These low-carb and keto enchilada zucchini boats are stuffed with Mexican-spiced chicken and topped with melted cheese, while the zucchini boats are baked until perfectly tender!
With just a few store-bought ingredients — like rotisserie chicken, low-carb salsa and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce — these low-carb and keto chicken enchilada zucchini boats are such an easy dinner to prepare for busy weeknights.
Not only that, these stuffed zucchini boats burst with Mexican goodness and are a healthy and nutritious dinner option. We love how the zucchini turns beautifully tender, the chicken is well spiced (thanks to the salsa and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce), and there is melted, gooey cheese on top. It's such a delicious and healthy way to enjoy chicken enchiladas.
These chicken enchilada zucchini boats take about 35 minutes to make. Each serving is just 5 net carbs.
Why This Dinner Is So Easy To Make
This is a simple and easy keto zucchini boat recipe since it:
- Uses limited ingredients. Since several of the ingredients act as flavor bombs, there is no need to add additional spices of ingredients to flavor the dish.
- Eliminates the need to cook the ingredients that go into the boats. This recipe calls for store-bought rotisserie chicken which you simply shred and mix with salsa and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
- Uses just one pan. Yes, it's a sheet pan dinner in which all the ingredients are cooked on one pan. Therefore, minimal clean-up!
Ingredients
A few notes on key ingredients:
- Zucchinis: you'll want to buy medium-size zucchini or squash.
- Store-bought rotisserie chicken: To make this recipe fast and easy, we use store-bought rotisserie chicken that we shred. You just need a cup and a half, so that could even be leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Salsa: We use store-bought salsa (Tostitos) that's made with simple ingredients and no sugar.
- Chipotles in adobo sauce: Chipotle peppers give the chicken mixture a ton of spicy, smoky flavor. A key ingredient!
- Mexican cheese: We use shredded Mexican cheese but you can use any cheese you like!
Expert Tips
Zucchini boats are pretty simple to make. The trickiest part is making sure you achieve the desired tenderness of the zucchinis. We prefer the zucchinis to turn out nice and tender. However, some people prefer more tender-crisp zucchinis when done. Here are some tips to help you achieve the right tenderness:
- After you rinse the zucchinis, trim off the ends and cut each zucchini in half lengthwise.
- To carve out the middle flesh, simply use a spoon and start scrapping down the middle and then out to the sides. You can save the insides of the zucchini for another dish, but we do not include them in this dish in order to reduce carbs and create more room for the chicken enchilada stuffing.
- When scrapping, be careful not to scape too hard or else the zucchini might break (been there, done that!).
- For more tender zucchini boats, scrape out the interior until rims are about ¼ inch or less.
- For more crisp zucchinis, scrape out interior until rims are a little wider than ¼ inch.
- Spread about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil on all sides of the zucchini boats and lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Immediately pop the unstuffed zucchini boats in the oven for 10 minutes, so they can begin roasting while you prepare the chicken mixture.
- After 10 minutes, remove the unstuffed zucchini boats from the oven and fill the boats with the chicken mixture. Then, spread ½ cup of shredded cheese across the boats and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
How To Make
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse the zucchinis, trim off the ends, and cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scrape out the inside flesh on each, so edges/rims of zucchini boats are about ¼-inch thick. (Thinner rims will turn out more tender after roasting. If your prefer more crisp zucchinis, then keep the rims slightly thicker.)
STEP 2: Spread olive oil over zucchini boats and season with salt and pepper. Place on prepared baking sheet and roast, unstuffed, for 10 minutes.
STEP 3: In a bowl, mix 1 ½ cups of shredded rotisserie chicken with salsa and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
STEP 4: After 10 minutes, remove the unstuffed zucchini boats from the oven and fill the boats with the chicken mixture. Spread ½ cup of shredded cheese across the boats and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Related Recipes
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag @lowcarbsimplified on your photo of this recipe on Instagram or Facebook. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Recipe
Easiest Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cups store-bought rotisserie chicken shredded
- ½ cup Tostitos Medium Chunky Salsa
- ½ tablespoon diced chipotles in adobo sauce
- ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Get started: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare the zucchinis: Rinse the zucchinis, trim off the ends, and cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scrape out the inside flesh on each, so edges/rims of zucchini boats are about ¼-inch thick. (Thinner rims will turn out more tender after roasting. If your prefer more crisp zucchinis, then keep the rims slightly thicker.) Spread olive oil over zucchini boats and season with salt and pepper. Place on prepared baking sheet and roast, unstuffed, for 10 minutes.
- Finish the boats and bake: In a bowl, mix 1 ½ cups of shredded rotisserie chicken with salsa and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. After 10 minutes, remove the unstuffed zucchini boats from the oven and fill the boats with the chicken mixture. Spread ½ cup of shredded cheese across the boats and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
What do you do with the zucchini that is taken out of the boats?
You can either discard or use it as part of the stuffing for stuffed peppers (mini or bell peppers) or mushrooms. You could also saute it with some onions and garlic and include in a marinara sauce. You can get pretty creative with it. Could even combine into zucchini bread, soups or dips.