Easy Sheet Pan Smoked Italian Sausage Ricotta Zucchini Boats

Looking for a mouthwatering and crave-worthy meal that is both gluten-free and keto-friendly without sacrificing flavor? Get ready to indulge in a dish that’s bursting with cheesy Italian flavors, easy to make, and delicious!

Watch The Video

Please make sure to watch the video on how I not only slice the zucchini but shave some off to get them to lie flat, how I add the filling, and then how they cook up in the smoker!

And please, leave a comment below!

My Latest Food Obsession

Let’s be honest here…zucchini as-is is pretty bland. It’s one of those veggies that needs something added to it to bring out the natural flavor. Oh sure, we fry it, roast it, shave it, grate it, and so forth but I’m all about stuffing it right now.

I’ve been making zucchini boats for years but nothing prepared me for the unbelievable flavor profile it took one when it was smoked. #GAMECHANGER

My Yoder Smokers Pizza Oven is for so much more than pizza!

Heat Your Yoder Smokers YS640 with Pizza Oven

I swear I need a 2nd YS640 just so I can keep the pizza oven in the one at all times and use the other as my smoker. I’m SO SPOILED with that pizza oven!

1. Turn on the smoker and set the temperature to 375F. While the smoker is heating up, go prepare the dish for the smoker1

Grab Your Ingredients

Most of these items are fridge/pantry staples. If not, most grocery stores have it in stock.

• Zucchini – I like the medium size that hasn’t yet developed big seeds
• Cheese – Ricotta, Freshly shredded mozzarella, freshly grated parmesan
• Marinara
• Italian Sausage – cooked and crumbled
• Chupacabra Italian Seasoning – seriously this stuff is EXCEPTIONAL

Make The Ricotta Filling

1. In a bowl mix together the ricotta, parmesan, half of the mozzarella, and the Chupacabra Italian Seasoning. It should be thick and scoopable. Set it aside.

Hollow Out The Zucchini

I’ve tried spoons and scoopers, I found using a mini cookie scoop is the best tool for the job.

1. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. If they do not lie flat, slice a thin sliver off of the underside to allow it to sit flat. Watch the video for details!
2. Once hollowed out, save the scooped-out flesh for another meal or even toss it into a smoothie.

3. To fill, add a mini cookie scoop full of the cheese filling to the boat leaving about a 1″ space in between. For the size of my zucchini, I was able to get 3 scoops.
4. Next, add the cooked crumbled Italian sausage in between the cheese scoops.

Top and Bake!

I debated on whether to use pizza sauce or marinara sauce and honestly either worked. Actually, even Alfredo and Garlic sauce works in this recipe too!

1. Spoon over your marinara over top then add the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
2. Pop these into the smoker to bake for 20-23 minutes or until the desired doneness of the zucchini.

For me, I liked 20 minutes as I like my zucchini with a little firmness to it.

Chef’s Tip About Large Zucchini

I’ve made this with the large zucchini and found a few things.

1. The toppings and fillings will burn before the large zucchini gets soft enough SO before you fill the large zucchini, pop the hollowed-out halves into the microwave for about 30-60 seconds to pre-soften them slightly.
2. Let them cool then fill and smoke accordingly.
3. Alternatively, you can pop the hollowed-out zucchini halves into boiling water for about a minute or 2 to soften as well. Drain, dry, and cool completely before stuffing and smoking.

The PERFECT Meal

This is one of those “See Mom! I do eat my vegetables!” dishes. Like literally this entire tray I ate in 2 days! I had it for dinner the first night then I had it for both lunch AND dinner the next day. It’s SO SO GOOD!

Full disclosure is that Mr. Fantabulous wouldn’t try these as he despises zucchini even though he loves my chocolate zucchini muffins (I just omit telling him the zucchini part in the name LOL). But I was not mad at all about him not trying these as I honestly didn’t want to share!

Perfect For Gluten-Free and Keto-Friendly Lifestyles

I’ve seen folks add breadcrumbs to these but honestly, it’s not needed. This is one of those dishes where simplicity is best. Let the ingredients themselves shine.

This is also perfect for meal prep! I made a 2nd batch of these and portioned them out into individual lunch containers for the week. Just a simple reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds and they are perfect!

Recipe Substitutions & Additions

I so love this part of my posts. Seriously it’s my favorite.

• Zucchini – Squash works really well. Eggplant will work BUT you’ll need to pre-soften it first as it can take longer to soften in the smoker/oven
• Sausage – ground turkey, chicken, beef, chorizo works well in this recipe. If you want vegetarian you can omit the meat
• Veggies – if you want to go vegetarian, I would substitute cooked portabello mushrooms (chopped) that were seasoned in the Chupacabra Italian Seasoning in lieu of the sausage
• Cheese – I’ve not tried it with tofu or vegan cheese but I would think it would work. And for those that hate ricotta but love cottage cheese, yes that’ll work too in this
• Meatballs – swap in cooked mini meatballs in lieu of the sausage
• Vegan – Use vegan ricotta and mozzarella for the cheese. Natural Yeast for the parmesan and plant-based sausage for the Italian sausage

Oven and Other Grill Cooking Instructions

I get it, we all don’t have a Yoder Smoker or even a grill. No worries, I have you covered!

Grill Instructions

1. Set up your grill for indirect cooking. The temp will still be 375F. Place the tray of prepared zucchini boats on the indirect side and cook until the cheese is melted and the zucchini is tender.

Home Oven Instructions

1. For home ovens, I found that 400F is the perfect temp to bake these at versus 375 on the smoker.
2. It’ll be the same principle as you’ll stuff and bake per usual only you’ll adjust the temperature. Now for this, you won’t get that extra smoky flavor which honestly took these to the next level.

Now if you REALLY wanted that smoky flavor you could use a home smoking gun. You would just add your chips, place the pan with some plastic wrap over top, and insert the smoking gun tube to add some smoke to it for a few seconds.

Air Fryer Instructions

1. Preheat the air fryer to 380F. Fill the zucchini as written and place it in a lightly sprayed hot air fryer basket.
2. Air fry for 8-10 minutes or until the zucchini is fork tender and the filling is hot and bubbly. Check your zucchini after 5 minutes as that’ll help you gauge how much longer you want to cook it/desired texture.

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