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    Home » Recipes

    Baked Stuffed Zucchini Squash

    Published: Mar 19, 2019 · Modified: Jul 12, 2020 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments

    • 60
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    Stuffed Zucchini or Kunguj te Mbushur is a favorite spring/summer dish in Albania. We love stuffed vegetables like most other Mediterranean countries. Stuffed Zucchini recipes like Stuffed Peppers usually contain minced or ground beef, tomatoes, rice, parsley or other cooking greens, spices etc. I decided to alternate zucchini & yellow squash and make this a Stuffed Zucchini Squash recipe.

    Baked casserole with stuffed zucchini, stuffed yellow squash and stuffed tomatoes.
    Baked Stuffed Zucchini Squash

    Some links in my posts may be affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you purchase items by clicking on these links. I will always disclose when a product in a post has been gifted by a company as well as when a post or product is sponsored.

    Stuffed Vegetables in Mediterranean Culture

    By now, you have realized that Albanian food as well as Mediterranean cuisine is composed in part of a lot of stuffed dishes: stuffed peppers, stuffed zucchini, stuffed eggplants, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage etc. We even stuff tomatoes.

    Vegetables are a staple of Mediterranean food. We don’t eliminate other food groups, but rely heavily on vegetables for our meals. To make them more filling, we do add protein, rice etc but the base is the vegetable. It is typical to make a lot of casseroles with seasonal vegetables.

    Preparing Zucchini & Yellow Squash

    There are 2 tips that my mom has taught me about this dish.

    1. Cut zucchini & squash in half. Keep the bottom half for the casserole but store the top part for another dish (zucchini tots, chips etc). The top part of zucchini and squash tends to be quite thin so it’s difficult to carve out and stuff.
    2. When carving both the zucchini and squash halves out, use a knife and remove the middle part in a conic shape as demonstrated in the picture below.
    Carved out zucchini
    Zucchini Cones Carved Out From Zucchin Halves

    Stuffed Zucchini Squash Recipe

    Even as I was writing this recipe out, my friends asked me for a vegetarian stuffed zucchini recipe. So I promise to come up with one in a few weeks. However, if you like this stuffed zucchini squash casserole but you would like to make it vegetarian, try by not including the meat and adding a little more fresh chopped tomatoes, parsley, rice and an extra spoon of olive oil.

    Picture shows most of the ingredients used for the Mediterranean baked stuffed zucchini casserole. You can see zuchinis, squash, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, spices, rice, oil, and ground beef.
    Ingredients for Stuffed Zucchini Squash Dish

    Recipe Notes:

    • This recipe is made with ground beef. You can use minced beef instead.
    • My recipe has 5 zucchini and 5 squash but remember that I don’t use all of it, I leave the upper half for other recipes. So take notes to adjust accordingly if you use ingredient list to calculate calories. I use the upper half of the zucchinis for this chilled zucchini soup
    • I prefer using fresh tomatoes on the stuffing for this casserole. However, that is not always feasible as tomatoes can get expensive. So if you can get them for cheap, I would use about 2-3 medium size soft tomatoes to add to stuffing. If not, a can of about 14 ozs of tomato sauce would work.
    • This is a perfect casserole for meal planning. You can use the upper halves of zuchini and squash for other recipes. Then this casserole itself gives about 2 dinners for my family of 4 (I have 2 young children so their portion sizes are smaller).

    How to Serve Baked Stuffed Zuchinis?

    Back in Albania, we served stuffed zucchinis with a salad (usually sallate fshati) and some fresh, warm bread.

    Mediterranean Casserole with stuffed zucchini, stuffed yellow squash and stuffed tomatoes

    Baked Stuffed Zucchini Squash

    Sonila
    This Stuffed Zucchini Squash recipe is based on the Albanian recipe for Kunguj te Mbushur. This casserole is the perfect dish for meal planning and family dinners.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 35 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 35 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mediterranean
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 450 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 5 zucchini
    • 5 yellow squash
    • 2 beefsteak tomatoes
    • 1 big white onion
    • 1.25 lbs ground beef
    • 4 garlic cloves (medium size)
    • 1 bunch parsley
    • 2-3 soft tomatoes or 1 can tomato sauce 14 oz
    • 3 tbsps olive oil
    • 1.5 tsp salt adjust to taste
    • 0.5 tsp black pepper
    • 0.5 cups rice
    • 0.5 tsp paprika

    Instructions
     

    • Saute chopped onion and minced garlic in olive oil until onion becomes translucent.
      Saute Onion & Garlic in Olive Oil
    • Add ground beef, stir occasionally until beef is browned.
    • As you brown the beef (keep heat medium), set up an area right next to the stove so you can continue mixing occasionally. Start carving out the zucchinis and squash to empty them in the middle. Do the same to beef steak tomatoes. 
      Carved beefsteak tomato
    • Chop the internal part of the carved beefsteak tomatoes, zucchinis and squash and add them to the ground beef mix. 
      Adding chopped zucchini, squash, and tomatoes
    • Blend the rest of tomatoes in a small food processor. Add tomatoes to mix, cook for few minutes. If you don't have fresh, soft tomatoes for this step add 14 ozs of tomato sauce to stuffing (usually 1 can).
      Adding tomatoes to stuffing
    • Add parsley to the mix, stir well. Add also salt and pepper at this point. 
      Adding chopped parsley
    • Add half cup rice to the stuffing. Mix well and cook for about 10 minutes in low heat. Then turn off and let cool for a little bit.
      Adding rice to stuffing
    • Up to this point it took me about 35-40 minutes. 
    • Once stuffing is cooled enough, then start  stuffing zucchinis, squash and beefsteak tomatoes with it. Pour leftover stuffing around the spaces between vegetables. 
      Stuffed zucchini squash ready to bake
    • Add a cup of hot water on the stuffing pot, swirl it around to grab all the bits and pieces, then pour that in the casserole tray. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. 

    Video

    Notes

    • If you are new to this way of cooking, I would suggest to carve the zucchinis, squash and tomatoes before you start preparing the stuffing so you can fully focus on that step. If you’re an experienced cook, you can save some time by carving the vegetables as you prepare the stuffing – multitasking:).
    • Calories are estimated but they can vary on the vegetables sizes. 

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Baked Stuffed Zucchini Squash
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 450
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 450kcal
    Keyword Albanian Kunguj te Mbushur, Kunguj te mbushur, Mediterranean Stuffed zucchini, Stuffed tomatoes, Stuffed Yellow Squash, Stuffed Zucchini
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!

    If you like to save this recipe for later, please pin the below image to Pinterest. I would love to hear from you if you cooked this dish or if you have any questions:). Thank you!!

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Twitter: MediterrLatin or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    A Baked casseroles with stuffed vegetables like zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes. The image is prepared for Pinterest showing the title under the picture so readers can pin it.
    Baked Stuffed Zucchini Squash

    Other Mediterranean Casseroles:

    Check out more baked Mediterranean dishes from my blog:

    • Mediterranean Leek Casserole
    • Baked Okra Casserole
    • Baked Chicken & Rice

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    Filed Under: Albanian, Main Dishes, Mediterranean Food, Recipes Tagged With: Casserole

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sofía

      July 06, 2020 at 2:23 pm

      5 stars
      Que buenas estas Mediterranean Stuffed Zuchinni siempre he preparado berenjenas, calabacín relleno, pero nunca calabazas, seguro que las haré

      Reply
      • admin

        July 06, 2020 at 2:25 pm

        Muchas gracias Sofia, espero te gusten:)).

        Reply
    2. Misskren

      July 06, 2020 at 2:05 pm

      5 stars
      Oh my !! This looks so yummy! I always looking for zucchini recipes! And this is perfect! I can’t wait to try it! Yummy

      Reply
    3. Holly Bird

      May 30, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonight!! It was so delicious!! Thank you for another inspiring recipe !!

      Reply
      • admin

        May 31, 2019 at 10:43 pm

        Aww thank you Holly:)). I love that you tried it out.

        Reply
    4. Tori Curtis

      April 01, 2019 at 3:33 pm

      5 stars
      Decilious I could not have expressed it better. Was certainly worth the try.

      Reply
      • Lizet

        July 06, 2020 at 1:48 pm

        5 stars
        So yummy. I made it last week and I’m making it again next week to serve to our friends.
        Although my boys are not big fans of zucchini or squash, they thought it was pretty delicious.

        Reply
        • Sonila

          July 06, 2020 at 2:01 pm

          Aww thank you so much Lizet, I’m happy your family liked it!!

          Reply
    5. Gina

      April 01, 2019 at 3:01 pm

      Adding this to the grocery list. Can’t wait to try it!!!yum

      Reply
    6. Krissy Cross

      April 01, 2019 at 1:40 pm

      This sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I pinned this recipe and am always looking for new, healthy meals to make.

      Reply
    7. Monidipa Dutta

      April 01, 2019 at 1:28 pm

      5 stars
      So yummy! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! I like it already..!!

      Reply
      • admin

        April 01, 2019 at 1:32 pm

        Thank you Moni!!!

        Reply
        • GABY

          July 06, 2020 at 2:04 pm

          5 stars
          The Zucchini looks so good! Love Mediterranean food 😄🙌🏻 Thanks for the recipe.

          Reply
    8. Corina Blum

      April 01, 2019 at 5:19 am

      5 stars
      This sounds absolutely delicious! I’d love to try it out soon.

      Reply
      • admin

        April 01, 2019 at 6:53 am

        Thank you so much Corina! I hope you enjoy it:))

        Reply

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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