TheseZucchini Boats with Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarellaare among my favorite fresh summer dishes. I love using the zucchini from my garden!

There are so many delicious ways to use zucchini. Here are a few:Zucchini and Fresh Corn Succotash,Healthy Carrot Cake Zucchini MuffinsandEasy Taco Zucchini Boats.

Zucchini Boats with Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella

Zucchini boats are one of my favorite summer dishes when zuchinni is little, tender, and just coming out of the garden. I make this dish with all kinds of things like a rice and hamburger mixture, taco ingredients, and even pizza ingredients. Today I’m sharing the simplest way to make a zucchini boat. It also happens to be one of my favorites.

This simple side is sure to please just about any crowd, and you can’t beat how it practically makes itself. Just be sure to find nice young, tender, and not too big zucchini. Super huge zucchini are inevitable now and again, but this isn’t the place to use them. I like to makezucchini banana bread,pineapple zucchini muffins, andoatmeal zucchini cookieswith grated squash from a big zucchini. Here you are going to want a smaller zucchini that is 6-8 inches long. If you aren’t growing your own, look for zucchini that is firm and has a smooth, blemish-free skin.

Need more ideas for giant zucchini besides a recipe? If a zucchini gets lost in the garden and grows much too big, we’ll split it in half and feed it our hens, but here’s an even better idea. Collect a few huge zucchini and let your kids make boats out of them! Have them carve off the top and scoop out some of the middle, and then decorate and add sails by using sticks, leaves, and even flowers. We love taking our literal “zucchini boats” to the river and letting them set sail. Bonus points if you have access to a little waterfall you can crash them over! This is such a fun end-of-summer tradition in our house.

zucchini boats with tomatoes and mozzarella

What is the best sized zucchini for making boats?

I use small zucchini here (6 to 8 inches). Save the monster zucchini for grated zucchini dishes (likeEasy Healthy Make Ahead Zucchini Egg BakeorPineapple Zucchini Muffins).

What is considered a serving size for zucchini boats?

I consider 2 halves a serving size though one half is more realistic if serving children. This recipes is easy to scale up and down as needed.

What should I serve with zucchini boats?

This is a great side dish for just aboutanything grilledwith corn on the cob and watermelon. Dinner doesn’t have to be fussy to be amazing!

How can I use the scooped out zucchini?

You can save the scooped out zucchini forzucchini bread, to saute with eggs in the morning, or you can even freeze it and throw it in smoothies (you’ll never know it’s there!).