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    Home » Recipes » Grain and Bean Recipes

    Stuffed Zucchini With Turkish Couscous Salad

    Published: May 18, 2015 · Modified: Sep 20, 2021 by Andrea

    Jump to Recipe

    These cute stuffed zucchini with Turkish couscous salad are naturally vegan, dairy free and totally delicious!

    Round zucchini are shaped like adorable little balls, making them a great option for stuffing and roasting.

    Incredibly tasty when grilled or pan-fried in thick slices, they become a tasty treasure chest for your favorite ingredients when stuffed and baked.

     This colorful and refreshing recipe is packed with light and healthy ingredients and makes a great vegetarian meal.

    two couscous salad stuffed round zucchini.

    Although you can stuff the zucchini with tons of different ingredients, this Turkish-style couscous is one of my favorite ways.

    It's inspired by a traditional dish called Kisir, which is generally made with bulgar wheat drenched in oily tomato paste with onions, tomatoes and cucumbers and lot of mint, cilantro and lemon juice.

    I just replaced bulgur wheat with couscous and swapped cucumbers with the flesh scooped out from the zucchini.

    It's fresh, light and absolutely tasty, and it takes less than 10 mins to put together.

    I love to make extra couscous salad and just enjoy it by itself, it makes a great lunch box option on busy days and keeps well in the fridge for 1-2 days.

    HOW TO MAKE STUFFED ZUCCHINI

    To scoop the flesh out of the zucchini, you can use a melon baller, or simply a spoon.

    I love fact that nothing goes wasted, the rich zucchini flesh is a great addition to the couscous salad, and adds a nice slightly sweet flavor.

    round zucchini opened and flesh removed.

    Once you've got the zucchini ready to be filled, all you have to do is prepare the salad. 

    Mix cooked couscous with the tomatoes, red onion, zucchini flesh, fresh herbs and olive oil.

    This Turkish-style couscous salad makes a super tasty zucchini stuffing, delicate but with zingy refreshing flavors, low in calories and fats and loaded with healthy veggies.

    couscous salad in a bowl and round zucchini ready to be stuffed next to the bowl.

    Stuff each zucchini with the prepared salad, and bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes.

    one couscous salad stuffed round zucchini.

    As you can see, the recipe is pretty simple, and these cute balls of yumminess are ready just in 30 min!

    These stuffed zucchini with Turkish couscous are a perfect dish for spring. Quick and easy for a weekday meal, and great to prepare in advance and bring to parties and picnics!

    MORE SALAD RECIPES

    • Burrata Pasta Salad with Basil Oil
    • Tuscan Panzanella Salad with Parma Ham
    • Vegetarian Greek Barley Salad

    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

    Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment and/or a rating below, and share a picture and tag @thepetitecook on Instagram! Reading your feedback and looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*! 

    one couscous salad stuffed round zucchini.
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    5 from 1 vote

    Stuffed Zucchini With Turkish Couscous Salad

    Prevent your screen from going dark
    These cute stuffed zucchini with Turkish couscous salad are naturally vegan, dairy free and totally delicious!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Vegetarian
    Serving: 2
    Calories: 539kcal
    Author: Andrea Soranidis

    Ingredients

    • 2 roundy zucchini
    • Extravirgin olive oil

    For the turkish cous cous:

    • 6 oz couscous
    • 1 cup vegetable stock or water
    • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
    • 2 tablespoon red onion, chopped
    • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
    • 3 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
    • a handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
    • a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
    • salt and freshly cracked black pepper

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 170°C (fan 150°C) /325°F.
    • Wash and dry the zucchini, then cut in half through the stem and bottom end.
    • With a melon melon baller or spoon, scoop out the seeds and flesh from each half, leaving about a half-inch shell and reserving the flesh.
    • Bring water or stock to a boil. Pour the couscous in a bowl. Add the hot stock and stir using a fork.
    • Cover and rest for 6-8min, until the liquid is absorbed.
    • Once the couscous is cooked and tender, fluff it a little with a fork, breaking up any lumps.
    • In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a frying-pan over medium heat.
    • Add the tomato paste and stir for 2 min, then add the onion and stir all ingredients.
    • Take the pan off the heat , season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well with the cous cous.
    • Fold in all the remaining ingredients, then add the reserved zucchini flesh.
    • Fill each zucchini with the cous cous salad.
    • Place zucchini and their tops on an oven tray covered with parchment paper.
    • Brush with olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 min.
    • Serve hot from the oven or at room temperature.
    Did you try this recipe? Tag @thepetitecook or use the hashtag #thepetitecook - Looking at your pictures makes my day!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 539kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 144mg | Potassium: 496mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 609IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg

    The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    More Grain and Bean Recipes

    • Wild Mushroom Risotto
    • Asparagus Risotto
    • Ricotta Gnocchi - Ready in 20 minutes!
    • Pumpkin Risotto - Italian Recipe
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    Comments

    1. james powell says

      January 13, 2017 at 5:01 am

      I love it! Thanks for sharing

      Reply
    2. julianaloh @bilbaobab says

      May 26, 2015 at 4:46 am

      gorgeous!!! Thanks for the idea - needed something light and fresh for the summer. I think I might sprinkle some cheese over 🙂

      Reply
      • The Petite Cook says

        May 27, 2015 at 8:58 am

        Oh yum! Maybe you could try with feta or mozzarella 🙂 Also, you can try the same with recipes with tomatoes instead of round zucchini ( which sometimes are difficult to find). Let me know if you like it!

        Reply
    3. Raquel @ My California Roots says

      May 19, 2015 at 4:52 pm

      These are so darn cute! At what temp do you bake them? I'm not seeing it in the instructions. Thanks!

      Reply
      • The Petite Cook says

        May 19, 2015 at 6:23 pm

        Oh silly me! I forgot to add temps, so sorry! They're all in now, I bake the zucchini at 150C with a fan oven, for 20 min just until slightly soft. You don't really need to bake zucchini for long unless you like them very soft 🙂 Hope you try them!

        Reply

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    Andrea Soranidis, founder of The Petite Cook.


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