Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats
These zucchini boats are stuffed with spicy buffalo chicken and topped with creamy ranch (or blue cheese) dressing! This is a great summer dinner to use up those garden zucchini (and not put yourself in a carb coma).
Servings: 4
Calories: 330kcal
Ingredients
- 5 small zucchini or 4 medium-size
- 2 cups cooked chicken rotisserie is best
- 1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 bunch green onions
- 3 tablespoons blue cheese
- 5 Ritz crackers
- ranch or blue cheese dressing to garnish
- salt and pepper
- nonstick spray
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Try to make them even slices. (You can trim the ends if you want, but I think it's easier to scoop out the middle when the ends are intact. They're easy to cut off on your plate.)
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place the halved zucchini on the sheet, cut side up. Spray each one with a bit of nonstick spray, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 375.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl add cooked chicken and Frank's hot sauce. Stir it together so all the chicken gets coated.
- Add Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, cheddar cheese, and stir.
- Chop the green onions. Add the white parts (about 3 tablespoons) to the mixture. (Reserve the green part to garnish the cooked zucchini boats.) Set aside.
- When the zucchini in the oven is done, (leave the oven on) take it out and use a sharp knife to cut out the centers. I used the knife to cut the edges of the "boat" and then used a spoon to get it out.
- Place the zucchini flesh on a cutting board. Chop it finely. Use your hands to squeeze it out over the sink. Do a good job! Zucchinis have so much water in them!
- Add the squeezed zucchini to the chicken mixture and stir it in.
- Use a spoon to add the chicken mixture to each zucchini boat. (If you have leftover, eat it with Ritz crackers! Just like the dip.)
- Sprinkle each boat with blue cheese.
- Add the Ritz crackers to a ziplock and crush them with your fingers. It doesn't have to be perfect.
- Sprinkle the crumbs over the boats.
- Bake at 375 degrees for another 10 minutes, or until the zucchini are tender. Move the rack up and broil for 1-2 minutes if you like them extra brown on top.
- Serve with ranch of blue cheese dressing!
Notes
You could easily make these ahead of time. Par bake, scoop out the flesh, fill with chicken, top with cheese, then cover and refrigerate for a few hours (or probably even overnight). Top last minute with the crumbs and then bake the last 10-15 minutes called for in the recipe.
Adapted from this Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Potassium: 603mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 498IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 2mg