Sautéed Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
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Transform your summer dinners with a simple, flavorful veggie sauté that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.
Crisp zucchini, burst cherry tomatoes, and, meltingly sweet red onions sautéed in olive oil, and finished off with fresh basil. It sounds simple—and it is—but it’s one of those magical dishes where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Pair it with grilled salmon, steak, or chicken and some orzo tossed with a bit of lemon and olive oil for a light and easy weeknight meal.
Table of Contents
“This recipe is so fresh and light, we really loved it and so simple to make.”
What You’ll Need To Make Sauteed Zucchini And Cherry Tomatoes
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion.
Cook, stirring frequently, until very soft and pale purple in color, 7 to 8 minutes. Do not brown.
Add the zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the zucchini are cooked but still crisp and the tomatoes have started to collapse, creating a little sauce. Stir in the fresh basil, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh basil, if desired.
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Sautéed Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
Transform your summer dinners with a simple, flavorful veggie sauté that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 pound zucchini (2 to 3 medium), cut into ½-inch chunks
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (I usually buy NatureSweet Cherubs)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, plus more for garnish if desired
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft and pale purple in color, 7 to 8 minutes. Do not brown.
- Add the zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the zucchini are cooked but still crisp and the tomatoes have started to collapse, creating a little sauce. Stir in the fresh basil, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh basil, if desired.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 104
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 529mg
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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We used a white onion and didn’t add Basil. But other then that did everything else correct. By the way are you supposed to leave the skin on or take off?? Do you use the seeded part of the Zucchini??
Lovely dish and will make again.
Glad you liked it! You don’t need to peel the zucchini and unless it has really big/ a lot of seeds, you don’t need to cut those out.
Hello! Could this be made the day before and reheated in the oven?
Hi Sarah, I think you can get away with reheating this, but would probably use either the stove or the microwave.
This recipe is so fresh and delicious. It’s great as a side dish but we also like add feta cheese and put it over angel hair pasta. One question – can I freeze this??
Hi Stephanie, Glad you like it. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will freeze well – sorry!
Lovely recipe. I put half the tomatoes in initially and then the rest in after about 5 minutes. I served it over pearl couscous and it was so fresh tasting. I also drizzled on some balsamic glaze when it was plated. Thank you for another winning recipe.
Hi Jenn,
Love this recipe. Would this work if I were to slice the onions and and zucchini into strips? I’m trying to mimic our favorite Mediterranean place down the street as they have something similar. Thanks!
Hi Chad, Yes, I think that should work just fine.
Very similar to a recipe I’ve made for years. Tried this as written and the next night merged the recipes and I liked the merged version even better! After sautéing the onions, zucchini, and tomatoes and adding garlic and seasoning, squeeze a lemon over it all. Keep the heat high and the lemon juice begins to caramelize, creating a fresh and deep flavor. Best to use a stainless steel pan for the best caramelization.
This recipe worked perfectly and was absolutely delicious! The sweetness of the red onions really added a nice flavor to the dish. It was quick and easy and made a wonderful side dish for my dinner.
Hi Jenn, I have larger group and am doubling. Can I sauté the onions in the pan first, then transfer and toss everything together on baking sheet with parchment paper and then bake in the oven instead? My pan is not big enough for the quantity I need to do for stove top. Would it work in the oven? If so, how long would I bake it for and at what temp? 😀
I think that will work, Kathy. The tomatoes will need much more time to cook than the zucchini. At 400°F, I’m guessing 20 to 25 minutes for the tomatoes and 5 to 10 minutes for the zucchini.
I always add grated Parmesan cheese heavy on top and let sit 10 minutes! Yum
Yum! I just received my misfit box in the mail and I had cherry tomatoes, red onions, garlic and zucchini in the shipment. I was trying to figure out what to make and how perfect that I found your recipe. I made the recipe as described except I didn’t have basil on hand, so I used fresh rosemary. I then made it a complete meal by folding in cooked ground, pastured pork. It was a yummy, simple meal, packed with flavor. The whole family approved! Next time I hope to try it with basil. This will definitely go on our meal rotation.
This side dish is elegant, healthy, and unbelievably satisfying. I like my zucchini a little softer so I cooked it for a couple of minutes before I added the tomatoes. Pair this with her Grilled Chicken and Cilanto-Rice (from her cookbook) and you will impress people!