Orzo & Sausage Stuffed 8 Ball Zucchini

On a recent trip to Delicious Orchards in beautiful Colts Neck, I came across these adorable 8 Ball Zucchini.  Just from appearance alone, I knew I had to buy a few!

Once home, these little treasures sat in my fridge until I came up with an idea for what kind of stuffing I wanted to make. I had orzo on hand and an already cooked lone vegan sausage that needed a destination.  I fiddled around some and came up with the following recipe.  I have to say, it was pretty tasty!  It even appealed to the most vegetable-phobic person in my household - my husband!

PS.  You can serve them with, or without their cute hats.

Orzo & Sausage Stuffed 8 Ball Zucchini

4, 8 Ball Zucchini
1 cup Orzo pasta, cooked
1 vegan sausage, cooked, sliced lengthwise and chopped
1 tablespoon Olive oil
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup pepper, any color
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
Fresh pepper and salt to taste
1 tablespoon Earth Balance (optional)


Slice tops off each zucchini and set them aside.
Steam zucchinis until tender, bottoms up.
Once the zucchini is tender, rinse under cold water so you may handle.
Using a grapefruit knife or spoon, carefully scoop out the zucchini.
Coarsely chop the zucchini.
Warm olive oil in iron or non-stick skillet.
Add onion, garlic and pepper and sauté about 3 minutes.
Add chopped zucchini, salt, pepper and thyme.
Cook until zucchini is desired tenderness.
Add cooked sausage and heat through.
In a medium bowl combine all ingredients with the orzo. Toss to combine.
I added a touch (1 tablespoon, OK, more than a touch) of Earth Balance at this point to give everything a bit of a glaze & because I like Earth Balance, but it isn’t necessary.


Fill each zucchini with the orzo mixture.

Depending on the size of your ball zucchinis, this may make more stuffing than you need. The rest can be saved and reheated.


You may want to keep these guys warm in the oven with some tin foil over the lot of them to rewarm the zucchini shell and keep warm until serving time.