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Garden Fresh Zucchini Beef Skillet Recipe
If you’ve been following all the tips for growing zucchini and yellow squash, chances are you’re inundated right now. This time of year we always seem to have more summer squash than we can use!
This quick and delicious recipe uses up quite a bit of zucchini, along with many other fresh garden vegetables that you may have on hand. In addition to zucchini, the recipe calls for onions, garlic, yellow squash, tomatoes, and corn. Of course, if you only have those vegetables frozen or canned, that’s fine too. It will taste great either way.
This meal gets a nice flavor from the chili powder, onion, and garlic. We find it balances nicely with cheddar cheese, especially when served in a pita pocket. If you don’t have pita pockets, a tortilla also works.
Unlike meals such as stuffed zucchini, you don’t have to turn the oven on. It’s ready on the stovetop in less than half an hour. That makes it perfect for the hot summer nights we’ve had lately.
While it has some flavor, it’s not too spicy. My grandmother, who never liked spicy food, made this dish often in the summertime. We’ve loved this zucchini beef skillet recipe ever since she started making it years ago.
Recipe Tips
If you’d like, you can prepare the ground beef ahead of time. Just brown a large package of beef and freeze in 1 lb. portions. Then, to speed up making this recipe, you can just thaw the ground beef and proceed as directed, but without having to wait as long as you would to cook the raw beef with the vegetables.
How you slice your zucchini depends on the size – a small one can just be sliced as is, but larger ones should be halved or quartered before slicing. This helps with both cooking time and overall enjoyment. After all, huge chunks of zucchini only partially coated with spice would be a little gross.
If you’d like, you can substitute some yellow squash for the zucchini.
Print Recipe
Zucchini Beef Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion (approximately 1 large or 2 small onions)
- 3/4 cup chopped green pepper (approximately 1 medium pepper)
- 1 garlic clove (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- 5 cups sliced zucchini and/or yellow squash (approximately 1 large zucchini or 2 small)
- 2 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced (or one 14 oz. can diced tomatoes)
- 1¼ cups fresh or frozen kernel corn (about 3 ears)
For Serving
- shredded cheddar cheese
- pita pockets or tortillas
Instructions
- Cook beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic in 12" skillet until well-browned. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Serve in pita pockets or tortillas with shredded cheddar cheese.
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