Vegan Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats

These Vegan Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats are easy to make, low-carb, and made with minimally processed ingredients!

If you love buffalo chicken dip, this dish is a guilt-free way to indulge in the flavor of buffalo chicken dip for lunch or dinner!

Why I love these plant-based buffalo chicken zucchini boats:

  • Low Carb — I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of refined carbs in my diet, and zucchini boats are an excellent way to replace a high-carb part of a dish, like bread.
  • Plant Diversity —While normal buffalo chicken usually completely lacks plants of any kind, this vegan buffalo chicken uses a variety of plants to attain a similar flavor while being much more nutritious.
  • Easy Meal Prep — The vegan buffalo chicken mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge, and when you are ready to eat, just slice and stuff the zucchini boats and pop them in the oven!

Ingredients and Substitutions

I like to use the following ingredients because I think it tastes the best while still being healthy, but feel free to use a similar alternative if you need to.

Soy Curl & Jackfruit “Chicken” — I like to use a combination of ingredients to replace the chicken. I use jackfruit to give it a shredded chicken texture, and I use small soy curls to add a chewier texture and more protein. You can use just one if you want, or you can use a store-bought vegan chicken replacement.

Optional Vegan Ranch or Bleu Cheese Dressing — I usually omit the dressing because I don’t often have a vegan ranch or bleu cheese dressing in the refrigerator (and it would take extra time to make one from scratch), but you can use a plant-based dressing if you’d like! If you have extra time, I recommend making one from scratch to keep the dish minimally processed.

Green Onions — These are primarily a garnish and don’t influence the flavor much, so you can omit them if you want. Also, chives are a good substitute if you have them!

Oil — Although I recommend using a little bit of oil for the chicken substitute and brushing oil on the zucchini boats, you can omit the oil completely if you want to make the dish oil free. The final dish might be a little drier, but you can add extra buffalo sauce or dressing to add back moisture.

How to Meal Prep

You can make this dish in about an hour, but it’s also very easy to meal prep!

You can make the buffalo chicken mixture ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to make the zucchini boats, slice the zucchini, remove the seeds, fill with the prepped buffalo chicken mixture, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes!

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats

Zucchini boats stuffed with creamy, plant-based buffalo chicken

Ingredients
  

Vegan "Chicken"

  • 1 1/2 cups soy curls small pieces
  • 1 can jackfruit I use the 20oz Trader Joe's brand
  • salt to taste
  • vegetable broth optional
  • avocado oil optional

Sauce

  • 1 cup cashews soaked overnight or boiled for 10 minutes
  • 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Make the Zucchini Boats

  • 3 medium zucchinis
  • salt to taste
  • avocado oil optional

Instructions
 

Make the Vegan "Chicken"

  • Prep the soy curls. Soak the soy curls in hot water or vegetable broth for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly, squeezing most of the water out.
  • Prep the jackfruit. Drain the canned jackfruit and squeeze out as much water as possible, using either your hands or a cheesecloth. Tear into small pieces resembling shredded chicken.
  • Combine the soy curls and jackfruit on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Optional: season with a small amount of avocado oil and salt before placing in the oven. Skip the oil if making this dish oil free.

Make the Buffalo Sauce

  • In a large food processor, add soaked cashews, buffalo sauce, water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth.
  • Add the cooked jackfruit and soy curls. Stir to combine.

Make the Zucchini Boats

  • Trim the ends off of the zucchinis and then slice in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scoop out the flesh. You will be left with 6 zucchini "boats" for stuffing. Optional: season the boats by brushing each with avocado oil and sprinkling on some salt. Skip the oil for oil-free, but using oil will prevent the exposed parts of the zucchini from drying out.
  • Stuff each zucchini boat with a generous amount of vegan buffalo chicken sauce.
  • Place all of the zucchini boats in an oven-safe dish and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes, or until the zucchini boats are fork tender.
  • Optional Garnish: Drizzle with some extra buffalo sauce and vegan ranch. Add some finely sliced green onions or fresh chives.
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