This Mexican Veggie Skillet is packed full of crisp-tender zucchini, roasted corn & hearty black beans. A little zip from fresh jalapeño and a hint of lime juice ties it all together for a perfect meatless main dish or side!
A one-pan plan is coming at you, my friends!
We've got roasty corn, crisp and tender zucchini, hearty protein-filled black beans and fresh tomato - top it with some crumbly, salty queso fresco and a big squeeze of fresh lime juice and we're in veggie heaven.
This recipe was very much inspired by/adapted from Skinnytaste's Skillet Mexican Zucchini, which was inspired by/adapted from Aaron Sanchez’s Mexican recipe for zucchini from his cookbook Simple Food, Big Flavor. So it's a recipe inspired by a recipe inspired by a recipe...I'd call that recipe inception (or recipinception? But that word is hard to look at after a while)!
I wanted to make my version of a Mexican veggie skillet heartier so it could stand alone as a main dish, so I added some roasted corn and a can of black beans. And it does not disappoint, my friends! Plus - it's so packed full of veggies that it's actually quite a healthy meal. But it's also really easy and therefore great to serve as a side dish.
We may or may not have just eaten this over the stove straight out of the skillet. Also we may or may not have scooped it up with tortilla chips like a dip (I'm seriously contemplating listing it with these dips). So versatile!
Any way you eat it...yummy noises await you!
Mexican Veggie Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 cup corn (frozen or canned work fine)
- 2 medium zucchini, diced into ½ to ¾ inch pieces (about 1 lb)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 jalapeño, diced (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, leave them in for more spice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle pepper*
- 3 green onions, diced (about ¼ cup)
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ cup crumbled queso fresco (about 1.25 oz)
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and corn and let roast without stirring until deeply golden brown. Stir & continue cooking until browned & roasted on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, zucchini, garlic, jalapeño and salt. Cook until zucchini is slightly softened but still crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato, black beans, pepper and chipotle pepper and cook until the tomatoes are slightly softened and the beans are heated through, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in green onions, cilantro and lime juice. Top with queso fresco and serve.
Notes
Made the spinach pie this week. It was incredibly delicious! Looking forward to trying this one! I don’t think I have ever purchased queso fresco before. ¿Qué es esto?
I’m so glad you liked the spinach pie! We love it too ????
Queso Fresco is a Mexican cheese that’s crumbly kind of like feta, but it’s softer and milder. It’s become my new favorite cheese for Mexican dishes! I get it in the regular cheese section of the grocery store (not even the fancy cheese section!) so hopefully it will be easy to find for you too.
This looks so delicious!!!! I can't wait to try it! Is Queso Fresco a softer version of Cotija? I haven't tried it.... I have Cotija, I would think they are very similar. I can also see a soft fried egg oozing it's delicious golden goodness all over it! Maybe breakfast tomorrow! Yummmmmy!
Cotija would be great! It's aged whereas queso fresco is fresh so Cotija is a little dryer and saltier than queso fresco, so you may want to use a little less salt in the dish or put a little less cheese on it to start so it doesn't get too salty.
I LOVE the idea of adding a soft fried egg...that would be a perfect breakfast! ????????