Sausage and corn stuffed zucchini is one of those recipes I make only once or twice a year when the zucchini are in season and I’m not tired of them yet. Because we all know how fast that can happen when the zukes are arriving daily.
But I love this recipe because it removes the part of the vegetable that is my least favorite- the smushy inside -and leaves only the firm outside. Well, and plus the fact that it’s got sausage, corn, and cheese. Oh yeah.
Start with four small-to-medium size zucchinis. I cannot emphasize this enough: don’t let the zucchini get to the baseball-sized stage and then think they are good for anything but grating (and even then don’t grate the center with all the huge seeds). If you regularly pick the fruit at this stage- roughly the length of your hand- then you should not be swimming in zucchini, and it will be firm for kabobs, and grilling, and sauteing.
That’s not to say that there will never be one that “gets away from you” but they will be a lot fewer and then those can be grated – and used for scrumptious White Zucchini Cake, for instance.
Prep zucchini by trimming the ends and cut the zucchini in half, lengthwise. Put face down in a shallow pan to steam-cook – do not overcook or they will not be firm for filling. Cool for a few minutes and then scoop out the center evenly. I use a melon baller for this- it works like a charm. Don’t ask me why I have a melon baller. I don’t even like melons and neither do most of my family. But it sure comes in handy sometimes.
What do I do with the insides? If you’ve read here for awhile, I know you will be shocked to learn I happily throw them in the compost. I think I mentioned this is not my favorite part of the vegetable?
While the zucchini steams, cook a pound of Italian sausage (I used hot which gives it a nice spiciness) until browned. Add onion and cook another few minutes before adding cream cheese and corn, mixing well. Remove the pan from heat and gently stir in a chopped tomato and some Parmesan cheese. Really any cheese can be used here, I just like the flavor of Parmesan in this. Place the zucchini in an oiled baking pan, fill each with the sausage mixture and grate a bit more cheese over the top. Bake in a for about 20 minutes and serve!
Sausage and Corn Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients
- 4 small to medium zucchini ends trimmed
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup cream cheese 3 ounces
- 1 ½ cups corn kernels
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 cup grated Parmesan divided
Instructions
- Fill a large, shallow pan 1/4 full with water and a bit of salt; bring to a boil. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise and place face down in the water. Cover and cook 4 to 5 minutes only- until crisp-tender. Remove from pan and let cool.
- Meanwhile, cook sausage in a skillet until browned. Add onion, cook until opaque and then add cream cheese and corn, stirring until cheese is melted.
- Remove pan from heat and gently stir in tomato and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Scoop out the center of each zucchini half and fill with the sausage mixture. Place the filled zucchini in an oiled baking pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining grated Parmesan over the filled zucchini. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition
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Barbara Army says
November 9 at 5:34 amA list of ingredients and amounts would be helpful here. Thanks
Jami says
November 11 at 10:36 amSorry, Barbara! I’m having issues on the site with my older recipes no showing on some of the pages. We’re working on it – be assured that all the recipes on the site should have ingredients and directions! Hopefully this will all be fixed soon. 🙂
Lila says
August 3 at 6:46 pmThis was amazing! I did use a huge “got away” zuchini from my Mom’s garden but it was delicious anyway! Added fresh herbs and garlic as they were handy and it served three happy campers (mom and bf) with 1/4 boat left which was a midnight snack shared with my guy.
Jami says
August 4 at 12:17 pmSo glad you liked this, Lila – it’s always a surprise to me how good it is, too. 🙂
Wendi says
August 26 at 5:17 pmHad this for dinner tonight, and as usual for your recipes, everyone loved it!
Michele says
August 8 at 6:51 pmSo, last night I made the zucchini fritters and tonight this was the main dish for dinner….absolutely delicious! We used our first two ears of corn and some of our first cherry tomatoes for this recipe! We started getting zucchini and yellow straight squash about a month ago here in Klamath Falls…the first rows of corn are ready and the pattypan squash is just starting to be large enough to eat! All the other tomatoes are still green but thank goodness for Sweet Million! We are just getting our cranberry beans, too. The chard is just taking off…our weather is a little behind yours 🙂 Thanks, Jami!
Jami says
August 11 at 6:51 pmI planted late, Michele, but am finally getting an abundance of zucchini which I look forward to just to make these recipes and baked goods. I’m not one to run away from plentiful zucchini!
Fruitful Harvest says
October 6 at 4:50 pmLooks yummo~
I will have to try this one!
Thanks for sharing…
I am having a meme on Mondays
called “Celebrating The Harvest” for sharing recipes folk use to use up their garden veggies.
If you’d like to link up? You have great recipes!
Peace and Love,
Georgian
healy says
September 14 at 2:45 amthis recipe is so up my alley! Hhhmmmm….. Very very delicious…. I’ll give it a try….. Thank you for this wonderful website……
Heather's Blog-o-rama says
September 9 at 1:34 amThis looks really tasty…and I LOVE zucchini.!!!! Thanks for thep printable-formate recipe, too!!! That’ll come in handy. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather 🙂
[email protected] says
September 8 at 6:14 pmYummy… I have some good sized patty pans that I think would work with this. Thanks!
Jenelle says
September 8 at 6:05 pmYou know I think I could probably get my kids to eat zucchini if I served it this way. It looks delicious!
Leila says
September 8 at 3:43 pmVery nice!
I think that combo for a filling sounds yummy.
This is like an Arabic staple, “koosa”, which uses ground lamb and rice. But it’s all good!