Stuffed Round Courgettes - Round Zucchini

Easy to make, the stuffed round courgettes with ground beef are a balanced meal for a healthy family dinner. Even the children will happily eat their veg here. If you cannot find round zucchini you can use regular ones cut lengthwise.

What zucchini to use

For this recipe I like to use round zucchini as they are easy to fill, but you can also use long zucchini cut lengthwise.

Whatever zucchini you will be using this is a very easy recipe you can make ahead of time. It is a complete meal with vegs, proteins and carbs.

You can serve it with baked potatoes, a potato salad, or some baked rice and a healthy meal is ready on the table.

Besides zucchini, you can also use peppers, tomatoes or onions, in French they are called petit farcis.

Ingredients for the stuffing

The stuffing is a mix of meat and breadcrumbs. Here I use minced beef, but you can also use a mix of beef and pork.

I always use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs in many of my recipes, that is why I usually prepare a large amount and keep it in the freezer. They don’t need to be defrosted ahead of time.

If you want to know more about it you can read the article: Grated Parmesan and Breadcrumbs. also check out the article: Once a Month Freezer Meal Prep to find out what else I keep in my freezer.

I always keep the stale bread aside and when I have time I prepare the breadcrumbs and freeze it. Here are the ingredients I use in proportion to 3 cups of grated stale bread:

• 3 cups of grated stale bread
• ½ cup of parmesan
• ½ cup of basil leaves or parsley
• 1 garlic cloves

If you are making it only for this recipe use the amount listed on the recipe card below

Step by step instructions with images

How to prepare the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1. Greate the parmesan in a shredder
2. Cut the stale bread in chunks small enough to fit in the shredder
3. Shredd the bread putting the garlic  first so the bread absorbs the flavour
4. Take a cup of shredded breadcrumbs and blend it with the basil leaves (used shredded bread otherwise you risk to break the blender as the bread is too hard for a blender)
5. Add the shredded parmesan to the breadcrumbs
6. Then the breadcrumbs mixed with the basil

Following this procedure will minimize waste (like basil been stuck in the side of the blender, or parmesan left inside the shredder) and a perfect combination of flavours (the breadcrumbs absorbing the garlic and the basil)

It is best if the breadcrumbs rest overnight to absorbs all the flavours. If you freeze them you don't have to worry about it and use them directly.

How to prepare the courgettes

7. Cut the top off the courgettes and with a spoon or a round vegetable scoop,
8. Dig the centre of the courgettes. Season them with salt and pepper.
9. Put the centre of the courgettes in a Braun Blender and mix with 4 tablespoon of the breadcrumbs.
10. Oil the base of a baking dish. Dice the top of the courgettes, mix them with 3 tablespoon of the zucchini centre and breadcrumb mix, then lay them in the baking dish, making a sort of base to assemble the courgettes on.

Preparing the stuffing

11. Mix the eggs, the finely chopped onion, lemon zest, mustard and the breadcrumbs together with the minced beef.
12. Fill the courgette with the mix and drizzle with olive oil.
13. Cook in the oven at 200°C for 40 minutes

Top Tips

• Make sure the courgettes don't have too many big seeds. If they do, do not use the centre
• If you cannot find round courgette, you can use the long regular one. If they are too big don't use the centre as there will be too many seeds
• Make sure you season well the courgette, inside as well as outside
• For a vegetarian version, you can use only bread crumbs mixed with onions

Variation and substitution

If you prefer a vegetarian version you can stuff the round zucchini only with breadcrumbs or with rice.

You can find rice stuffed tomato recipe to use as a guide.

A new mixer

To make this cake I used this new stand mixer that was sent to me by the manufacturer for testing: Kichot stand mixer 8.5Qt.

I was not paid to write an article or make a video, so my feedback is sincere and unbiased. Here my main points:

• I was positively impressed by the sturdiness of the machine, and surprisingly it is also much lighter compared to KitchenAid. Since I always have to move my mixers around, especially when filming, I do appreciate its lightness.

• It comes fully equipped with 3 different mixers: beater, dough hook, and whisk. The aluminum beater is plain, not painted, unlike the one in KitchenAid. With time and use, the paint from the KitchenAid beater came off while mixing. Probably the paint mixed with our food. It was too late when I noticed it!

• Another positive note, compared to KitchenAid is that the bowl is easy to remove from the stand. In the KitchenAid, the pressure created by the twisting of the beater and the friction of the dough on the bowl tighten tight the bowl on the stand making. It is very difficult to remove the bowl once you finish mixing.

• The 8.5 qt is a large size, perfect for large batches and the price is much more reasonable than the KitchenAid. However, if you don't cook large volumes I do recommend the smaller mixer Kichot 4.8 Qt mixer as the 8.5 qt do not mix well in small quantities. I like to have the two sizes as I often need two mixers, in particular when a recipe requires the egg white whipped separately from the dough.

• The mixer comes with a spatula, an egg separator, and a splash guard with a pouring chute to avoid any spills while mixing. All very handy.

For now, my experience is very positive, I will keep you posted on how it will perform with time and wear and tear.

I wish it had more attachments, especially a vegetable grater. I still have to find a sturdy one that doesn't break when grating cabbages.

KitchenAids one broke 3 times already, they did send me a replacement but after the third time, I didn't even consider getting the 4th replacement.

How to serve the stuffed courgette

Stuffed courgettes is a perfect summer main course when round courgettes are in season.  You can prepare it ahead of time and cook it just before serving it.

You can serve it with a green salad, a tabbouleh or a fresh Italian potato salad. If you want to serve it with something warm, you can serve it with baked rice, or an easy gratin dauphinoise.

If you want to try the same stuffing on other vegetables you can check out the recipe: Petit farcis

Recipes with zucchini you may also like

For more zucchini recipes, check out the category: Vegetables

Also check the recipes below:

• Grilled zucchini eggplants and peppers
• Zucchini and Mushroom Quiche
• Zucchini Recipe Pasta And Ricotta
• Fried Zucchini Flowers Recipe
• Baked salmon fillet in oven with steamed zucchini and potatoes

If you are making this Stuffed Round Courgette, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

📋 Stuffed Round Courgettes

Easy to make, the stuffed round courgettes are a balanced meal for a healthy family dinner. Even the children will happily eat their veg here.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

⏲️Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 People

Print Rate SaveSaved!

Author: Laura Tobin

Ingredients (Commissions Earned)

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

0.5x1x2x3x

Breadcrumbs (can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer)

• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 10 leaves fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 clove peeled garlic cloves

Minced Meat Mix

• 1 lb Freshly minced lean beef
• 2 Fresh eggs
• 1 onion diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Original English mustard
• 1 teaspoon Lemon zest

Courgettes

• 8 Round courgettes
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 tablespoon Olive oil

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment (Commissions Earned)

• Pyrex Baking Dishes
• Braun blender
• Cutting board set
• Melon Baller
• KICHOT Stand Mixer, 8.5QT 800W

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Instructions

Breadcrumbs

• Mix together in a blender breadcrumbs, basil or parsley, garlic and parmesan
  ½ cup breadcrumbs, 10 leaves fresh basil leaves, 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, 1 clove peeled garlic cloves

Courgettes

• Cut the top off the courgettes.
  8 Round courgettes
• With a spoon or a round vegetable scoop, dig the center of the courgettes. Season them with salt and pepper.
  Salt & Pepper
• Put the center of the courgettes in a Braun Blender and mix with 4 tablespoon of the breadcrumbs.
• Dice the top of the courgettes
• Oil the base of a baking dish
  2 tablespoon Olive oil
• Mix the diced zucchini top with 3 tablespoon of the zucchini mix and lay them in the baking dish, making a sort of base to assemble the courgettes on.

For the meat filling

• Mix the eggs, the finely chopped onion, lemon zest, mustard and the breadcrumbs together with the minced beef.
  1 lb Freshly minced lean beef, 1 onion diced, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Original English mustard, 1 teaspoon Lemon zest, 2 Fresh eggs
• Fill the courgette with the mix and drizzle with olive oil. 
  2 tablespoon Olive oil
• Cook in the oven at 390 F - 200°C for 40 minutes

Video

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Nutrition

Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 152mg | Sodium: 853mg | Potassium: 1512mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 970IU | Vitamin C: 73.3mg | Calcium: 131mg | Iron: 5.2mg

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