This Easy Sautéed Lemon Herb Zucchini is a super flavorful way to use up lots of zucchini. It’s packed with flavor thanks to the garlic, chopped thyme and a touch of lemon all topped off with a touch of crunchy pine nuts.
We’re continuing with the side dishes again this week with another easy, flavorful recipe! With the abundance of summer zucchini right around the corner, I’m already thinking of ways to use up what’s coming.
Every year, I over plant zucchini in the garden, but I haven’t regretted it yet! We make a lot of zucchini noodles year round, but especially during the summer months (my favorite recipe is these Kung Pao Chicken Zucchini Noodles).
I also love to grill and serve it alongside all sorts of things like this Balsamic Grilled Chicken Topped with Caprese Salad. And of course there’s one of our all time favorites, Zucchini Fritters with Avocado Crema.
But it’s only been recently I’ve gotten into sautéing zucchini, which has been a fun new way to put veggies on the table. Even though zucchini is primarily a summer veggie, it’s reasonably priced, and even quite cheap some weeks throughout the winter. It makes a great all around veggie, and since it’s very mild, it’s easy to dress it up with bold flavors.
For this dish, I kept it simple with dried thyme, but feel free to use fresh herbs if you have them around. Chopped fresh basil is so good subbed in for the thyme, and I pretty much always default to basil during the summer. It’s my favorite herb, so I tend to go overboard when it’s abundant.
Let’s talk about how to make this Easy Sautéed Lemon Herb Zucchini!
For the zucchini, chop it however is easiest for you, keeping it to bite sized pieces. I like to cut mine into quarters lengthwise, and then slice it into thin triangular pieces.
From there, it gets a brief sauté, and then you finish it with a bit of lemon juice which adds a bright fresh flavor. Pine nuts are a favorite of mine with zucchini, but you can also use toasted sliced/or slivered almonds, and cashews would be good as well.
Serve this with any simple main dish like my Easy Herb Roasted Chicken or Tuscan Style Steak to keep things nice and easy.
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Easy Sautéed Lemon Herb Zucchini
- Total Time: 18 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Easy Sautéed Lemon Herb Zucchini is a super flavorful way to use up lots of zucchini. It’s packed with flavor thanks to the garlic, chopped thyme and a touch of lemon all topped off with a touch of crunchy pine nuts.
Ingredients
4 medium zucchini, 1 1/2 pounds
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 Teaspoon dried thyme
1 Teaspoon lemon zest, see notes
1/2 Teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/4 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Instructions
Remove both ends from the zucchini, and cut them into quarters lengthwise. Lay the quarters flat side down on a cutting board, and slice crosswise into thin triangular pieces.
Set a 8-9″ cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add the olive oil, garlic, and lemon zest. Sauté stirring until it’s fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Then add the sliced zucchini, and continue to sauté stirring as it browns. Cook until crisp tender, 6-8 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and stir in the fresh lemon juice.
Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top, and serve immediately.
Notes
I like to use a microplane grater for lemon zest because it melts into the dish rather than bigger graters that leave chewy pieces of zest in the final dish.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pan Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
I love pine nuts and all things lemon. Can’t wait to try this!
I love pine nuts too, they’re just so delicious in savory dishes!
This zucchini looks so delicious! I always buy an abundance when they come in season at the farmers market. I’ve never used lemon with it- I have to try that!
That abundance season is right around the corner again, and I can’t wait!
This looks like an awesome way to make zucchini! I have a devil of a time trying to find pine-nuts that are packaged in a facility that does not share with wheat. I will have to look around online.
I hope you can find some pine nuts because they’re so delicious, but maybe you could use almonds or cashews instead if you have a good source for them!
I love zucchinis and the added lemon and herb make this dish absolutely delicious !!
Lemon and zucchini is definitely one of my favorite combos!
I can’t wait until my zucchini plant starts producing. We love zucchini around here.
Me too, I know it will probably be another few months for our area but I can’t wait for garden zucchini!
This is like my dream side dish. Perfect for my low carb paleo goals!
And it’s super easy to make too, so bonus points all around!
I am going to have to do a zucchini roundup this summer just so I can share this. Everyone keeps asking me for good zucchini recipes and this one looks like such a great idea to make with those!!
There’s always that point every summer where it’s hard to find enough ways to use the zucchini abundance! 🙂
OMG this looks soooooo good. Can you tell I’m hungry right now? Love how green and vibrant it is!
Thank you, I’m really into all things vibrant right now after a long winter!
I’m envious of your garden zucchini success! I have ok yeilds but not much – we have really sandy beach soil living right on Lake Michigan so it is so hard to grow this type of plant! Thankfully I can get them super cheap at the farmer’s markets and we eat it almost daily in the summer! Can’t wait to try this for dinner!
Thank goodness for the farmer’s market, there’s always a few things different each year that don’t do well, and I love heading to the market to fill in the gaps and buy fun things!
This looks SUCCULENT! I love the addition of the pine nuts!
The pine nuts really make it! 🙂