Loaded Zucchini Skins
You won't miss the carbs in these zucchini skins prepared like loaded potato skins. The directions with the recipe are for air fryer but you could adapt to preparing in either conventional oven or grill. When taste-testing these, the comments were "Amazing!" "Recipe, please!" and "I am definitely going to have these again, maybe tomorrow." You can save the pulp you removed from the center of the zucchini for later use. It could be grated into spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, hamburgers or sloppy joes or used in stir fry or soup as well as many other uses.
Serves: 2 skins
Ingredients
3-4 slices center cut bacon
2 medium zucchini
Olive oil spray
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (optional topping)
2 green onions, sliced thin (optional garnish)
Directions
1. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and set aside. Slice or crumble when it has cooled.
2. Halve zucchini lengthwise then crosswise. Scoop the pulp out of each piece, leaving a 1/4 inch shell on all sides. Remember to save the pulp for later use.
3. Spray both sides of each zucchini piece with olive oil.
4. Mix salt, garlic powder and paprika and season the top of the zucchini slices (the side without the outer skin).
5. Working in batches (depending on the size of your air fryer), arrange in single layer in air fryer basket. Cook on 350 for 8 minutes or until crisp-tender.
6. Remove from basket. Continue until all skins are cooked crisp-tender.
7. Top each skin with cheese and crumbled bacon. Return to air fryer (again in batches depending on size of air fryer) and cook at 350 for an additional 2 minutes, to melt cheese.
8. Top with 1 tsp sour cream or Greek yogurt and green onions, if desired. (sour cream is figured in the nutrition information)