This easy chunky pan seared onion, peppers, and zucchini recipe is fast, simple, healthy, and versatile. Sautéed stovetop vegetables takes around 10 minutes to cook.
Serve chunky pan seared onions, peppers, and zucchini cook as a side dish, with quinoa or pasta and feta cheese or Parmesan cheese, or over meats.

Seasoning For Chunky Pan Seared Onions, Peppers, Zucchini
Start by cooking pan seared onions, peppers, and zucchini in your favorite high heat cooking olive oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, etc... Basics are good! Season with salt and pepper.
Next, level up your stovetop veggies with different seasonings every time. Try:
- Italian seasoning or any blend or dried herbs like parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, etc...
- All purpose seasoning
- Old bay seasoning
- Spices like cayenne, paprika, curry, or five spice powder...
- Garnish with fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, parsley, etc...
- Add a cheese garnish: feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, colby jack...
- Add a nut: sliced almonds, crushed pistachios, pine nuts...

Serve Seared Onions, Peppers, Zucchini With
- Toss with orzo or your favorite pasta and more olive oil.
- Serve over steak, chicken, or tofu
- Serve as a side dish.
- Combine cooked vegetables with farro, quinoa, or beans.

Troubleshooting Pan Cooked Vegetables
A couple important things to remember when trying to cook crunchy vegetables that still have a slight sear:
- Use a big pan (at least 12") on your highest heat burner. It doesn't matter if it's stainless steel, nonstick, or cast iron.
- Get it hot first, but not smoking hot. Add a thin layer of oil.
- Don't crowd the pan. If you do, that's ok but it does mean the vegetables need to be disturbed / stirred less.
- This also means that heat has to be moderated up and down depending on if something is burning or not cooking fast enough.
- Add oil if something is burning, remove pan from heat, and turn the heat down!
- Salt the vegetables in the pan as salt will draw out moisture faster.

Chunky Pan Seared Onions, Peppers, Zucchini
This easy chunky pan seared onion, peppers, and zucchini recipe is fast, simple, healthy, and versatile. Sautéed stovetop vegetables takes around 10 minutes to cook.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 + tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, chunked or big slices
- 2 medium zucchini, chunked
- 2 medium red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, seeds removed and chunked
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced or sliced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, old bay seasoning, or all purpose seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- pinch white or black pepper
Instructions
- Add oil to a warm 12 inch skillet. When hot, add onions, zucchini, peppers, salt, pepper, and chosen seasoning.
- Cook uncovered on medium high for ~ 10-12 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary.
- Turn once or twice but try not to disturb the pan too much so that the vegetables can lightly brown.
- Add oil as necessary.
- Salt to taste. Serve as a side or mix with pasta or quinoa. Happy veggie eating! Beckie
Things In My Kitchen:
- pastry scraper - One of my favorite kitchen things for picking up food from the cutting board & transferring to bowls or pans.
- cutting board - 18 x 14 x .75 is my board. Sustainably harvested, easy on knives, got the juice grooves, and pretty.
- 12" nonstick skillet - 12" with a lid, oven safe to 400F, PFOA free. Perfect for seafood and delicate meats.
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Serving Suggestion
Serve this pan cooked onions, peppers, and zucchini recipe with complementary dishes like these to round out your dinner:
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