Learn how to saute vegetables for a quick, easy, and healthy side dish that tastes great with just about anything. Colorful vegetables are cooked in garlic butter sauce with a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
The combination of buttery mushrooms, sweet bell peppers, and tender yellow squash is great for serving with everything from roasted chicken, pulled pork, and beef short ribs. You can also toss over pasta for an easy vegetarian meal. And to give it an Italian twist, add a scoop of Gremolata for a burst of flavor.
How to Saute Vegetables Perfectly
These easy sauteed veggies are your answer when you need a quick and easy side dish. While you can use all types of vegetables, we chose button mushrooms, bell peppers, and yellow squash for this particular recipe. The combination of flavors and textures is perfect once sauteed until golden brown in a dreamy garlic butter sauce.
Email This Recipe
Get a link to this recipe emailed so you can save it for later + get all the latest Carefree Kitchen recipes!
By submitting this form you consent to receive emails from The Carefree Kitchen
Other vegetable options would be broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, green beans, brussels sprouts, and snow peas. You just want to be sure that you cook the softer vegetables after the more crisp veggies have had a chance to get a head start.
Main Ingredients
- Mushrooms – this recipe calls for white button mushrooms. They are usually the most common and the most inexpensive mushrooms that you will find. While fairly bland, they are great at soaking up flavor. You could also substitute cremini mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms.
- Bell Pepper – any color of bell pepper will work great. Slice into ½” slices and then cut into approximately 2” pieces.
- Yellow Squash – wash and cut the squash in half lengthwise, then cut into ¼” pieces. Zucchini would be a good substitute.
- Olive Oil – it’s a good idea to add a little olive oil to the butter to cook the veggies because olive oil won’t burn as quickly as butter. Avocado oil is a good substitute.
- Butter – butter adds amazing flavor to sauteed veggies. If you want to use only oil, you can substitute an equal amount.
- Garlic – fresh garlic will always have the best flavor. The next best thing would be jarred minced garlic.
- Salt and Pepper
- Parsley – fresh chopped parsley makes a great garnish. It adds color and fresh flavor. Fresh thyme and chives would also taste good.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat the pan. Prepare the veggies, then heat a medium-sized skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and butter and melt.
- Saute the veggies. Once the oil and butter are hot, add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the prepared peppers, squash, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are golden brown and the garlic is translucent or slightly golden brown.
- Serve. Season with salt and pepper and stir to coat. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm. Enjoy!
Tips for Making Sauteed Vegetables
- When cooking a variety of veggies, you may need to cook some first. Start with those that will take longer to cook such as mushrooms or crisp vegetables like broccoli. Add softer vegetables like squash and tomatoes later since their cooking time is much less.
- Cut vegetables into similar sized pieces so that they will cook more evenly.
- Be sure to preheat your pan before using it.
- Saute veggies in a combination of butter and oil for flavor and to prevent burning.
- Avoid stirring too much. Let the veggies sit in the pan to develop a golden-brown crust before flipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
When cooking a variety of veggies, I like to use a combination of butter and olive oil. Butter will give that rich buttery flavor, while adding a little olive oil will help prevent it from burning. If you want, you can substitute avocado oil.
I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet to saute vegetables because it retains heat so well and cooks very evenly. It will cook the veggies faster, helping prevent them from getting soggy. A regular stainless steel pan will also work. Or, a wok is a great choice especially if you are making stir fry veggies.
If at all possible, use fresh vegetables for this side dish. They will have a much better texture once cooked.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerator: store leftover veggies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To reheat: to reheat, you can either microwave or add them to a pan over medium heat.
Sauteed Vegetables Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound button mushrooms, cut in half or bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1/2" slices (any color)
- 1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/4" pieces
- 2 teaspoons garlic cloves, minced (about 3 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the veggies, then heat a medium-sized skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and butter and melt.
- Once the oil and butter are hot, add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the prepared peppers, squash, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are golden brown and the garlic is translucent or slightly golden brown.
- Season with salt and pepper and stir to coat. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest, Instagram and Tiktok for more!
More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
- Vegetable Kabobs
- Oven Roasted Asparagus
- Air Fryer Squash
- Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
- Grilled Street Corn on the Cob
- Pea Salad
- Glazed Carrots
- Oven Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- More Side Dish Recipes
- More Easy Vegetarian Recipes
This easy Sauteed Veggies recipe is made with an assortment of vegetables all cooked together in a garlic butter sauce until golden and tender. It’s a healthy side dish that only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.
