Easy Sauteed Vegetables Recipe

I make these easy sautéed vegetables all the time and love them! We sauté fresh veggies with garlic and butter for a delicious, quick veggie side dish that goes with just about anything!

My family knows this sautéed vegetable recipe well. It’s my go-to side when I’ve got a random assortment of vegetables in the fridge. It’s also really easy to meal prep. Either cook the veggies and save them in an airtight container, or chop them ahead of time and cook them when you want later in the week.

This veggie side is so versatile. You can serve it with just about anything, but a few of my favorites are this lemon dill baked salmon, our baked tofu, and these Cajun shrimp!

Key Ingredients

Olive Oil and Butter: I quickly sauté the vegetables in olive oil and finish the dish with butter. This way, the butter melts into a silky sauce that coats the vegetables (so delicious). I do the same when making our sautéed zucchini and even in this scallops recipe!
Vegetables: In our photos, I’ve used onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash. You can substitute or add more veggies. Consider corn, snap peas, green peas, grape tomatoes, thinly sliced carrots, broccoli, or cauliflower (make sure you cut broccoli and cauliflower into little florets so they cook quickly).
Garlic: Since garlic can burn quickly (which makes it taste bitter), I add my garlic with the butter at the end. Just a minute of cooking will release the garlic flavor and turn that butter sauce into a garlic butter sauce!

How to Make Sauteed Vegetables

To make sautéed vegetables, I cut all my veggies small and a similar size. Then, I give the onions a head start since they take longer to cook. When the onions start to sweat, I toss in the other veggies and cook them until tender.

As a last step, I stir in butter and garlic, which melt down into a garlic butter sauce that coats the sauteed vegetables (delicious!). I also add my salt and pepper at the end. Salt tends to draw out moisture from vegetables like zucchini and summer squash, which prevents them from browning.

If you cook them and then season them, they will brown and be well seasoned instead of seasoned and soggy.

Easy Sauteed Vegetables

PREP
10mins
COOK
8mins
TOTAL
18mins

We love these healthy sautéed vegetables made with some of our favorite veggies, garlic, and a little butter for some richness. These are quick to cook and easy to prepare. This is a versatile veggie recipe, so look at the article for other vegetables that work well in the recipe.

Makes 4 servings

Watch Us Make the Recipe

You Will Need

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion

2 medium bell peppers

1 medium yellow squash

1 medium zucchini

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon butter, optional

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1Cut the onion, bell peppers, yellow squash, and zucchini into 3/4-inch pieces.

2Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering.

3Stir in the onions. Cook, stirring around the pan, for one minute.

4Add the remaining vegetables (bell peppers, yellow squash, and zucchini). Cook, tossing occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

5Stir in the garlic, butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, and cook for one minute. Serve.

Adam and Joanne’s Tips

Storing: You can store sautéed vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze them, but the texture of the veggies might change (especially more tender varieties like zucchini).
Different veggies: When using different veggies in this recipe, consider how hearty they are. If they are on the heartier side, like broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots, we recommend cooking them with onions in the beginning. If they are more delicate, like tomatoes or snap peas, add them towards the end.
The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.

Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/4 of the recipe
/
Calories
86
/
Total Fat
6.6g
/
Saturated Fat
2.3g
/
Cholesterol
7.6mg
/
Sodium
149.4mg
/
Carbohydrate
6.2g
/
Dietary Fiber
1.7g
/
Total Sugars
3.3g
/
Protein
1.1g