Calabacitas

These Calabacitas are an authentic, delicious vegetable dish that is full of flavor and versatile enough to be a side dish or a main course!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• VEGETARIAN – I love some meat as much as the next person but sometime you just need a meatless meal. These Calabacitas are the perfect thing! They remind me of one of my other favorite recipes on this blog: Our Mexican Street Corn Salad!
• VERSATILE – This dish is hearty enough to work as a main course but it would also work as great side dish. It’s a great alternative to rice or beans or tortilla chips. You can wrap them in a tortilla to make some veggie tacos. Or serve them with rice or even add a protein if you want!
• SUMMER VEGETABLES – This is a great dish to highlight all those summer veggies that you love! 

Calabacitas Recipe

Calabacitas means “little squash”. And squash is certainly the star of this show! For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what the list of ingredients you’ll need to get started: 

• OLIVE OIL – To saute the Onion and Peppers. You can use any oil you’d like like Avocado Oil or Grapeseed Oil. 
• ONION – Diced. We like yellow onion for it’s sweeter, milder flavor. But you can use a red onion if you’d like. 
• JALAPENO PEPPER – Diced. The seeds are where the heat is. So make sure to remove them (unless you like the heat!). Or, if you want to avoid the heat altogether, you can substitute them for some Bell Peppers. 
• CANNED CORN – Drained. You can kind of corn you’d like. You can use frozen corn, just make sure to thaw it and get of all the moisture. I would not use fresh corn in this recipe. 
• TOMATOES – Diced. You can use fresh or canned. You can also use Ro-Tel Tomatoes that have chilis in them for a little more heat. 
• YELLOW SQUASH –  cut in half and then into 1/4″ slices. But really any summer squash you want to use will be fine. 
• ZUCCHINI SQUASH –  cut in half and then into 1/4″ slices
• GARLIC – Minced.  
• SEASONINGS – Salt, Cumin, Oregano, Black Pepper
• CHEDDAR CHEESE – Shredded. You can really use any kind of cheese you’d like. 
• MILK – We used 2% milk. 
• TOPPINGS – We recommend crumbled Cotija Cheese and Chopped Fresh Cilantro. But these are optional. If you don’t have Cotija, Queso Fresco or Feta will work just fine. 

Storage, Leftovers and Freezing

You can store leftovers in your refrigerator in an airtight container. They should be good for about 4 days. Leftovers reheat just fine in the microwave. 
I would not freeze calabacitas, as they thaw, the vegetables will get a little too soggy. 

We hope you enjoy this Calabacitas Recipe. We’d love to hear how it turned out in our comment section. Happy Eating!

LOOKING FOR SOME MORE MEXICAN INSPIRED RECIPES? CHECK OUT:

• CHORIZO TACOS
• CROCKPOT MEXICAN CASSEROLE
• MEXICAN FRUIT SALAD

Rate this Recipe

Calabacitas

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Servings 6 people

These Calabacitas are an authentic, delicious vegetable dish that is full of flavor and versatile enough to be a side dish or a main course!

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper seeds removed and diced
• 1 can 15 oz, corn, drained
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 yellow squash cut in half and then into 1/4" slices
• 1 zucchini squash cut in half and then into 1/4" slices
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• crumbled cotija cheese and chopped fresh cilantro optional for serving

Instructions

• Add oil, onion and jalapeno pepper to a large skillet. Heat over medium high heat, for about 5 minutes until vegetables begin to become tender.
  
• Add corn and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Add in yellow squash and zucchni.
  
• Add garlic, salt, cumin, oregano and black pepper. Mix well. Continue to heat over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
  
• Cover and heat for an additional five minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese and milk and stir well until cheese is melted.
  
• Serve immediately topped with cotija and cilantro if desired.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal

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