We’re almost at the end of summer! Can you believe it? Seeing how dreary and wet it’s been in my town recently, it doesn’t feel like summer was here at all this year! And it’s such a shame, because eating fruit outside in the sun with a good book is up there for me in terms of self care in the summer!
I like to eat seasonally as much as possible – the only thing I eat all year round are potatoes, simply because I just cannot live without them. I absolutely love summer fruit and veg: courgettes, tomatoes, berries, melons… But my favourites are by far, courgettes. They’re so versatile, you can do so much with them: a classic ratatouille, courgette tarts with cheese, pasta gratin, fries, fritters… and of course courgetti spaghetti! But my favourite way of cooking them is stuffing them with some vegan mince. It’s honestly so good!
I love eating stuffed tomatoes as well – basically the same recipe, but with tomatoes instead of courgettes. So delicious!
Before we begin…
In this recipe, I chose to use vegan frozen mince, but you can also use a home-made vegetable mince with mushrooms, carrots, spring onion… There is also the option to buy soya protein chunks, which what I would have done if I’d had some on hand the day I made this! It’s just as simple to cook, and really tasty too.
This recipe is also a good no-waste option if you have any courgettes lying around that you don’t know what to do with! For this recipe, the more mature the courgette, the better, as you’re going to need to scoop the flesh out, and it’s a bit more difficult if the courgette hasn’t had time to soften. We still cut the ends off and put them in the bin, but otherwise we use everything the courgette has to offer!
Lastly, don’t be surprised if you notice some water at the bottom of your oven dish when you take the courgettes out of the oven. Courgettes naturally have a very high water content, and when cooked the water gets released into the dish.This doesn’t make the courgettes soggy or anything like that! Just use a spatula with some holes in to let the water escape when you lift the stuffed courgettes onto your plate!
Without further ado, here’s my vegan stuffed courgettes recipe!
Vegan, No-Waste Stuffed Courgettes Recipe
A tasty courgette recipe, perfect for a family dinner!
Ingredients
- 6 courgettes
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 400g of vegan mince (fresh or frozen)
- 750ml of vegetable stock
- 75ml of plant-based cream (oat, soya...)
- 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, and any other herbs of choice (mixed green herbs, oregano, basil...)
Instructions
THE STUFFING
- In a deep pan, warm some olive oil over a medium heat, and fry a thinly diced onion for about five minutes, until translucent and soft.
- Add the two minced cloves of garlic to the pan and fry until fragrant.
- Add 400g of vegan mince to the pan, and cook according to the bag instructions.
- Once the mince is cooked, crumble one stock cube over the mince and add 750ml of water to the pan. Stir and bring to a simmer. Let this cook until all the water has been absorbed by the mince.
- Once the water has evaporated, stir in one tablespoon of dijon mustard, and 75ml of plant-based cream. Let the mince simmer for a further five minutes.
- Add salt, pepper and herbs to taste. Turn off the heat and set aside.
THE COURGETTES
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan).
- Wash the courgettes under some cold water, and dry them with a clean tea towel.
- Cut off the ends of the courgettes, and any marks on the skin.
- Cut the courgettes in half lengthways down the middle, so you're left with two equal sides of the courgette.
- Using a spoon, gut the half courgette of its seed and inside flesh, and set it aside. If your courgettes are quite hard to deseed and you end up with big chunks of flesh, just place them on a chopping board and chop them into smaller pieces.
- Add the inside flesh of the courgettes to the mince pan, stirring them in.
- Place the half courgettes onto an oven tray/dish, with the skin down and the gutted side up. You might need to use two trays for all 12 sides.
- Start stuffing the courgettes. Carefully place the mince inside the courgettes. The portions are quite generous, make sure to pat the mince down so you can get more of it in there! Drizzle some olive oil atop.
- Cook the courgettes for 45 minutes on the lower shelf of your oven, checking them regularly, until they are cooked through.
- Leave to cool for 15 minutes once out of the oven, and serve with some white rice!
Notes
You can add some vegan cheese before on top of the mince before putting them in the oven!
Let the courgettes cool completely before placing them in a sealed container in the fridge. They will keep for two days.
If you're using frozen mince, like I did, be careful not to freeze your leftovers.
If you decide to recreate this recipe, make sure to post a picture of it on instagram and tag me @earthlyemblog !
Em ♥
I like the no -waste element. Stuffed courgettes would be yummy and probably quench any hunger.
It’s definitely a very good dinner if you’re hungry! x
Oh this looks delicious! Definitely pinning this one to my Pinterest to try! 😀
Ellie xx | https://elliebowsandsparkles.blogspot.com
I hope you like them, let me know!! x
Ah, yes, zucchini is my kind of summer vegetable! I love squash too, grilled with parmesan. Your stuffed courgette recipe looks divine and I love that you use cream and mustard for a delicious dressing mix.
Thanks for sharing!
It is THE best summer veg! It’s super yummy, that’s for sure! x
This recipe really look’s good. I love how its vegan an no waste. That is awesome. I love getting recipes for dinner time.
I hope you like them if you decide to make them! x
It’s a super delicious post with delicious images that touched my heart. Loved the shared recipe too which is easy to do at any place. Thanks for it. Looking forward to more recipes.
It is! I’m glad you enjoyed x
I love courgettes, thank you for sharing this recipe! This looks very healthy, as well as a fantastic vegan recipe option x
It’s definitely super healthy indeed! I hope you like it if you decide to make it! x
These sound absolutely delicious, especially with all the garlic powder, onions and mustard added in too. They would be perfect to serve at a garden party and I can imagine the vegan mince is super flavourful too x
It’s definitely super yummy! Serving it at a garden party is a great idea, they definitely work on their own without any sides! x
Love this! I have only had stuffed peppers before, and they’re one of my favourite quick dinners, so I’ll have to add this to my list of recipes to try. They look delish too!
I have never had stuffed peppers! But it’s definitely super quick to make and easy to swap the vegetable you decide to stuff! x
Ooh these look so interesting and a great meal idea!!
I’m glad you liked the post 🙂 x
This sounds so good! I’m always looking for new vegan recipes. Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to give it a try.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Let me know if you like it! x
Great recipe! This sounds like something my dad would love, he loves courgettes so I might make these for the two of us! Thanks for sharing x
I hope you both enjoy them! Courgettes are also one of my favourite veg! x
These look so yummy Ems, and not only are they vegan, but they are also waste-free, which is something so important in the kitchen! We shall try them soon x
It really is, food waste is something I’m always trying to cut back on! I hope you enjoy them! x
This looks delicious! I’m totally gonna try this on my next meal prep day! Thank you for the recipe!
I hope you enjoy it! x