Vegan Stuffed Zucchini Flowers with White Bean-Spinach Filling

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I got the inspiration for making these vegan stuffed zucchini flowers from Italy. I recently came back from our short holidays in Tuscany. It was the end of September and the zucchini flowers seemed to be in the season there. They offered them in restaurants and you could easily find a package of fresh zucchini flowers in a supermarket. If it is like that in your region, make these vegan stuffed zucchini flowers, you will love them! First I have tried vegan stuffed zucchini flowers in the restaurant La Casina di Alice in Livorno.  It was amazing! I got a strong desire to recreate these stuffed zucchini flowers at home so that everyone could make them even if you can’t travel to Italy right now!  They are healthy, light, yet packed with protein, so unique and exquisite dish to make!

Zucchini Flowers

Zucchini flowers are very delicate, soft eatable flowers with their thin bright-golden petals bloom are at their best in spring. Although you can find them at your local supermarket or farmers market from spring through until autumn, depending on your climate.  Zucchini flowers taste like zucchini (no wonder)! However, they are much more subtle and delicate to deal with. Their petals are very tender, therefore when you work with them- be extra careful! It is very easy to prepare them for stuffing. All you need to do is to wash them and remove the small stamen inside. Basically, you can eat them raw, stuff them with anything and even deep fry them. However, I love this vegan stuffed zucchini recipe because it is absolutely delicious and healthy at the same time.

White Bean-Spinach Stuffing

Traditionally in Italy, they stuff zucchini blossoms with cheese. However, as for the vegan version I find that this white bean-spinach stuffing is a perfect one to fill the zucchini flowers with. It is meaty, rich, soft, creamy, and nutritionally packed! Spinach and white cannellini beans are nearly superfoods in terms of how much good healthy nutrients they have!

Firstly, when you saute the garlic on a pan, it spreads a wonderful aroma, which the stuffing will infuse. Secondly, spinach makes this stuffing richer.  I happened to have frozen spinach on hand, and it is already pre-chopped. However, you can also use fresh spinach, just saute it with garlic a little less as the frozen one needs time to unfreeze first. Thirdly, white cannellini beans are so versatile, and I do love using them for things like bread spreads, deeps, and stuffings as they become so rich and creamy when blended. To accompany this stuffing we add lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and some salt and paper to enhance the taste even more!

Just bake the stuffed zucchini flowers in an oven until they soften up a little, might even become golden crispy depending on how long you roast them. They make a beautiful side dish or even a main one if you serve them with some rice or potatoes on the side.

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If you are interested in the other vegan, healthy, and easy gluten-free zucchini recipes, check out this Tofu Stuffed Zucchini Boats Recipe. 

Please share, like, and leave your comments down below! I would be happy to hear your feedback and how my recipe turned out for you!

Thank you,

Victoria.