Mexican Veggie Skillet

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!

5 from 2 votes

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Mexican Veggie Skillet

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

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!

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 3 as a main, 8 as a side

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp 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 tsp salt
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper*
• 3 green onions, diced (about ¼ cup)
• 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (about 1.25 oz)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp 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. 

2. Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil, zucchini, garlic, jalapeño and salt. Cook until zucchini is slightly softened but still crisp, about 5 minutes. 

3. 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. 

4. Remove from heat and stir in green onions, cilantro and lime juice. Top with queso fresco and serve. 

Recipe Notes

*The chipotle pepper I used in this recipe is a dry powder from the spice aisle, not canned chipotle peppers in adobo. If you can't find chipotle pepper, you can substitute chili powder but it will have a slightly different flavor.