This incredibly delicious and vegetarian zucchini stew will make the perfect light low-calorie meal on beautiful summer days. It is packed with a bunch of Mediterranean flavors and pairs fantastic with a light and refreshing yogurt sauce and some crusty bread.
If you would like to try more vegetarian recipes, go have a look at our Vegetarian Recipe category. And if you’ve just fallen in love with zucchini, we also have a bunch of healthy zucchini recipes like zucchini tomato casserole, feta cheese stuffed zucchini boats or cheesy zucchini Casserole.
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Why We Like This Recipe
- It is incredibly easy and simple to make. You will be surprised how quickly you can whip up this delicious meal.
- It is very low in calories and not heavy at all. This light zucchini stew will make the perfect lunch, appetizer, or even late-night dinner if you aren’t that hungry. It is perfect for summer and is packed with delicious Mediterranean flavors!
- It tastes so good with some crusty bread. We enjoy dipping bread into it!
About The Ingredients
Naturally, the hero ingredient of this stew is the zucchinis. We prefer the pale green variety but literally, any type of zucchini or courgette will work fine.
Then we of course have the fresh summer tomatoes, which add a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to the zucchini stew. We wouldn’t recommend using canned tomatoes, although you can if you’re in a pinch.
This recipe allows you to play around with spices a lot. Although it does already contain a perfect blend of aromatics, you can always remove and add some that meet your needs. We sometimes love adding some chili or cayenne pepper for an added kick.
If you want to create a heartier stew, you can add additional chopped potatoes, or other vegetables like sweet potatoes, pumpkins, or carrots.
How to Make
This is a flavor-packed vegetarian stew that only uses basic ingredients to create an incredibly unique and mouth-watering stew. And what makes it even better is that there is still room for you to play around with the flavors!
First, prepare the zucchini. We love to dice them as they are better in a stew. But you can chop them roughly in larger pieces if you want.
Second, make the base of the stew. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add your onions. Allow them to cook until they are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the tomato paste, cooking it for about 1 minute while stirring.
Add the diced zucchini with their skin on and cook them for about 2-3 minutes, making sure they are covered well with the tomato paste. Place a lid on the pot and allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes on low heat.
Then, allow to cook and serve. After your zucchini has sweated a bit, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt, and all the other seasoning ingredients. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Finally, garnish the zucchini and tomatoes stew with some parsley and serve immediately.
Tips
- We like to make our zucchini quite chunky and large. A rough chop is more than fine as they shrink a lot while they cook. This also helps add more texture to a stew, which can often be mushy.
- We would highly recommend choosing the best and freshest tomatoes for this recipe as it is a big flavor component. You can (and even should) make your own tomato paste and choose some fresh summer tomatoes.
- If you are in a hurry though, you can use chopped canned tomatoes, or even whole peeled tomatoes for juicier flavors.
- This recipe is fantastic as it only uses simplistic flavoring ingredients like garlic, salt and pepper, cumin, thyme, and paprika. Obviously, all of the ingredients in this recipe create a well-balanced flavor profile, but it does leave a lot of space for experimenting!
- You can substitute the parsley with fresh dill or basil as a garnish. These will still add a refreshing herb flavor that compliments the flavors of this stew well.
Serving Suggestions
This is a staple summer dish in Turkish cuisine, especially in the more southern parts. We always love serving it with a dollop of yogurt.
You can buy store-bought plain yogurt, although we prefer making our very own. Our yogurt recipe is incredibly easy to make and you don’t need a ton of skills or equipment.
Alternatively, you can serve it with some crusty bread like this hot water cornbread, bazlama bread, or pide bread. All these make fantastic dipping bread for this zucchini tomato stew.
FAQs
You can definitely freeze this stew for up to 3 months! The most important thing to keep in mind when freezing vegetable stews, or any dish really, is to keep a consistent and stable freezer temperature.
You can definitely add some type of meat to these like chicken or beef, however, we love it most as a vegetarian dish.
You can substitute the parsley with virtually any herb. We would recommend herbs that have a fresher and less umami flavor like basil and dill, even fennel. These herbs pair fantastic alongside zucchini with tomatoes and onions.
You can buy store-bought tomato sauce, however, fresh summer tomatoes do always work better. And never skip adding tomato paste! The tomatoes are a big component of this recipe and give it a deliciously tangy, sweet, and slightly acidic flavor profile.
More Zucchini Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Mediterranean Zucchini Stew Recipe
A very light stew with zucchini, onions and tomatoes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Turkish
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
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1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
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1 tablespoon tomato paste
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2 medium sized zucchini (about 1 pound)
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3 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and chopped
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4 cloves garlic, chopped
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½ teaspoon salt
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½ teaspoon black pepper
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¼ teaspoon cumin
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¼ teaspoon thyme
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½ teaspoon paprika
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Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook onions until translucent.
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Reduce the heat and add in tomato paste. Cook it for about a minute, stirring occasionally.
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Dice the zucchini with their skin. Add them in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Put the lid on and let it cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes.
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Add in chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt and other spices.
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Cook it covered for 20 minutes.
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Garnish with parsley before serving.
Notes
- We used diced zucchini but you can just roughly cut them in larger chunks.
- Tomato paste and summer tomatoes are important in this recipe for the best flavor. But if you are in a hurry, you can use canned chopped tomatoes.
- You can play with the spices if you want.
- You can substitute fresh dill or basil for parsley as a garnish.
Keywords: zucchini stew, zucchini tomato stew
Nadia says
I made it yesterday and wow! My husband and I LOVED it! He wrapped it in tortillas and added some roasted jalapeno peppers on it. YUM!
★★★★★
A Canadian Foodie says
What a delicious, nutritious dish! Zucchini season is Sept Oct Nov here - even August - and this is DEFINITELY going on my list. Everything in it we BOTH love - and I make my own yogurt to boot. Love this idea and really appreciate the simplicity - yet depth of it!
🙂
Valerie
Mochacocinera says
Sounds good with the yogurt. Zucchini looks great!
The Mom Chef says
Zerrin, you've made zucchini look like the most delicious and beautiful food in the world. Thank you for this recipe.
Nikki says
I could absolutely eat this as a main dish and love every bite of it. Plus it's so easy to make vegan 🙂
Zerrin says
I sometimes put it into my lunch box and enjoy it at work, too. Easy, simple and tasty!
Faith says
This looks like a really delicious zucchini dish, Zerrin! Pairing zucchini with tomato and garlic is one of my favorite ways to eat it!
Cajun Chef Ryan says
Zerrin,
Indeed, zucchini is a great vegetable and with the chili and yogurt garlic sauce is a flavor bonanza.
Jeannie says
That is one great looking dish! I don't eat much zucchini simply because this is not a local vege and therefore is quite pricey.
Irena says
Love zucchini , very nice and interesting recipe:)
Tracey@Tangled Noodle says
Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables - we even grew our own at one time. They would get so big, I would have to chop them up and freeze them to use over the winter. Unfortunately, I have not seen any here in Manila, but I will keep searching. In the meantime, I will enjoy your easy yogurt-garlic sauce. 😎
OysterCulture says
We love zucchini but I have never made it with a yogurt and garlic sauce before, that sounds extra special. Another delicious treat that you've shared with us.
Kate @ Diethood.com says
That sounds so good! I love zucchini, but zucchini in yogurt? MMMM! I need to try this recipe!
Nancy @ Kitchen Gypsies says
Hi Zerrin, Your recipe sounds very tasty. I've added it to my long list of foodie recipes to try. 🙂
Corina says
I love zucchini but unfortunately my husband doesn't so I hardly ever get to make it. I'll wait until the next time he's out and then make this just for me.
Zerrin says
My husband didn't used to love zucchini, either. Surprisingly, he loved this one. Maybe the garlicky yogurt sauce helped me. Maybe it can work for yours, too 🙂
George says
My main complaint about zucchini is it's lack of flavor. It seems you've solved that problem here. Will definitely try this one.
Zerrin says
The solution lies behind the spices and garlicy yogurt sauce. Try and enjoy!
Anda @ Cinna-moonBeams says
Another zucchini fan here: Yes to zucchinis! This recipe is mouthwatering, thank you for sharing!
Zerrin says
I've just become a zucchini fan! I must learn new recipes now!
Lisa says
This looks very appetizing. I never would have thought to use a yogurt sauce.
Zerrin says
If you use strained yogurt, it is even better! Zucchini loves yogurt 🙂
tasteofbeirut says
I love zucchini; in the summers in Lebanon we eat it every days until we get sick of it; it is very small there and almost sweet. It is good in many ways, even steamed; but the best way is with onions and tomatoes and a garlic yogurt sauce. Like the one you did.
Zerrin says
Although it is a summer vegetable, I can't help buying zucchini in Winter, too. You know I am the new lover of this veg. and I must improve new dishes with it.
Gera @ Sweets Foods Blog says
Zucchini is one of my favorite veggie - love the sauce with yogurt and garlic - ideal for me!
Cheers,
Gera
Zerrin says
I'm sure you will love it more when you use this sauce on it!
Mateja says
In our family we all love zuchini! Kid's favorite are breaded, my husband's sauteed, and mine stuffed. Wonderful post Zerrin! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Zerrin says
How lucky you are! We discovered the great taste of zucchini a bit late, and trying new recipes with it. Better than never:)
dokuzuncubulut says
Evde hepimiz çok severiz kabak musakka, bol derotlu ve sarımsaklı yoğurtlu. Harika olmuş Zerrin, ellerine sağlık.
Zerrin says
Musakka olarak ben de seviyorum. Dereotu ve kabak her zaman harika bir çift olurlar, değil mi? Annemden öğrendiğim bu tarifte dereotu yok, kendisi sevmediği için kullanmaz. Hatta günkurusu domates de ekler, harika olur.