Meet your new go-to side dish: Easy Sautéed Vegetables! This flavorful recipe for sautéed veggies comes together quickly and can be made with the vegetables of your choice — perfect for picky eaters!
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Why You'll Love These Sautéed Mixed Vegetables
After tasting some delicious vegetables that my mom sautéed for dinner recently, I knew I had to share the recipe with you. We can all use more great vegetable side dishes, right? I've already shared my garlic sauteed asparagus, sauteed kale with mushrooms and tomatoes, and easy garlic green beans, but I'm always in the market for more veggies in my life.
This vegetable sauté was perfectly cooked, bursting with delicious flavor, and best of all, you can easily make changes based on what you have on hand- perfect for cleaning out your fridge and preventing food waste!
And in case you need even more reasons to love this dish, here are a few:
- Made with simple, wholesome ingredients
- Customizable- use your favorite veggies or whatever you have in your fridge
- Ready in 35 minutes
- Family-friendly
- So easy to make!
Ingredient Information and Substitutions
- Olive Oil - My go-to cooking oil for sautéing vegetables is olive oil. But use whatever you have on hand — I also like avocado oil and grape seed oil.
- Garlic Cloves - For some tasty savory flavor! It wouldn't be a sautéed recipe without a healthy dose of garlic, in my opinion. You could also use onion.
- Baby Carrots - I like baby carrots as I don't have to worry about peeling them or cutting them. You can use full size if you prefer.
- Asparagus - One of my favorites! When cooked right, they come out perfectly tender. So good!
- Zucchini - Same goes for zucchini. They add a pop of bright color- summer squash also works here!
- Mushrooms - Tender and flavorful when sautéed, use your favorite kind.
- Anaheim Peppers - Tangy and a bit smoky, Anaheim peppers also boast a very subtle sweetness. Bell pepper also works, and so do Poblano peppers if you want a little kick.
- Seasonings - I'm using kosher salt, ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning for a simple but powerful flavor boost. Feel free to use your favorites.
How To Sauté Vegetables
The Bottom Line: What makes this recipe so customizable is is the method. You can easily switch out various vegetable options, the key to this is when you add each veggie into the pan. Vegetables that take longer to cook (like carrots, potatoes, parsnips, winter squash etc.) will need to go into the pan first. Conversely, veggies that cook up faster like mushrooms or thin-skinned peppers like Anaheim peppers will go in last. This way, the veggies all come out perfectly cooked.
Step 1: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, being careful not to let it burn.
Step 2: Add the carrots next, and cook for about 4 minutes.
Step 3: Introduce the asparagus and zucchini into the pan. Reduce the heat slightly below medium and stir. Sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes, continuing to stir.
Step 4: Add the mushroom and Anaheim peppers, season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, and stir. Allow the vegetables to cook for 10 more minutes, making sure to stir often. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Honestly, most vegetables are good to sauté. It's all about managing their cooking times and starting with the ones that take longer to cook. Follow my cooking instructions carefully — the order in which you add the veggies to the pan is intentional!
Yes, you can make sautéed vegetables from frozen veggies. Just be aware that they are often blanched before freezing, so they may cook quicker. Take this into account when deciding when to add them to the pan. I also recommend letting them thaw a bit before cooking them for the best texture.
Sautéing is a French culinary term that involves cooking in a small amount of fat over high heat while stirring frequently to prevent the food from sticking. The word sauté in French literally means "jump" — some chefs even lift the pan from the fire to make the food "jump" as they stir it.
I use 2 tablespoons of oil in this recipe. That said it really depends on how much you're making. I recommend that you add 1 or so tablespoons at a time to determine how much you'll really need.
The order is key when it comes to sautéed mixed vegetables! I add the garlic first, then carrots, asparagus and zucchini, mushrooms, and Anaheim peppers... in that specific order. As a rule, start with the the veggies that take the longest to cook first and add the other veggies in order from longest cooking time to shortest.
The only true difference is the equipment: stir-frying occurs in a wok and sauteing occurs in a saute pan. But I use the terms interchangeably, as do most people!
The best way to avoid soggy sauteed vegetables is to add them at different times based on how quickly they cook. Again, that's why it's important to follow my recipe closely. The order is intentional!
Tips For Making Sautéed Mixed Vegetables
- Be sure to heat your oil before adding anything to the pan.
- Don't burn the garlic! Burnt garlic adds a terribly, bitter flavor. Stir often, manage your heat and keep an eye on the garlic. It also helps that you're frequently adding more uncooked veggies to the pan- this brings down the temperature slightly.
- Try to cut the veggies to uniform in size to help with even cooking.
- The veggies I listed are suggestions, you can totally change them up based on what you have on hand. Any mixed vegetables will work.
- The biggest key to this recipe is to manage the different cooking times of each vegetable. Certain veggies take longer to cook, like carrots, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables. You'll add those first. Other things like mushrooms and Anaheim peppers (which have thinner skin than bell peppers) go quicker so you'll wait until the other longer-cooking veggies have cooked for a little bit.
- I wait to season everything until after the final veggies go into the pan to make sure everything is evenly seasoned.
- Prep Ingredients Ahead: Peel garlic, wash all veggies, cut carrots, trim and cut asparagus, slice zucchini, cut mushrooms and slice peppers.
- Leftovers and storage: Although this is best consumed immediately, the leftovers are super tasty and will last covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What To Serve With Pan Fried Vegetables
Make it a meal and serve your veggies alongside these tasty recipes:
- Hearty Beef Tips
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Cherry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Other Dishes Featuring Mixed Vegetable...
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Easy Sautéed Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 cup baby carrots halved length-wise
- 1 cup asparagus, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 1 cup sliced zucchini
- 1 cup quartered mushrooms
- 2 seeded and sliced Anaheim peppers
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large sauté pan until shimmering over medium heat.
- Add garlic to pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often (do not let it burn!).
- Add carrots and cook for 4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add asparagus and zucchini and reduce the heat to slightly below medium. Sauté for 5 minutes stirring often.
- Add mushrooms and Anaheim pepper. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Sauté for 10 minutes stirring often. Serve immediately.
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Notes
- Be sure to heat your oil before adding anything to the pan.
- Don't burn the garlic! Burnt garlic adds a terribly, bitter flavor. Stir often, manage your heat and keep an eye on the garlic. It also helps that you're frequently adding more uncooked veggies to the pan- this brings down the temperature slightly.
- Try to cut the veggies to uniform in size to help with even cooking.
- The veggies I listed are suggestions, you can totally change them up based on what you have on hand. Any mixed vegetables will work.
- The biggest key to this recipe is to manage the different cooking times of each vegetable. Certain veggies take longer to cook, like carrots, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables. You'll add those first. Other things like mushrooms and Anaheim peppers (which have thinner skin than bell peppers) go quicker so you'll wait until the other longer-cooking veggies have cooked for a little bit.
- I wait to season everything until after the final veggies go into the pan to make sure everything is evenly seasoned.
- Prep Ingredients Ahead: Peel garlic, wash all veggies, cut carrots, trim and cut asparagus, slice zucchini, cut mushrooms and slice peppers.
- Leftovers and storage: Although this is best consumed immediately, the leftovers are super tasty and will last covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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