Zucchini Boats with Plant-Forward Walnut Bolognese Sauce
By Sammi Brondo — July 29, 2024
One of the fastest growing nutrition trends over the past few years is plant-forward eating. But, despite this, 9 out of 10 Americans still aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables. And, moreover, 1/3 of consumers in a recent survey didn’t know what plant-based eating actually means! Let’s dive in.
There are many different ways to define a plant-based or plant-forward diet. Basically, any food or product made 100% from plants is considered plant-based. This includes all types of produce, nut milks and even veggie burgers that are made entirely from plants.
Plant-forward, on the other hand, is a more broad style of eating. It includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains and other plant foods, but also dairy products, meat, eggs and seafood. A plant-forward diet is one that focuses on plenty of plant-based foods, but doesn’t exclusively include only those.
There’s a reason this style of eating has become so popular lately. Plant-forward eating comes with so many different health benefits. Research has shown that a plant-forward diet can help to reduce risk of heart disease and cancer and also help improve gut health.*
If you’re interested in incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet, I promise: it’s much easier than it seems! Plant-based foods truly aren’t just fruit and vegetables. One of my favorite foods, nuts, are plants, and come with so many different health benefits.
You probably already know that I love walnuts (and if you didn’t, check out these Banana Walnut Muffins, this Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Glazed Walnuts or these Walnut Carrot Cake Pancakes, for starters!). They’re truly one of the most versatile nuts and are a powerhouse of nutrients. A one-ounce handful of walnuts has 4g protein, 2g fiber and 2.5g of the omega-3 alpha linolenic acid (ALA), an essential plant-based fatty acid. Walnuts can be used in both sweet and savory recipes alike. In partnership with California Walnuts and in celebration of plant-forward eating, I’m excited to bring you this new recipe!
One of my favorite ways to use walnuts is in a “meat” sauce. Walnuts make an amazing substitution for ground meat in different sauces because of their texture and versatile flavor. I tried them in this plant-based Bolognese sauce (https://www.sammibrondo.com/blog/franks-vegan-bolognese) a while ago and it’s been one of my favorite recipes ever since!
These zucchini boats use a similar walnut-based Bolognese sauce, but then add the sauce to delicious, perfectly roasted zucchini. Honestly, cauliflower gets all the credit, but zucchini is just as versatile. Make it into noodles, chop it and roast it or scoop it and make zucchini boats – you can’t go wrong!
This recipe packs in a ton of different veggies too: the sauce is filled with things like onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Plus, each zucchini “boat” is half a zucchini! This can contribute to a delicious, plant-forward meal that is not only filling as an easy lunch or dinner, but also super nutritious.
I recommend making the recipe in a large quantity and storing leftovers to have for a few days. You can put the extra sauce in an airtight container in the fridge and then prep fresh zucchini boats when you’re ready to eat it again.
Or, save leftover sauce to add on top of pasta. You can’t go wrong!
Notes
- Zucchini: Use a spoon to scoop out the insides of the zucchini. You can chop the zucchini and use it in the sauce. Or, freeze it and save to use later. I love adding frozen zucchini to smoothies – it helps make smoothies thicker and you can’t taste it!
- Vegetables: Carrots, celery, onion and mushrooms are my go-to vegetables for this sauce, but almost any veg will work. You can also try using chopped bell peppers or summer squash. Pro tip: to chop veggies super finely, you can also roughly chop them and throw them in a food processor!
- Walnuts: Make sure to also chop the walnuts super small – you want the texture to be similar to ground meat, since the walnuts are the “meat” of this sauce. You can also place the walnuts in a food processor and grind for a few seconds to get that fine chop.
- Cheese: This is totally optional, but recommended if you eat cheese! I used a shredded mozzarella here. Or, to keep this recipe completely vegan, try adding a little nutritional yeast on top for that cheesy flavor.
- Storage: Store leftovers in airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I recommend storing the baked zucchini and walnut Bolognese separately. When ready to eat, scoop sauce into the zucchini boats and broil in the oven to reheat. Or, add leftover sauce to pasta – also a delicious way to use it!
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium zucchini
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 3 large carrots
- 3 sticks of celery
- 1 cup mushrooms any variety
- ½ large onion
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1 28 oz. can or jar crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- Salt
- Pepper
- Optional: ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the inside of the zucchini.
- Place zucchini skin side down in a large baking dish and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until soft.
- While zucchini is in the oven, finely chop carrots, celery, mushroom and onion.
- Roughly chop walnuts. Set aside.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Add chopped veggies and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, until veggies are soft and fragrant.
- Add chopped walnuts to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add crushed tomatoes, red wine, herbs, salt and pepper to the pan and stir to combine. Turn heat down to medium and let sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Once sauce is down, spoon the sauce into the baked zucchini. Turn the oven to broil and place bake in the oven for about 2-3 minutes.
- Optional: add cheese on top of sauce in baked zucchini. Broil for about 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden on top.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
