Sauteed Mexican vegetables are the perfect side dish or stuffed in tacos, burritos or used on taco salads. This quick and simple recipe is ready in about 15 minutes and is so easy to make! Use whatever veggies you have on hand to make these simple Mexican sauteed veggies for your next Mexican inspired meals.
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and easy – simply saute or stir fry the veggies with your favorite Mexican inspired spices for a delicious side dish that can be paired with your meal or stuffed in tacos, burritos, enchiladas or on top of burrito bowls or tacos salads.
- Simple ingredients – this recipe uses simple ingredients you can find in any grocery store. This healthy Mexican sauteed vegetables are vegan, Whole30, paleo, plant based and low carb friendly and a great way to get kids to eat more veggies!
- Great way to add veggies to Mexican or Southwestern inspired meals – these Mexican vegetables go so well with a Tex-Mex, Mexican or Southwestern meal. They are flavorful, a little smoky and so easy to make.
- Leftovers can be used so many ways! You are going to find yourself making these Mexican veggies often, since they are great fresh or used in leftovers. You can use leftover veggies in breakfast tacos, breakfast burritos or frittatas.
Ingredients
- Red onion – red onions add a great base flavor to the veggies and are easy to find. Be sure to saute the onions for a few minutes before adding the other veggies.
- Zucchini squash and yellow squash – zucchini and yellow squash are easy to find and pair well with the spices. This recipe is a great way to use up the abundance of summer veggies.
- Bell peppers – bell peppers are slightly sweet and help to round out the flavors when paired with the smoky cumin and chili powder.
- Spices: Salt, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder – these spices are easy to find and create the Mexican inspired flavor in these veggies. You can also use your favorite taco seasoning in place of these spices.
How to make Mexican vegetables
Start by slicing and chopping the veggies. Be sure to slice the zucchini and yellow squash into thin slices so they cook evenly and quickly.
Preheat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat (you can start preheating the pan while you are chopping the veggies to save time).
Once hot, spray the pan with avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil spray. Add the onions and cook 3-4 minutes.
Once the onions start to cook down, add the sliced zucchini and yellow squash. Stir well, especially in the beginning to ensure the onions don’t stick to the bottom and burn. Cook 5-7 minutes.
Once zucchini and yellow squash are starting to break down, add the salt, spices and bell pepper. Stir well making sure all the vegetables are well coated in spices.
Cook 2-3 minutes (the peppers will continue to soften a bit with residual heat from the veggies.
Serve immediately or store in a air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Top tips
- Thinly slice the veggies so they will cook quickly. The thicker the veggies, especially the zucchini and yellow squash, the longer they will take to cook.
- Give the onions a few minutes to cook before adding the rest of the vegetables to help ensure the onions get time to cook down and get caramelized. When red onions are able to caramelize in the pan, they change flavor and become almost sweet.
- If you plan on doubling the recipe, you will want to cook the veggies in two separate pans, as they will steam instead of sauté if you cook them in 1 pan instead of two.
- Short on time? Prep the veggies ahead of time – you can store chopped veggies in a well-sealed container for up to 3 days in advance of cooking. You can often also save time by buying precut veggies from the store. There is often a combination of bell peppers and onions in the produce section already prepped.
- You can also make Mexican vegetables in the oven if you want to double or triple the recipe.
Recipe variations
- Spice: Add 1 fresh jalapeno, 2-3 tablespoons pickled jalapenos or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Spice and smokiness: Add 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
- Freshness: Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice over the veggies right before serving
- Other veggies: Mushrooms, broccoli, broccoli slaw, poblano peppers, chopped fresh tomatoes. If you add more veggies to the pan, you may need to increase the cooking time and spices.
- Creaminess: sprinkle with cotija cheese or feta cheese (not dairy free) or your favorite vegan cheese
How to serve Mexican sauteed vegetables
Use as a side dish for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, burrito bowls or taquitos.
Add the veggies to taco salad topped with cilantro lime dressing
Make a meatless meal by adding these Mexican veggies to black bean tacos
Make healthy burrito bowls with yellow rice and Mexican shredded chicken.
In Mexican buddha bowls with cilantro lime quinoa and black beans.
Add these veggies to chips to make vegetable nachos with creamy vegan cheese sauce
Roll the Mexican veggies in taquitos or use them in Mexican lasagna.
Leftover ideas
- Add to your eggs in the morning
- As a wrap with black bean spread
- Nachos with creamy vegan nacho cheese sauce
- In taquitos
- Taco salad with Cilantro Lime Brown Rice
Can you use frozen vegetables?
Yes you can! However, I don’t recommend frozen zucchini or squash since that can get waterlogged and mushy as it defrosts. Some great frozen veggies to use would be frozen onions and bell peppers.
Note: Frozen veggies will likely take longer to cook because they are frozen and when they defrost, they often give off a lot of water that needs to cook off. This can add 3-7 minutes to the cooking time.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: store leftover Mexican stir fried veggies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing leftovers as the squash will get very watery when defrosted. If you know you want to freeze leftovers, just use onions and peppers and omit the squash.
Reheating leftovers: You can use the leftovers in new recipes or just warm them up and serve them as a side for your next meal.
- Stove: Sauté in skillet 3-4 minutes over medium heat until warmed through.
- Microwave: Microwave about 1-1:30 minutes to warm through.
- Air Fryer: Cook at 375F for 4 minutes (you may want to add parchment to the air fryer).
Substitutions
- Red onions: You can also use yellow, white or even green onions in place of the red onions if needed. You can also omit the onions, however you will likely want to add some garlic powder or onion powder.
- Zucchini and yellow squash: You can use any veggies you have on hand. Some other great options might be mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots, broccoli cut into small florets, tomatoes.
- Bell peppers: Use any veggies you have on hand. You can also use roasted red peppers.
- Spices: If you don’t have the spices on hand, you can use taco seasoning, smoked paprika, or paprika.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Mexican Cauliflower White Bean Soup
Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans
Mexican Vegetables
$4.93 Recipe/$1.23 ServingIngredients
- 1 large red onion, sliced thin - $0.33
- 2 large zucchini, sliced into half moons - $1.99
- 1 large yellow squash, sliced into half moons - $0.99
- 1 large bell pepper (red, orange or yellow are best) - $1.29
- 1.25 tsp chili powder - $0.13
- 1 tsp salt - $0.05
- 1 tsp garlic powder - $0.10
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin - $0.05
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onions. Cut the zucchini and squash into thin half moon shapes and the bell pepper into thin bite size strips.
- While you are cutting the veggies, preheat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.
- When the skillet is hot, spray with avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil spray. Add the onions and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the onions have started to cook down, add the zucchini and yellow squash. Be sure to stir well, especially in the beginning so the onions don't start to burn. Cook 5-7 minutes.
- After the squash have started to cook down, add the salt, spices and bell pepper. Stir well and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Thinly slice the veggies so they will cook quickly. The thicker the veggies, especially the zucchini and yellow squash, the longer they will take to cook.
- Give the onions a few minutes to cook before adding the rest of the vegetables to help ensure the onions get time to cook down and get caramelized. When red onions are able to caramelize in the pan, they change flavor and become almost sweet.
- If you plan on doubling the recipe, you will want to cook the veggies in two separate pans, as they will steam instead of sauté if you cook them in 1 pan instead of two.
- Short on time? Prep the veggies ahead of time – you can store chopped veggies in a well-sealed container for up to 3 days in advance of cooking. You can often also save time by buying precut veggies from the store. There is often a combination of bell peppers and onions in the produce section already prepped.
- Spice: Add 1 fresh jalapeno, 2-3 tablespoons pickled jalapenos or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Spice and smokiness: Add 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
- Freshness: Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice over the veggies right before serving
- Other veggies: Mushrooms, broccoli, broccoli slaw, poblano peppers, chopped fresh tomatoes. If you add more veggies to the pan, you may need to increase the cooking time and spices.
- Creaminess: sprinkle with cotija cheese or feta cheese (not dairy free) or your favorite vegan cheese
- Fridge: store leftover Mexican stir fried veggies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing leftovers as the squash will get very watery when defrosted. If you know you want to freeze leftovers, just use onions and peppers and omit the squash.
- Reheating leftovers:
- Stove: Sauté in skillet 3-4 minutes over medium heat until warmed through.
- Microwave: Microwave about 1-1:30 minutes to warm through.
- Air Fryer: Cook at 375F for 4 minutes (you may want to add parchment to the air fryer).
