If you are looking for the easiest vegetable side dish, this healthy stir fried mushrooms and zucchini with loads of veggies is the one you should bank upon! This is super quick to make and pairs fantastic with any meat of your choice this holiday season!
Since the time I started mindful eating, I have been looking for ways to include as many vegetables as possible into my daily meal.
I do not like consuming raw veggies as it not only disturbs my gut health, but also demotivates me from eating veggies because I don’t like the taste.
Why I love this Stir Fried Mushrooms and Veggies?
I am not a vegetable hater, but at least it should be tempting to our taste buds. That is why I love this veggie stir-fry which is my customized version as per my liking.
I make it with all of my absolute favorite veggies like Mushrooms and Zucchini; plus I throw in some colors with the bell peppers.
The best part is that you can make this stir fried mushrooms with zucchini and veggies very easily as all it takes is to chop your most favorite veggies and fry them up in minimal oil. Only seasoning needed is soy sauce, salt and pepper.
And a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds is just the cherry on top!
Ingredients for Stir Fried Mushrooms, Zucchini and Veggies
You can use any veggie of your choice to make this healthy veggie dish as a side this holiday season. I used all of my favs that are listed below. Other popular choices could be carrot, babycorn, broccoli and what not!
Mushrooms: Button mushrooms are my absolute favorite. I love it in all of my vegetarian preps, be it my creamy mushroom pasta or zingy mushroom fried rice.
I am sure you already know about it, but just to be on the safer side, let me reiterate that to get the best crispy taste of mushrooms, you must never wash them in water.
Just wipe them with kitchen towel to remove any dirt and you are ready to cook them. Also while cooking mushrooms for any recipe, do not add salt at the beginning as adding salt will draw out all the water making them soggy and the edges will not brown at all.
Zucchini: Zucchini has become my new-found love since the time I started exploring new ingredients thanks to my food blog. It is a new entrant in the Indian market, so I wasn’t aware of its existence during my childhood.
However, I just love zucchini in any shape and form! You will realize my love for this summer veggie in my recipe of zucchini bread, Parmesan baked zucchini, banana and zucchini muffin and many more!
Bell peppers: Bell peppers are those showstoppers that make every event or item vibrant and pleasing to the eyes! I like the peppery taste as well; so it is a total win-win! I cannot imagine a good veggie stir-fry without bell peppers simply because it won’t look as joyful as with these colorful bits.
Since I already was using a green zucchini, I skipped the green one and used yellow and red bell peppers in my healthy veggie stir-fry.
Cherry tomato: Tomatoes add that tangy kick to any dish; so, this savory stir-fry is not an exception either. If you don’t like the tartness that these cute little tomatoes add, you can skip them totally.
I prefer cherry tomatoes over regular plum tomatoes simply because they look better and add a hint of subtle sweetness with the kick of sourness.
Garlic: This is the quintessential aromatic that is indispensable in any stir-fry recipe; be it my chicken and veggie stir-fry or this all veggie meatless stir-fry. Add as much or as less garlic as you like.
Oil: I prefer to use any flavorless oil for stir-frying like canola or any cold-pressed vegetable oil. Use one which has a high smoking point. But if you only want to use olive oil, then do not cook or stir-fry at high heat.
Seasoning: The only seasoning I used is soy sauce as I wanted to keep it very simple and an everyday dish. Salt and pepper of course come by default.
Garnish: Any stir-fry dish gets a crunch with a generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. This healthy veggie stir-fry also tastes better when you add these seeds which not only enhance the look of the dish but also add nutritional benefit.
How to make healthy stir fried mushrooms and veggies
This veggie stir-fry is a very simple dish to make and can be churned out in less than 30 minutes or even less if you have ninja chopping skills.
Major work in this recipe is to chop all the vegetables into approximately similar sizes so that they cook evenly together and one doesn’t get overcooked while others remain raw.
Step 1: Wipe the button mushrooms using a kitchen towel to remove all the dirt. Cut each mushroom into thick slices.
Step 2: Cut the zucchini into half-moon slices keeping the thickness about the same as mushroom slices. Cut the bell peppers into 1-inch squares. Half each of the cherry tomatoes.
Step 3: Now heat the oil of your choice in a large wok. Once the oil is moderately hot, add mushrooms and minced garlic. Stir-fry them on medium until they start to turn light golden.
Step 4: Now add the zucchini and continue stir-frying them for 6 to 7 minutes on medium. Then goes in the bell peppers. Keep cooking for 5 more minutes.
Step 5: Finally add the cherry tomatoes. Stir all the veggies well.
Step 6: Now is the time to add seasoning, which is nothing but light soy sauce and salt & pepper. Give a thorough mix and let it cook for the final 2 to 3 minutes. By now, the mushrooms must have browned well on the edges and all the other veggies have softened.
Step 7: Veggies stir-fry is done! Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle good amount of toasted white sesame seeds and enjoy!
Serving Suggestion of this delicious Stir Fried Mushrooms & Zucchini
On ideal days, I love to pair this veggie stir-fry with grilled chicken. This is a great option of side dish to make for a crowd this holiday season. It will pair well with not only chicken but also pork or steak.
You can also toss it over some plain white rice for a quick meal on-the-go.
- Button mushrooms - 2 cups (about 200 gms)
- Zucchini - 1, large (about 2 cups cut pieces)
- Bell peppers of assorted color - 2, medium (about 1 cup cut pieces)
- Cherry tomato - 1 cup
- Garlic - 6 to 8 cloves, minced
- Olive or canola oil - 2 tbsp
- Light soy sauce - 1 tbsp
- white sesame seed - ½ tsp, toasted
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Cut each button mushroom into thick slices. Do not cut them too thin.
- Cut the zucchini into half-moon slices keeping the thickness as much as the mushrooms.
- Cut bell peppers into 1-inch squares after removing all the seeds and white pith.
- Cut each cherry tomato into halves.
- Now that all veggies are prepped, heat a wok large enough to hold all the veggies and still can be stirred conveniently.
- Add the oil of your choice to the wok and let it warm up. You don't need to make the oil smoky hot.
- Now first add the mushroom slices and minced garlic. Stir-fry mushrooms on medium heat for 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to turn light golden.
- Next add bell peppers and zucchini. They will cook simultaneously. Keep stir-frying on medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Mushrooms will start to turn deep golden brown on the edges, zucchini and bell peppers will start to soften.
- Now add the cherry tomatoes. I love the tomatoes to be barely cooked or softened, so I add them at the very end. If you like them softer, add them early.
- Keep stir-frying the veggies for 5 more minutes on medium heat. By this time veggies will be almost cooked through.
- Finally add the light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Give a final stir. Your healthy veggies stir-fry is ready to savor!
- Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top and serve with lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!
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