Italian Sausage-Stuffed Zucchini

Gardens are at their prime at Lake of the Woods right now, so why not be creative and try this recipe.

I’ve always had to be creative when getting my family to eat vegetables, so I decided to make stuffed zucchini using the pizza flavors that everyone loves. It worked! We like to include sausage for a main dish, but it could be a meatless side dish, too. —Donna Marie Ryan, Topsfield, Massachusetts

Ingredients

6 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces each)
Italian Sausage-Stuffed Zucchini Recipe photo by Taste of Home
1 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Additional minced fresh parsley, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut each zucchini lengthwise in half. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell; chop pulp. Place zucchini shells in a large microwave-safe dish. In batches, microwave, covered, on high 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender.
In a large skillet, cook sausage and zucchini pulp over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, breaking sausage into crumbles; drain. Stir in tomatoes, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, herbs and pepper. Spoon into zucchini shells.
Place in 2 ungreased 13×9-in. baking dishes. Bake, covered, 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5-8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. If desired, sprinkle with additional minced parsley.