This baked red potato casserole is the ideal side dish to bring to gatherings with a lot of family members, such as potlucks, picnics, and holidays.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 6 hrs 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 6 hrs 55 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini, trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 4 ripe tomatoes, cored
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- 1 teaspoon white sugar (Optional)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Scoop out flesh from the zucchini halves, leaving shells about 1/8 inch thick. (Zucchini flesh may be saved for another use.)
- Place tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, basil leaves, Italian herb seasoning, and sugar into a food processor and pulse until blended, about 1 minute. Set mixture aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sausage to skillet and cook, stirring often, until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato mixture and heat until simmering; stir in Parmesan cheese.
- Place hollowed-out zucchini shells into the bottom of a large slow cooker, trimming them to fit if necessary. Spoon the sausage mixture into the shells, cover the cooker, and cook on High until tender, about 6 hours. Remove cover and spread a layer of mozzarella cheese over each stuffed zucchini. Cover and cook on High until cheese has melted, about 10 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 654 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 67 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 28 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Sodium | 1658 mg |
| Sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 52 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I was looking for this recipe for a hot day and some farmers market zucchini- lucky me to find this! I hollowed the zucchini and stuffed it with cooked hot turkey italian sausage and pizza sauce. I layered them in the slow cooker, added a little water, cooked for two hours on low, then was able to place them side by side in the cooker for another two hours. I switched to high and added grated mozzarella for a hour. To serve, added sliced ripe olives and chopped green onions. Delish and so simple. Having the rest tonight…:) Thanks for the recipe!
The only thing we did differently was that we cooked it in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes, topped with mozzarella cheese then baked for an additional 5 minutes.
Per other recommendations, I added some of the sauce to the bottom of the crock pot and cooked on low for 5 hours. It came out perfectly. My husband and I loved it so much, we fixed it for out-of-town guests and they have now requested the recipe.
This was very good, everyone in my family loved it. I doubled the sausage amount and had to use two crockpots. Also, I had yellow squash so I used that instead, and I put the crockpots on low.
Cooked on high for4 hours, then low for another 2. This was an amazing dish and a great way to use big fat zuchini.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Zucchini Haiku: “The timing’s way off! Would’ve been a 5-star meal, but most of it charred.” So I followed this recipe exactly, but was skittish of 6 hrs. on high, so I went w/ the low setting – it smelled amazing most of the day and at around the 5 hr. mark, took on a burning-pizza-aroma. Ugh! The zucchini was burnt in most places to the bottom of the crockpot, and spots of the sausage on top were crunchified. Funny thing is though, it tasted really awesome, but just shouldn’t have been in nearly that long. My husband said the picture that I took of it looked like doodie, but I had to post it anyway (the 1 of the 4 zucchini boats that I was able to yank out w/o losing burny bits at the bottom.) I’ll gladly make it again, but probably opt to stick it in the oven instead.