10-Minute Sautéed Zucchini Recipe with Fresh Herbs

These tender sautéed zucchini slices are ready in 10 minutes from start to finish and can be eaten on their own as a healthy side dish or added to a salad like this quinoa zucchini salad.

This easy zucchini recipe includes tips to keep your zucchini from becoming soggy.

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Zucchini is a low maintenance vegetable in the kitchen. Unlike, say, artichokes. (Sorry artichoke lovers!) Consider the facts:

• Zucchini needs little prep, no matter how you choose to use it.
• It plays well with many herbs and veggies.
• You can serve it raw for some crunch in a salad, grilled or sautéed.
• And sautéed zucchini cooks up in about 10 minutes. Take that, artichoke!

And there are so many ways to use it from zucchini pasta and zucchini bread to zucchini tots and baked zucchini sticks. I even make cookies with it! These lemony zucchini cookies are like little soft English tea cakes with a burst of lemon.

👩‍⚕️ Zucchini Nutrition

• Zucchini is rich in nutrients, antioxidants and aids digestion. And just like tomatoes, some nutrients in zucchini are highest when it is cooked.
• This veggie is low in calories, fats and sugar.
• It's one of the recommended low carb vegetables by Eating Well.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.

👩‍🍳 Prep Tips for Best Results

Sautéed zucchini is best al dente, which means tender with a little bite to it. But it's easy for it to turn out soggy since it's so high in water content. Here are ways to prevent soggy zucchini when prepping.

• Slice the zucchini into evenly thick rounds so that they cook up evenly.
  • This vegetable is very easy to slice, so you can do this with a chef's knife, but a hand-held mandolin is much faster and more accurate. Just be sure to always use a hand guard or towel to protect your hand when using a mandolin.
• Pre-salt the zucchini slices and arrange on paper towels or in a colander.
  • Zucchini are almost all water and salt acts to draw out some of it. Sprinkle no more than ½ teaspoon of kosher salt over the zucchini slices and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes. Dab with paper towels to remove any moisture.

👩‍🍳 Cooking Tips for Success

Here are ways to prevent soggy zucchini when sautéing.

• Use very little olive oil to sauté the zucchini. It should only be enough to barely coat the slices.
  • It's easier to start with a very small amount of oil and add a more later if needed than to deal with too much oil from the beginning.
• Add the zucchini to a pre-heated hot skillet.
• Cook the zucchini quickly at medium-high heat in a single layer.
  • The zucchini slices will steam if they overlap which promotes sogginess. And a high heat allows you to stay ahead of the point where the zucchini slices release a lot of their moisture.
• Don't overcook zucchini.
  • Only cook the slices until they begin to become slightly translucent with a few golden brown spots (as shown below). This shouldn't be any longer than 5 minutes. Any longer than this, zucchini releases more of its water making the slices very soggy.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

This easy zucchini recipe calls for only a few simple ingredients, but here are more ideas you can use.

• Other herbs that marry well with zucchini include fresh dill, thyme, lemon thyme, fresh basil, and lemon verbena. Fresh mint is also delicious with zucchini.
• Use your favorite Italian seasoning mix in place of dried oregano.
• Add a pinch of onion powder and / or garlic powder in place of the fresh garlic.
• Add lemon zest to the pan with the zucchini slices.

🧊 Storage Tip

Store any left-over zucchini in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop or a microwave oven.