Chicken Alfredo Zucchini Boats

Chicken Alfredo zucchini boats hold shredded chicken in a thick garlic parmesan cream sauce, with mozzarella and a golden crumb topping. If you enjoy creamy chicken dinners and have large zucchini to use, this recipe makes six filled halves in 40 minutes.

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Ingredients for chicken Alfredo zucchini boats

The chicken goes into the filling already cooked and shredded. Keep the parmesan divided: some melts into the sauce, while the rest joins the panko on top.

• 3 large zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan, divided
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 cup panko crumbs
• Salt, pepper and parsley

Let the sauce coat the spoon

The sauce needs enough body to stay with the chicken when you spoon it into the zucchini. After cooking the garlic in butter for 1 minute, add the heavy cream and cream cheese and simmer for 4 minutes until thick. Stir as the cream cheese softens so it blends into the cream.

Look at the back of your spoon before adding the parmesan. The sauce should cling to it, as the recipe tip describes. A loose sauce can run into the dish when you fill the zucchini, leaving the chicken with less cream around it. Stir in the 1/2 cup parmesan once the cream mixture has thickened.

Keep the topping in layers

Hollowing the zucchini creates space for the sauced chicken. Aim for a cavity that holds the filling while leaving the halves intact. Season the zucchini before filling so the vegetable itself gets salt and pepper, too.

The topping goes on in a specific order: mozzarella first, followed by panko mixed with the remaining parmesan. Keeping the crumbs on the surface lets you see their color as the boats bake. Stirring them into the chicken would bury the crumb topping in the cream sauce.

Fill and bake the zucchini

• Heat the oven to 400°F. Hollow the 3 zucchini after halving them lengthwise, season with salt and pepper, and arrange the halves in a baking dish.
• Melt the 2 tbsp butter and cook the 2 minced garlic cloves for 1 minute. Add the 1 cup heavy cream and 2 oz cream cheese. Simmer for 4 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon, then stir in 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan.
• Mix the 3 cups shredded cooked chicken with the sauce. Spoon the filling into the hollowed zucchini halves, distributing it across all six boats.
• Top with the 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella. Mix the 1/3 cup panko with the remaining 1/4 cup parmesan and scatter that mixture over the mozzarella.
• Bake for 25 minutes, until the zucchini is tender and the topping is golden. Check both the vegetable and the surface, since the color of the crumbs alone does not tell you whether the zucchini is tender.
• Add parsley and serve.

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Serving the filled halves

Serve the boats with their chicken filling and topping together. When lifting a half from the dish, support it underneath so the tender zucchini carries the filling onto the plate. The finished dish should have soft zucchini beneath creamy chicken, melted mozzarella and a golden layer of parmesan crumbs.

Add the parsley after baking, as directed, so it finishes the dish on top of the browned crumbs. The recipe makes six boats. Keeping the halves intact also makes it easy to see how much filling and topping each one holds.

For another stuffed zucchini dinner, try our BBQ chicken pizza zucchini boats . You can also explore jalapeño popper chicken bake or crispy air fryer parmesan chicken for more chicken dinner ideas.

Questions about the filling and topping

Does the chicken go into the boats raw?

No. This recipe calls for shredded cooked chicken. Mix it with the finished sauce before filling the zucchini; the oven step bakes the assembled boats until the zucchini is tender and the top is golden.

Where does the divided parmesan go?

Stir 1/2 cup into the thickened cream sauce. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup with the panko for the topping. Keeping those portions separate gives you parmesan in both the filling and the crumb layer.

Do you use the zucchini scooped from the centers?

The recipe does not include the scooped centers in the filling. Its filling consists of cooked shredded chicken mixed with the garlic cream sauce. Follow that mixture when assembling the boats.

Are the crumbs mixed into the mozzarella?

No. Scatter the mozzarella over the chicken first. The panko and remaining parmesan are mixed together separately and added over the cheese, where they form the golden surface during baking.

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Written and edited by The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team

The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team writes and edits the recipes on Foodie Yummy: classic American potluck salads, holiday sides and easy comfort food, with a few low-carb options. Every recipe lists exact quantities, numbered steps and a printable recipe card, plus notes on swaps, storage and make-ahead timing. Spot a problem with a recipe? Tell us through the contact page and we will correct it. About us