This Sautéed Zucchini recipe is summer in a skillet-a colorful side dish with fresh zucchini, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and herbs, all cooked in minutes.
Our garden has been a bit hit-or-miss this year. We are still figuring things out, and we’ve had some epic failures. But thank goodness for zucchini; it makes me feel like a rockstar in the garden department! Apparently, they grow overnight. We’ve been grilling them, pickling them, and baking with them, but lately my favorite way to cook them up is to sauté them.
Why You’ll Love Sautéed Zucchini
- Celebrates summer produce. Zucchini, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, bell pepper, and fresh herbs come together in one colorful side dish.
- Quick and easy. Everything cooks in one skillet and comes together in just minutes-perfect for busy weeknights.
- Fresh and flavorful. Garlic, oregano, basil, and a splash of red wine vinegar bring the vegetables to life without overpowering them.
- Easy to adapt. Use whatever summer squash and vegetables you have on hand-it's a great way to use up an abundance from the garden or farmers market.
Sauteed Zucchini Recipe Ingredients
- Zucchini: Use any fresh, tender summer squash, like zucchini or yellow squash (patty pan, crookneck, green varieties).
- Garlic cloves: Enhance the flavor of the sauté, giving it a savory, aromatic taste.
- Red bell pepper: Orange and yellow bell peppers also work.
- Cherry tomatoes: Deliciously sweet and juicy when gathered from the garden or the farmers market!
- Ears of fresh corn: Or substitute with additional zucchini.
- Olive oil: Or use a combination of olive oil and butter.
- Red wine vinegar: Adds a splash of acidity to brighten and balance flavors.
- Fresh oregano: If substituting with dried herbs, use dried Mediterranean oregano.
- Fresh basil: Gives the sauté a fresh, summery taste!
How to Make Sautéed Zucchini
1. Sear the zucchini. Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil and arrange the zucchini in a single layer. Sear 1-2 minutes.
2. Sauté remaining veggies. Flip the zucchini slices and push to the edges of the pan. Reduce heat to medium, add more olive oil, add the garlic and red peppers. Sauté 1-2 minutes until peppers are tender-crisp. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and oregano. Drizzle with more olive oil (or a tablespoon of butter-it’s so good!). Cook until corn is warm, about 2 minutes.
3. Serve. Taste and adjust, adding another pinch of salt as needed. Garnish with fresh torn basil leaves and serve warm or at room temperature.
Sautéed Zucchini Variations
- Add other veggies: Get inspired by your garden or the farmers market, incorporating any seasonal veggies that inspire you! Eggplant, onions, peas, or dark leafy greens like spinach or kale could be mixed in and sautéed. (Cooking times will vary with additional veggies.)
- Add fresh toppings: If desired, top with sliced avocado, feta, parmesan cheese, goat cheese, halloumi, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, or other fresh herbs like dill or parsley.
- Serve with grains, pasta, or polenta: Serve over a bed of wild rice, couscous, quinoa, pasta, or polenta.
Chef’s Tips
- Use fresh, “in-season” ingredients. Make this dish in the summer when zucchini is in season and use produce from your garden or local farmers’ market for the best flavor.
- Aim for tender-crisp vegetables. Avoid over-cooking the veggies-you don’t want them to end up mushy!
- Keep an eye on the garlic. When adding the garlic and peppers, reduce the heat to avoid burning the garlic.
- Add a tablespoon of butter. If desired, a tablespoon of butter at the end of cooking gives this dish rich, irresistible flavor.
Storing Sauteed Zucchini
Store cooled leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Leftovers taste great in breakfast scrambles, omelettes, or soups, or they’re tasty on their own!
Serving Suggestions
Sautéed zucchini is an easy summer side dish that pairs with almost anything! Serve it alongside Blackened Salmon, Mediterranean Baked Cod, Seared Scallops, or Grilled Chicken.
For a vegetarian meal, pair it with Pesto Pasta, Caramelized Leek Pasta, Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers, or Roasted Cauliflower Steaks. It's also lovely alongside a summery bowl of Easy Corn Soup or Minted Pea Soup.
For more zucchini recipes, check out our 35+ delcious zucchini recipes! Let us know what you think of this easy sautéed zucchini recipe, and be sure to comment and rate it! ⭐️
For more summer produce inspiration, check out our 50+ Best Tomato Recipes and our Homemade Blackberry Pie! And don’t miss our Homemade Mosquito Repellent-it really comes in handy during the summer months. 🙂
More Favorite Zucchini Recipes
Sautéed Zucchini Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Side Dish, zucchini recipe
- Method: sautéed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Sautéed Zucchini recipe is summer in a skillet-a colorful side dish with fresh zucchini, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and herbs, all cooked in minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups zucchini, 12 ounces cut into 1/2 inch half moon slices (any fresh tender summer squash is great; yellow squash like patty pan or crookneck, green, striped, etc)
- 2 large garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1/4– 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 red bell pepper (or orange or yellow), cut into 1 1/2 inch strips
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 ears of fresh corn (or sub 2 cups more zucchini), cut kernals off the cob
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (sub 1 tablespoon for butter if desired)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried Mediterranean oregano)
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Saute. In a preheated large skillet, add a little olive oil and zucchini in one layer. Let sear for 1-2 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Flip the zucchini, push to the sides of the pan, turn the heat to medium, and add more olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, and red peppers in the middle. Saute about 1-2 minutes; we are going for crisp-tender vegetables.
- Stir in the tomatoes, corn, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and oregano.
- Drizzle with olive oil (or add 1 tablespoon butter- highly recommended). Cook just until corn is warm, about 2 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Sprinkle with fresh torn basil leaves.
Notes
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Store leftovers in a sealed airtight container for 2-3 days in the fridge. Leftovers are great added to scrambles, omelettes, and soups or just eat cold!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 176
- Sugar: 6.6 g
- Sodium: 247.1 mg
- Fat: 11.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.2 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
FAQs
Before sautéing, you can always salt the zucchini and lay on paper towels to draw out excess moisture. Then make sure to cook in one layer for only 1-2 minutes before adding the remaining veggies. This ensures a crisp, tender texture.
Cook the zucchini on its own in olive for 1-2 minutes before adding the remaining vegetables. Overall, the cooking time is about 6 minutes over medium heat.
Keep it simple with salt and pepper and let the natural flavor of the veggies shine! Minced garlic adds great aromatic, savory flavor. On its own, zucchini is mildly sweet and earthy.
This was delicious! The only change I made was to cook the zucchini and peppers a little longer. The vinegar added the perfect touch of acid.
Great! Yes do it to your preference. Appreciate you taking time to review. 🙂
A wonderful, zippy veggie combo for a summer’s evening! I added high-protein tofu cubes to make it a one-pan dinner. Thanks Tonia!
So glad you enjoyed! Appreciate you letting us know.
Super healthy and delicious! I bought zucchini and bell peppers today and was looking for a good recommendation for sautéing and spicing. So glad I found this, thank you! It was great even without the tomatoes and corn. 🙂
Glad you gave it a try Taylor!
Yummy side! Good way to use up some veggies. Love how it can be made into a meal with quinoa or other grain.
Glad you enjoyed!
Made good use of our CSA box bell pepper, yellow squash, corn and tomatoes. Will make again and maybe add some heat.
Glad you enjoyed Kari! Yes for sure doctor it up to your taste. 🙂
Love it, very tasty.
Great to hear Jetta!
nice quick side dish, since having with stuffed peppers -left the peppers out–like all your suggestions for additions for future times that I do this–very adaptable and if add grains etc could be a main veggie dish.
Glad you gave it a try Frances! Appreciate you taking time to review.
So flavorful, colorful, delicious and easy! I ate the whole batch!!! Even my dog loved the zucchini.
Yay! Funny my dog likes the zucchini too. Appreciate your review Faye. 🙂
Yummy and healthy
Great to hear!
is an awesome recipe! Keep yo the good work!
Great to hear Debra!
This was so delicious! We added some orzo and made it a meal. Perfect way to use up some of the zucchini, corn, and tomatoes we got the local farm.
Yay, so glad you enjoyed! Appreciate your review.
Sounds delish! I’m going to have to try this one.
Let us know what you think!
Did you neglect to say when to add tomatoes?
Thanks for the catch Cheri, it is in there now. 🙂