How to cook zucchini with minced meat in the oven

Throughout the summer, we see vegetable marrows on the shelves of vegetable shops. This cheap vegetable is undeservedly ignored by many due to ignorance and inability to cook properly. But zucchini is not only tasty, but also healthy! The plant is not local, but imported from Mexico, the local aborigines ate only its seeds. It is a close relative of pumpkins like zucchini and squash.

There are many varieties and varieties of zucchini, which differ in appearance and taste. In the article I will consider the usual varieties of light green color, familiar to every hostess and found everywhere.

Preparation for cooking

Zucchini, depending on size, is stuffed whole (very small) or cut into portioned pieces.

Vegetables are washed, ponytails are removed, cut into necessary pieces. Usually these are cylinders about 5 centimeters high (with matchboxes). Then seed core is removed, making room for minced meat. Thus prepared hollow cylinders are immersed in boiling salted water for blanching. Usually 2-5 minutes is enough to bring to a half-preparedness. After that, they are taken out of boiling water and cooled. Now the zucchini is ready for stuffing.

Stuffed zucchini is baked at home in the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees. The baking time depends on the size of the pieces and the amount of minced meat. Recommended cooking time - at least 20 minutes. If you like tender, soft vegetables, then you can hold them for about 40 minutes. If you like zucchini al dente, limit yourself to 20-30 minutes.

Calorie content

You can’t give a general figure, since a lot depends on the ratio of vegetables to minced meat. I’ll give an example table of calories and nutritional value of the products included in our dish.

☞ Nutritional and calorie table of stuffed zucchini

Product	Weight g	Proteins, g	Fats, g	Carbohydrates, g	Calories, kcal
Squash	1200	7	3,5	55	280
Chicken egg	50	6	5	0,35	75
Ground beef	250	45	50	0	650
Minced pork	250	45	60	0	660
White rice	50	3.5	0,4	40	170
Sour cream 10%	150	4,5	15	4,4	175
Hard cheese	220	55	65	1	800
Salt	10	0	0	0	0
TOTAL:	2180	166	200	100	2810
1 serving	250	20	24	12	330
100g	100	7,6	9,2	4,6	129

Classic zucchini stuffed with minced meat

This classic dish is both simple and tasty. The best is considered homemade minced meat from two types of meat - pork and beef. Fatty pork and dry beef complement each other perfectly. But mincemeat can be made from almost any meat. Fans of a specific taste of lamb can also fill it with vegetables. For those who count calories and monitor weight, minced chicken or turkey meat is perfect.

IngredientsServings: - + 10

zucchini 1200 g
minced meat 500 g
rice 50 g
hard cheese 220 g
2 eggs
sour cream (nonfat) 150 g
water 3 tbsp. l
vegetable oil 3 tbsp. l
salt 1 tsp
pepper, seasoning to taste

Calories and BJU per 100 gCalories: 129 kcalProteins: 7.6 gFats: 9.2 gCarbohydrates: 4.6 gSteps40 min. Video//youtu.be/dPj7U4C66nM

Rinse the rice, slightly boil.
Prepare zucchini.
Combine rice and minced meat, add eggs, salt, pepper, seasonings.
Dilute sour cream with water.
Lubricate the baking dish or the pan with oil (an ordinary sunflower is suitable).
Stuff the zucchini, top with sour cream mixed with water.
Bake at 200 ° C for about half an hour until cooked.
2-3 minutes before removing from the oven, sprinkle with grated hard cheese on top.

To make the dish more juicy, you can cover it when baking with foil.

Zucchini squash with minced meat

If your family eats omelette with pleasure, then the recipe for stuffed zucchini in an omelette will not leave them indifferent.

Ingredients:

zucchini - 1200 g;
minced meat - 500 g;
rice (groats) - 50 g;
chicken eggs - 6 pcs.;
milk - 0.5 l;
vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l .;
salt - a teaspoon with a mountain;
pepper, seasonings - to taste.

Cooking:

Rinse, boil until cooked.
Mix rice and minced meat, add eggs, salt, pepper and seasonings.
Stuff the prepared zucchini with minced meat, put in a pre-oiled pan or baking sheet.
Cook the omelette by mixing eggs and milk.
Pour the omelette vegetables and send to the oven.
Bake at 200 ° C for about half an hour.

ON A NOTE! You can put tomatoes or bell peppers on top before baking, and sprinkle with grated cheese at the end.

Zucchini boats

The recipe is almost no different from regular stuffed zucchini. The only difference is in the form. Young and small vegetables are suitable for the dish, then it will be not only convenient to eat, but it will also look attractive.

We cut small zucchini along, cut the tail and the “buttocks”, remove the core with seeds. Young vegetables can not be blanched. Then we stuff, put in the form and send to the oven for half an hour at 200 ° C. 2-3 minutes before cooking, sprinkle with grated cheese. The boats are ready!

Zucchini casserole with minced meat

Ingredients:

zucchini - 1200 g;
minced meat - 500 g;
chicken eggs - 3 pcs.;
milk - 0.5 l;
low-fat sour cream - 150 g;
tomatoes - 6 pcs.;
onions - 3 pcs.;
hard cheese - 150 g;
vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l .;
salt - a teaspoon with a mountain;
pepper, seasonings - to taste.

Cooking:

Zucchini grate (coarsely) and squeeze from the juice. If they are old - first remove the seeds and cut off the peel.
Cut onion into small cubes, add to the minced meat, add salt, pepper, spices. Fry it all over medium heat in a pan.
Cut the tomatoes into circles.
Combine eggs and sour cream, beat, salt.
Spread the form with butter, put half of the squash squeezed out of the juice, forcemeat on them, then the remaining vegetables, on top of a tomato. Pour all the beaten eggs with sour cream, send to the oven.
Bake at 200 ° C for 30-40 minutes. 5 minutes before cooking, sprinkle with grated hard cheese.

Such a casserole is an excellent choice for every day and on a festive table.

Lean zucchini with mushroom stuffing

For vegetarians and those who are on a diet or fasting, there is an excellent recipe. Instead of meat, mushrooms are used, so the dish is healthy and dietary. In old cookbooks, this recipe is called zucchini in Russian.

Ingredients:

zucchini - 1200 g;
mushrooms - 500 g;
rice (groats) - half a glass;
tomato - 1 pc.;
carrots - 1 pc.;
onions - 2 pcs.;
greens - to taste;
vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l .;
salt - 1 teaspoon with a mountain;
pepper, seasonings - to taste.

Cooking:

Grind the mushrooms. If they are forest, boil for at least half an hour.
Boil rice until half cooked.
Finely chop the onion, chop the carrots into thin slices or grate on a coarse grater, combine with mushrooms and fry. Add pepper and salt.
Mix rice and fried mushroom mass.
We grease the form with oil, put the prepared zucchini there, and stuff with minced meat. Put a circle of tomatoes on top.
Bake in the oven at 200 ° C for 30-40 minutes.
Before serving, decorate with greens.

ON A NOTE! You can use regular or soy cheese to sprinkle on top. Also, if desired, you can add 1-2 chicken eggs to the minced meat.Video recipe

The benefits and harms of zucchini

Zucchini, like all vegetables, is useful in reasonable quantities.

Structure:

Thiamine (Vitamin B₁) Strengthens the immune system, improves the digestive system, helps in the work of the brain, cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems.
Riboflavin (Vitamin B₂) Helps break down nutrients. It is a coenzyme of many biological processes. Regulates growth and reproductive function. Especially useful for children and pregnant women.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Vitamin that our body constantly needs. Ascorbic acid acts as a reducing agent and coenzyme in biological processes, an antioxidant. Helps the body resist negative environmental factors.
Folic Acid (Vitamin B₉) An indispensable element for the circulatory and immune systems.
Apple acid. Improves appetite, participates in the Krebs cycle, normalizes cell metabolism.
Niacin (Vitamin B₃ or PP). Participates in many redox reactions in the body, in metabolic reactions in fat cells. Normalizes the work of the stomach.
Trace elements: Ca, P, Mg, Zn, Na, K, Fe, Mn, Se, Cu.

Limit the use of zucchini advised people with impaired renal function, as well as those who have stomach problems.

Useful Tips

As in any business, the preparation of stuffed zucchini has its own nuances. By taking these small rules into account, culinary skills can be greatly improved.

How to choose zucchini

This is one of the few types of fruits that are best consumed unripe. Choose small, no more than 200 grams of vegetables, up to 20 centimeters long. The skin should be smooth and intact. Any damage leads to quick damage. It is advisable to use fresh vegetables, but if purchased for the future, store the vegetables unwashed in a bag on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Which stuffing to choose

This is a matter of taste; advising something is not entirely correct. But there are universal tips. Cook the minced meat yourself from the meat you are sure of. Even in high-end supermarkets, water is often added to it for weight, and some unscrupulous manufacturers put up meat wastes and obviously poor-quality raw materials. Stuffing can be done in several ways: finely chopped with a knife manually, using a blender or meat grinder. For juiciness, add onions and carrots, and for flavor - garlic and spices. The less fat, the more vegetables you need to add.