This chicken spinach alfredo zucchini boat recipe was delicious. They could be very easily adapted for those on keto or other low carb diets. With shredded chicken, a fuck ton of garlic, spinach, and alfredo sauce, the filling is so yummy! It was so good that we made an over abundance and ate it by itself. (Don’t judge me!)
Today when I made this, I only used three zucchini for the zucchini boats. However, with the amount of chicken and spinach filling this made, I would highly recommend using four. That is unless you’re like me and just want to eat the leftover filling. You do you! I also highly recommend having an extra large saute pan such as this 5 qt Cuisinart one I’m using..
For the sauce, I thought that the Prego Roasted Garlic and Parmesan alfredo was tasty, but I bet this would be 1000x better with a homemade sauce. So, if you have a favorite recipe for a garlicky alfredo sauce, feel free to let me know in the comments below!
I also used my Ninja Foodi to cook the chicken in this recipe, but you can 100% pan fry it, roast the chicken in the oven, use leftover rotisserie chicken, etc. and then shred it. A pressure cooker is NOT required! If you do want one to make things easier, I will always recommend the 8qt Ninja Foodi Deluxe. You could also try the Instant Pot Duo Crisp which is similar but at a lower price point.
Would you just look at that beautiful crumb topping and broiled cheese? YUM.
Recipe
Chicken Spinach Alfredo Zucchini Boats
Equipment
- Ninja Foodi
- Baking Sheet
- Saute Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 small to medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 large zucchini
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter, divided
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 oz chopped frozen spinach, unthawed
- 1 14 oz jar of alfredo sauce
- 1/2 c parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 c ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp rustic style shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 c Italian style panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
Pressure Cooker Instructions (You can also pan fry or roast chicken)
- Add water to the bottom of your Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot. Place chicken on wire rack above the water and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1 tsp Italian seasoning.
- Turn pressure cooker setting onto high for 10 minutes. Allow chicken to naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure. Remove chicken to a bowl or cutting board and shred. Set aside.
Zucchini Instructions
- While chicken cooks, preheat oven to 400°F. Trim the ends off the zucchini and cut them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to carefully scrape out all of the seeds in the center, forming a boat for the filling.
- Drizzle zucchini with olive oil, rubbing it both on the skin and cut sides. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 minutes while chicken is also cooking. Set aside until filling is made.
- While zucchini and chicken cook, place 1 tbsp of butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add diced onion and garlic to the pan, sauteing 4-5 minutes or until just barely softened. Add frozen spinach, stirring to combine with onion and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until spinach is no longer frozen. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add alfredo sauce to the pan stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, ricotta, remaining Italian seasoning, and pepper stirring well until smooth. Stir in shredded chicken until filling is well mixed.
- In a small bowl, melt remaining butter. Once melted, add panko and 2 tbsp parmesan and stir until well mixed and panko is coated with butter.
- Fill the zucchini boats with the chicken mixture. Top each boat with mozzarella followed by the crumb topping. Bake for an additional 8 minutes, then switch the oven to broil and broil for 2 minutes, or until crumb topping and mozzarella is golden brown. Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
I hope you enjoy! Let me know how this recipe works for you. For ideas on how to modify this recipe for baby led weaning, click here! You can also check out my recipes page for more ideas or any of the recipes below. Thanks for reading!
Mushroom Swiss Burger Zucchini Boats
Blush Chicken Cauliflower Casserole
