prep. All you need are a few pantry staples and a handful of easy to follow steps to make zucchini buffalo chicken boats. No complicated cooking techniques required!
- Budget Friendly. Get a nutritious meal on the table for a wallet-friendly price. At the time of publishing this recipe, I paid only $2.83/serving!
Ingredients
- Zucchini: Choose medium or small zucchini for the best flavor and texture.
- Buffalo Sauce: Your favorite brand of buffalo wing sauce. Choose the heat level that best suits your preferences.
- Cream Cheese: Softened to room temperature for the easiest preparation.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: Contributes creamy and sharp notes that perfectly complement the buffalo sauce. Choose mild or sharp cheddar cheese.
- Ranch Seasoning: Control the sodium in the recipe while still enjoying fantastic ranch flavor by using homemade ranch seasoning.
- Green Onions: Sliced thin. Adds pepperly notes to the buffalo chicken filling and makes a beautiful serving garnish.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Shredded. Sprinkled over the finished zucchini buffalo chicken boats, mozzarella adds a creamy and cheesy finish to the dish.
- Cooked Chicken: Choose rotisserie, baked chicken breasts, or roasted chicken.
Substitutions
- Chicken: Make ground chicken zucchini boats by substitutioning browned ground chicken for shredded.
- Ranch Seasoning: Pre-packaged ranch seasoning can substitute for homemade if desired.
- Cheddar Cheese: Add a extra zip to the flavor profile of the zucchini chicken boats by substituting Monterey Jack or your favorite shredded Mexican cheese blend.
Instructions
For the complete recipe directions and ingredient measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375° and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 2: Cut the zucchini lengthwise and remove the insides with a spoon. Place inside the baking dish.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, stir together the cheddar cheese, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, green onion, and ranch seasoning.
Step 4: Fold in the shredded chicken until well combined.
Step 5: Spoon the mixture into the zucchini boats.
Step 6: Sprinkle the boats with mozzarella cheese.
Step 7: Bake the buffalo chicken stuffed zucchini in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the zucchini is softened. Serve!
Recipes Tips
- Scoop the Seeds Out of the Zucchini. The seeded interior section of the zucchini has extra moisture as well as a slightly pithy texture, making it not ideal for stuffing. Plus, scooping this section out leaves more room for the buffalo chicken filling!
- Shred the Chicken Well. The finer you shred it the better it will mix with the cheesy buffalo sauce, ensuring the spicy and creamy flavor in every bite.
- Bake Uncovered. Doing so will let the cheese melt and turn golden brown.
Dietary Adaptations
This zucchini boat recipe is naturally keto, gluten-free, nut-free, and processed sugar-free. To make it reduced-fat, substitute light cream cheese and reduced-fat cheddar cheese for regular cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese
Storage Directions
- Storage: Leftover zucchini boats keep covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: The buffalo zucchini boats can also be frozen. Bake as directed and cool to room temperature before moving to a freezer-safe container and freezing for up to 3 months. Defrost the boats in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours before reheating.
- Reheating: Warm the zucchini boats in the microwave on medium heat for 45-second to 1-minute intervals, or until warmed through.
FAQs
There are so many good side dishes for zucchini boats. I recommend serving with rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, or even garlic bread for a filling dinner. For lighter meals, serve this buffalo chicken stuffed zucchini with fresh green salads, corn on the cob, or roasted vegetables.
Yes, you want to cook the zucchini boats before moving them to the freezer. Doing so will help to protect the texture of the zucchini as it freezes and defrosts and will also help to make reheating easier.
Nutritional Info
This healthy zucchini boats recipe is a surprisingly nutritious pick! One serving of two zucchini boats is low in sodium while being a great source of protein and fantastic way to add extra vegetables to your diet.
Zucchini is low in calories while being rich in antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin, making it a fantastic vegetable to bolster eye health. The green vegetable is a good source of fiber as well as vitamin K, magnesium, and vitamin B6.
If you’re looking to add more protein to your diet, this buffalo chicken recipe is a great way to do so. Each serving has 44g grams of protein and is low in carbohydrate, making this a great keto zucchini boat recipe.
Total nutritional content per serving is:
- Calories: 479 calories
- Total Fat: 26 grams
- Protein: 44 grams
- Sodium: 712 mg
- Carbohydrates: 11 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
*This nutritional information is an estimate and calculated based on the ingredients used to create the recipe. The nutritional value of your ingredients may differ slightly. Furthermore, this food is not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any disease.
Pricing Info
This is what I personally paid to make this recipe:
- 3 medium zucchini: $1.82
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese: $0.57
- ½ cup buffalo sauce: $1.26
- 4 oz cream cheese: $1.84
- 3 tbsp chopped green onion: $0.32
- 2 tbsp homemade ranch seasoning: $0.88
- 1 ½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken: $1.24
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese: $0.57
The total for this recipe comes out to be $8.50 or roughly $2.83 per serving!
More Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Coconut-Crusted Chicken with Bang Bang Sauce
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
- Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma
Tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comments below! I would really appreciate your feedback!
Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- 3 medium zucchini
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3 tbsp chopped green onion
- 2 tbsp homemade ranch seasoning
- 1 ½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken or other cooked chicken
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Cut the zucchini lengthwise and remove the insides with a spoon. Place inside the baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the cheddar cheese, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, green onion, and ranch seasoning. Fold in the shredded chicken until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the zucchini boats.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the zucchini is softened. Serve!
Notes
- Storage: Leftover zucchini boats keep covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: The buffalo zucchini boats can also be frozen. Bake as directed and cool to room temperature before moving to a freezer-safe container and freezing for up to 3 months. Defrost the boats in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours before reheating.
- Reheating: Warm the zucchini boats in the microwave on medium heat for 45-second to 1-minute intervals, or until warmed through.
- Zucchini size. Choose medium or small zucchini for the best flavor and texture. Large zucchini can taste woody or lack in flavor.
- Use ground chicken (optional variation). Browned ground chicken can substitute for shredded chicken if the ground variety is all that is available to you.
- Ranch seasoning. Pre-packaged ranch seasoning can substitute for homemade if desired.
Nutrition
If you end up making this and loving it, take a photo and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your versions of my recipes! And feel free to rate it down below in the comment section. I would really appreciate it!
xoxo Megan
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