Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet
This cheesy tex-mex zucchini skillet is a fantastic way to use zucchini! Quick and easy, it’s packed with flavor and hearty ingredients. So yummy!
Looking for ways to use up that garden zucchini?
This one-skillet zucchini meal is the perfect solution! It’s hearty and healthful, and it comes together fast! Bonus: all.the.cheese.
Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet Meal
This simple recipe starts with browning lean ground beef (or ground turkey) with onions and garlic, and then adding:
- corn
- beans
- green chiles
- diced tomatoes
- cumin, chili powder, oregano and paprika
All those ingredients get a good, efficient little stir to mix everything together.
And then the star of the show is added! ZUCCHINI.
And lots of it. Four cups to be exact.
The important part here is to dice the zucchini into small pieces (I use this handy food chopper – aff. link). It allows the zucchini to blend in delightfully well with the other ingredients rather than large chunks of zucchini totally stealing the show.
Not only does this make the overall dish just *work* better, but it’s also easier on the potential squash haters in the bunch. I would know. I have 2 1/2 of them.
Al Dente Zucchini
Can I share a potentially shocking opinion?
I don’t think zucchini needs to be cooked very long (or at all). Mushy zucchini is the literal absolute worst. And I’ve found that in savory dishes, I like zucchini pieces (or zucchini noodles) cooked for just a few minutes so they stay a bit al dente.
Sometimes I even leave zucchini noodles uncooked, and they are delicious.
However, you do you when it comes to the zucchini in this recipe. If you like softer zucchini, that’s totally fine. I’ll never know if you decide to cook the guts out of it.
Just promise me you’ll cover it all in a lot of cheese. A.Lot.Of.Cheese.
You can get all fancy and broil the cheese-covered skillet in the oven.
Or you can be lazy like me and cover the skillet with a lid, keep it over low heat, and let it sit there for a couple minutes until the cheese is melty and perfect.
A Versatile Meal
This cheesy Tex-Mex zucchini skillet meal is so tasty! The flavors are amazing, and you can serve it a million different ways.
Over rice.
Loaded with toppings.
With chips.
I have several kids who give me serious side-eyes when it comes to squash in any form. I about fell over when my oldest child, who is One of Them, devoured this and declared it “crazy amazing” even knowing it was loaded with zucchini.
Of course the hefty helping of cheese and sour cream on his portion didn’t hurt matters, but he even went back for seconds, and that has never happened with any dish that involves the Z-word.
This zucchini skillet recipe is really adaptable. Play around with the ingredients and see what you come up with!
It’s such a great way to use up the humble, beloved, green, garden veggie. I hope you love it!
What to Serve With This:
- Fresh fruit
- Cornbread muffins
One Year Ago: Blueberry Muffin Bread
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Three Years Ago: Frozen Strawberry Lemonade Pie
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Five Years Ago: The Best Zucchini Bread
Six Years Ago: The Best Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Seven Years Ago: Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cookies
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Nine Years Ago: Tappan Hill Brownies
Ten Years Ago: Summer Couscous Salad
Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 can (14.5-ounces) diced tomatoes (don't drain)
- 1 can (15-ounces) black, pinto, or white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (4-ounces) green chiles (mild or spicy), drained
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoons oregano
- ¼ teaspoon paprika, smoked or sweet
- 4 cups finely chopped zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis)
- 1 to 2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
Toppings:
- Tortilla or corn chips
- Sour cream
- Fresh, chopped cilantro
- Avocados
- Salsa
- Olives
Instructions
- In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet (it will be very full by the end, so don't use a smaller size) over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Break the meat into small pieces and cook until no longer pink. Drain grease.
- Add corn, tomatoes, beans, chiles, cumin, chili powder, oregano and paprika. Stir to combine.
- Add the zucchini and stir until evenly combined. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the ingredients are heated through and the zucchini is tender (I only cook for a few minutes so the zucchini stays al dente; cook longer if you want the zucchini softer).
- Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Turn the heat to low. Pat the zucchini mixture into a mostly even layer, sprinkle with cheese, cover with a lid or loosely with foil, and let rest on the heat until the cheese is melted, 3-4 minutes.
- Serve warm with toppings of choice: chips, sour cream, cilantro, olives, avocados, salsa, etc.
90 Comments on “Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet”
LOVE this recipe! I haven’t made it with the ground beef yet, just because I wanted to save time. I just added more beans of different varieties. It’s amazing. Thanks Mel!
LOVE this one! I haven’t made it with the ground beef yet. (Just because it saved time) I’ve just added more beans of different varieties and it’s always delicious. Thanks Mel!
This is absolutely delicious!! Easy to make and a great new way to use up zucchini. In fact, it’s so yummy I buy zucchini in the winter to make it! 🙂
So good and so easy. I had frozen shredded zucchini in the freezer and made it with that. Perfect with chips, avocado, and sour cream
Excellent recipe, Mel!
Though I fear that I’m one of those people who made enough changes to the recipe that I might get a side-eye for rating it, I think I stuck close enough to the spirit of the recipe to be an accurate judge.
Changes I made:
– ground turkey breast instead of ground beef or a less lean ground turkey
– added a 4oz can of sliced black olives
– added a generous handful of roughly chopped cilantro (at the same time as the zucchini)
– added an 8oz bag of Frontera red enchilada sauce (it was nearing its expiration date and I had no other plans for it)
– added the cheese at the end on individual portions then just quickly zapped it to melt – I was making it primarily for just my lunches during the week, so I knew I’d have tons of leftovers and I don’t always love how melted cheese tastes when reheated
I added everything else as the recipe stated, and it was absolutely perfect. I think the enchilada sauce was a huge help in countering the bland and lean factor of the turkey breast, so I’d recommend that (or extra spices, at least) for anyone else using ground breast meat instead of a fattier cut.
I did find that I needed to cook the zucchini longer – about six minutes – to get to what I considered a cooked-but-firm-al-dente texture. After a few minutes, it still seemed basically raw.
I think this recipe is VERY open to substitution and interpretation – more beans/legumes instead of meat (green/brown lentils seem like they’d be particularly good here), plain tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes, yellow squash instead of zucchini, other small-diced vegetables added, etc. I even think it would be delicious without the cheese and with some avocados on top should someone need or want to avoid dairy.
Fantastic job on this recipe!
How would this be with frozen, shredded zucchini? If I squeeze all the water out, will it be too mushy? I have several quart bags of shredded, frozen zucchini in my freezer and want to use them for more things than just zucchini bread (frozen zucchini works great in zucchini bread)
I think if you squeeze out the excess water, it should work great!
Made it
Only difference I fried out spices with the ground beef , onion and garlic in first step
Recipe was a win win
This is sooo good! Because we like things spicy, I added two chopped jalapeños from my garden, I didn’t have the diced chilis, and I added the spices, but a lot extra!
With sour cream and Fritos, it is delish! I love easy recipes like this!
Whereas I usually LOVE Mel’s recipes, this one was 3 ⭐️ for me. It’s chili with corn and zucchini, *which is great in general*, but the seasoning as written didn’t do enough for me, when there’s a pound of meat, plus tomatoes, zucchini, corn, onions, etc, to be seasoned. I added double the cumin and chile powder, an extra 1/2tso salt, and an extra 1/2 tsp pepper. But to each their own 100%! How things turn out completely depends on what brands, ingredients, etc that you use. Not bashing at all. Just saying it didn’t wow us. No biggie.
This truly was delicious! Too easy to make too! I used turkey, and had a large can of diced tomatoes,still turned out great. Added more salt and slightly increased the spices, just made the measuring spoons heaped a little bit. Will make again for sure
Great flavors! We all loved this dish.
This was delicious! Because I think there are never enough vegetables, I added a diced yellow squash and two minced jalapeños as well. And I was a bit heavy handed with the seasoning and the cheese. I’ve been eating mine wrapped in a burrito size tortilla. My mouth waters just thinking about it!
This. Was. Excellent! So easy to put together!
Simple and delicious! I ended up having over 5 cups and used it all and it was great. Even the kids enjoyed it and I converted a proclaimed zucchini hater. I got the chopper you recommended and wow!! That made really easy all the chopping and I loved how uniform the diced zucchini was. I kept it al dente as you suggested and it was waaay better than the mushy ways it’s often prepared. Thanks for a great recipe!!
I have made this at least 3 times since you posted! Such a great way to use up all the summer zucchini. The flavors are amazing! My whole family loves this!
I’ve been a follower of your recipes for 12 years now! And while I don’t often comment, I just wanted to say thank you! You are my GO TO recipe source!
Loved this recipe! Since there are only two of us, I made a half recipe. It made lots, so we have enough for one more meal. My husband also loved it. It was easy and tasted soooooooo good!
This one is a keeper! I made a half recipe, and it still made plenty (for one person). Next time, I will add about 1/8 tsp of baking soda to the ground beef as it will tenderize the beef as it cooks. Also, I will add the cumin, chili powder, oregano and paprika to the drained meat, let it cook a minute to bloom the spices, and then add the beans, etc. I hope this provides a bit more intense flavor or will up the spice quantity a bit if it doesn’t. I found I needed more salt as I went easy on the cheese. Thanks Mel!
So good and so easy. My family loved this. Always looking for new ways to use zucchini and this is a winner!
I made this tonight, it was so good! And simple. I used fresh tomatos, white beans and homemade chips (cut and baked some tortillas). I will include this dish in my weekly rotation. Thank you for another amazing recipe, Mel!
This was so good!!! I used ground sausage because its what i had on hand that was thawed and turned out so yummy!
I’ve made many of your recipes and have rarely been disappointed. This recipe is good and reminds me a lot of your Burrito Bowls or Floating Tacos – zucchini being used instead of other ingredients. We chose not to serve over rice because it would have then been Burrito Bowls, but all by itself it just seemed like something was missing- like rice – and didn’t hold together not having a sauce. We eventually broke out tortilla chips to help it out.
This was super delish! My skeptic zucchini son ate his bowl (I did shred and drain the zucchini lol) Thank you!
I made this and it was amazing. As I am keto, sometimes need a shortcut, there were some changes. I used 2 10 Oz cans of original Rotel in place of tomatoes and chilies. I halved the beans and corn (fresh and roasted rather than frozen). I topped with avocado, cilantro, sour cream, salsa, pepperjack cheese, green onions, red bell peppers, and chicharrones (instead of chips). It is still a big carb load (15 g per serving) but as I can plan around that with earlier meals or fasting this was no problem. 9 outta 10 I highly recommend
This is just a general question….when a recipe says 6-8 servings and the nutritional info says one serving, which amount is it going off of? Also in this case is the nutritional info using ground Turkey or ground beef? Thank you!
Great question – for my recipes, I use the max number of servings (so 8 if it’s a range) and the higher fat ingredient (ground beef in this case). Nutrition facts are tricky because there are lot of variables like that. The calculator I use is built into my recipe plugin so I don’t have a lot of leeway with changing amounts or specifics. I highly recommend if people are wanting less variable nutrition info to plug in the exact ingredients they’ll use (ground beef vs ground turkey) into a nutrition calculator or app to kick out more personalized nutrition data.
My husband and I enjoyed this recipe. Made a few substitution but have cooked it twice. Such a healthy and flavorful dish to serve a family.
I had my doubts with this one but went ahead due to excessive zucchinis. It was so delicious, filling and easy to make. Highly recommend and will definitely make again. Thanks so much sweet Mel!
LOVED THIS!! I ate it with chips and my son put it over rice.
Easy and flexible!
My 17 year-old- “It was delicious”
My 15 year-old- “The best dinner to come home to after a long and hard field hockey practice”
I loved it, too!
I was pretty skeptical of this recipe thinking, I don’t think my kids or husband will eat it. I mean they might, but not happily! BUT I had several zucchini’s just sitting on the counter waiting to be used! So I made it. I can’t believe how much zucchini went in to it! EVERY PERSON IN MY FAMIKY ATE IT AND FINISHED IT! They even said it was good! I asked, “even with all the zucchini?” Their response? “I didn’t even notice the zucchini!” Thanks Mel!
I tried this recipe for my husband and I and I divided it in two (it stills works great, in my opinion). We had enough for 3 portions. And it was divine! Just enough spice to make it flavorful but not too spicy. Would definitely recommend !
Loved it! We left out the beans and increased the Turkey a little to account for that: it was definitely a winner. Thanks Mel.
Very delicious way to use up zucchini. My kids aren’t big fans of zucchini but they all ate this. I loved all the veggies.
I decided to use this to meal prep lunches for myself for the next week. Yummy! My teenage daughters keep stealing it for their lunches. This is super versatile. It would be great over a sweet potato too.
Now you have me thinking I need to make this tonight just so I can try it over a sweet potato. Great idea!
This will be on repeat until my zucchini plant stops producing! DELICIOUS!!! Thank you!
Delicious!!
Made this last night it was very tasty! I didn’t have green chiles but used a can of petite Italian tomatoes. We put it over rice, then tooped with avocados, sour cream & salsa. Will make again!
Just finished our leftovers of this from last week and sad it’s gone!! So delicious and easy, another Mel winner to add to the collection. Thank you for being you!
So good and loved that it uses so much zucchini! Was excellent as leftovers too. I didn’t have canned tomatoes or green chilies on hand so I used a can of rotel and it turned out great. My husband asked if we could have this every week. Mel’s recipes never disappoint!
This was insanely good! I was honestly surprised at how flavorful this was with such simple ingredients. It was incredible and I can’t wait to make it again!
This was easy and tasty! I used my PC food chopper to get the zucchini cut up small. I also added about 3 cups instead of 4 cups since I wasn’t sure how it would taste. Really great and I think I will put a bit more in next time. A keeper
Such a great way to use up zucchini. So yummy. So easy. So fast to make.
I made this with Beyond Meat for my vegetarian son, otherwise followed exactly (zucchini Al dente). It was a hit, so good!! Thanks for a great recipe, looking forward to making it again soon.
This is sooooo good! I left the meat out, and subbed in summer squash (what I had) and it was delicious. I also used Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming (sort of an all purpose southwest/chili spice blend) and loved the hint of chipotle that added. I can’t believe how good the al dente squash were- a squash cooking revelation! Thanks for another keeper!
Mine turned out a lot . . . (I’m trying to come up with the right word that doesn’t make it sound bad) . . . soupier than what your pictures look like. I don’t know if it was my home-canned tomatoes or what exactly. So it wasn’t exactly the same as your version, but it was a great taco soup!
Hi Kim, sounds like it might be the difference between home-canned tomatoes and storebought tomatoes if I had to wager a guess!
Mel, you scored once again. Delicious !! I followed your directions exactly about putting zucchini in at last min. Actually, it’s easy to make and took no time at all. Chopping onions and browning meat was only thing that took any time. I used the Better than Beef, plant based (fake meat) because my sister doesn’t eat red meat. Spices were perfect. Thanks so much !!!!
Made it tonight and it is definitely a favorite! My husband said to make sure and put it as a favorite. We have enough for two more meals so I will freeze one. He asked me where I found it and I said my friend Mel!
Such a great recipe! Made it exactly how it is written. We LOVED it and even my picky eaters went back for seconds!
Leftovers tasted great over lettuce as a taco salad!
Awesome dish. So many variations you could use and it would still be great. So quick and so easy. This recipe is a keeper.
I made this today for lunch. It was delicious!! I separated a smaller amount into a small pan and added the cheese. I am going to put the rest in the fridge and just heat it up again then add the cheese. Will let you know how that works. I was considering freezing some to see how that comes out too.
Excellent, Marianne! If you freeze and defrost to eat, let me know how that works out!
Made it with garbanzo bc that’s all I had in the pantry, still great!
I love the improvisation, Margie! Garbanzo beans would be excellent in this.
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband said it’s one of his favorites. So good!
Thanks for letting me know, Tonya!
I made this tonight and everyone loved it. I served it over rice with guacamole, sour cream and salsa as topping options.
The only change I made was adding a packet of taco seasoning.
I’ll definitely be making this again.
Delicious combo, Donna! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know what you thought about the recipe.
I’m not a huge zucchini lover myself (especially the soggy kind) but this recipe is AMAZING. I also love how versatile it is as far as how you can eat it (on shells, in a tortilla, on a salad etc). The kids liked it too – yay for more ways to get in veggies! We are filing this one away for repeated use.
I made this last night using our abundant crop of yellow zucchini. I followed the recipe as you wrote it and I must say, it was delicious! I will make it again before the season ends.
Thanks, Mary!
Looks and sounds so very delicious! Thank you
Quick, easy & good!
Thanks, Bethany!
This was so easy and some members of my family really enjoyed it. I served it with tortillas, pickled jalapeños, green olives, green onions and sour cream. This seems like a recipe that would work well in a regular rotation, even when zucchini is not in season.
Thanks for the report back, Dodi!
We loved this! Even my squash hater. Definitely will stay on the summer rotation. Delicious and so fast to prepare! Thanks Mel!
Thanks, Kristie!
We loved this recipe! I would have had a lot of grumping with that amount of zucchini served plain. Recently had to use a couple of Fred Flintstone size zucchini and this recipe helped. The zucchini spaghetti casserole was terrific too!
Whole family loved it! Will repeat again soon.
Thanks, Adrienne!
Love that mex mex thank I will try it!!!!
I made this for dinner last night and I really liked it! The al dente bites of zucchini really we’re the best part. My kids gave it sideways thumbs, but everyone got a healthy meal I’m their bellies, so I count it as a win!
My kids give sideways thumbs (love that description) a lot, too. Glad it was mostly a hit! 🙂
Thank you so much Mel for helping me with your s’more cookie/bar conversion. Do you by chance know how long I should bake the bars for two half sheet pans? How long should I bake for the 1 1/2 the recipe for one half sheet pan. Thank you again Mel for all your help with this.
I bake the half sheet pans at 350 degrees for about 20-22 minutes.
Made a vegetarian version of this tonight, subbing cauliflower rice for the meat and threw in an extra can of beans for good measure. It was so so good!!
What a fantastic idea! Thanks for the details on making it meatless!
Have you tried this with yellow summer squash instead of zucchini? I have a pile of summer squash in my garden so I’ll try it for supper tomorrow and let you know how it goes! (I have high hopes… even with my squash averse kids!)
No, but I bet it would work very well!
Oooweee! I had a large zucchini to use up and wondered what in the world I would make with it. This recipe showed up in my inbox as if Mel had been reading my mind. We snarfed this meal down very quickly, all the while making comments like, “This is so good!” “Yum!” “I love this stuff!” It is a total keeper. I am very willing to accept zucchini donations from the neighbors so I have an excuse to make this again very soon.
Kellie! That makes me so happy to read! Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you guys thought!
Amazing, easy, delicious!!!!! Thank you Mel, you’re a kitchen wizard! My teenage boys loved this; one said it was a top ten dinner!!!
Yay! You made it so fast after I posted! So happy it was a hit!
Hi Mel,
My oldest daughter is in medical school and I want to ship her your s’mores cookies but I would like to make them into bar cookie because they will ship better. Can you please tell me how to covert your cookie recipe into a bar recipe please I would so greatly appreciate it and so would my daughter
Thank you so much for your help with her care package
Hi Milanka, you should be able to make the recipe and put the dough into a 9X13-inch pan and bake that way! I’ve also tripled the recipe and split between two half sheet pans – so if you didn’t want that many, you could 1 1/2 the recipe for one half sheet pan.
Hi Mel! I will definitely try this. I’m going to tell you about my go-to favorite zucchini skillet dish, always the first of the season. Italian sausage, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, 4 med/lg zucchini, seeded, and cut into large chunks. I add in leftover corn off the cob if available, but not necessary. Add a jar of spaghetti sauce and cook until tender. Add cheese on top and broil a few minutes. I could eat this every day!
Delicious, Carol! Thanks for sharing!