15 Minute Zucchini & Beef Skillet Dinner – Easy Farm-to-Table Recipe

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Perfect for camping or a quick meal at home, this delicious zucchini & beef skillet dinner made with just 5 ingredients, is on the table in only 15 minutes! This recipe is one of my favorite farm to table recipes and is a great way to use up extra zucchini from your garden.

Easy Zucchini & Beef Skillet Dinner {ready in 15 minutes!}

Welcome to another installment of Tuesdays in the Garden! Today, my gardening friends are sharing recipes featuring garden fresh produce! Zucchini seems to be the theme for the day! There are several delicious ways to use the prolific garden veggie. But there are also ideas for rhubarb and peppers too! I’m drooling over all of these farm to table recipes! I hope you’ll click through to each of them and try them out! Let me know what you think. 🙂

I love cooking with zucchini and have numerous recipes on the blog with creative ways to use it all up. So many people have trouble getting rid of all of their zucchini, but I rarely have that problem. If you have extras, leave them at my house so I can make all of these delicious dishes: zucchini chocolate cake, farm to table roasted veggies with kielbasa, easy shrimp lo mein from scratch, and anything in this collection of 12 savory zucchini recipes!

Zucchini & Beef Skillet Dinner

15 Minute Zucchini & Beef Skillet Dinner

And here is one more fabulous savory way to use zucchini. I’ve been making this quick zucchini skillet dinner for a number of years. It’s delicious, fresh, and very easy to make. All you need are a couple zucchinis, a pound of ground meat {I use local grass-fed beef}, fresh lemon juice, and chili powder. It might not sound overly inspiring, but it’s really tasty. The combo of lemon and chili powder is quite delicious.

cooking zucchini and beef skillet dinner

To make this, simply slice up one or two zucchini while you brown your meat. Add the zucchini and let it cook until the meat is done and the veggies are soft and buttery. Add lemon juice, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. That’s it! You can increase the amount of chili powder and lemon juice if you want to make the flavor more intense. I included my preferred amounts of each ingredient in the recipe below.

Yield: 4 servings

15 Minute Zucchini & Beef Skillet Dinner – Easy Farm to Table Recipe

15 Minute Zucchini & Beef Skillet Dinner – Easy Farm to Table Recipe

Quick and easy dinner idea made with only a few ingredients! Great way to use up the zucchini in your garden.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 large or 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 1 - 1 1/2 TBS chili powder {to taste}
  • juice of 1 - 1 1/2 lemons {to taste}
  • 3/4 - 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In cast iron skillet, start browning the beef over medium high heat.
  2. While the beef is browning, thinly slice the zucchini. Drain the grease from the skillet and then add the zucchini.
  3. Cook until the beef is no brown, and the zucchini is soft and buttery, about 8 minutes. {I usually turn the heat up a little higher for the last minute to cook off any remaining grease and brown the zucchini a little bit.}
  4. Add the chili powder, lemon juice, and salt.
  5. Cook for one more minute, stirring the entire time.
  6. Serve with a fresh salad and crusty bread. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram tagging @simplifylivelove! I love to see your photos!

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Tuesdays in the Garden

frugal family home

The theme for today’s Tuesdays in the Garden is delicious ways to use garden produce! I’m sure you will enjoy each of these recipes shared by my garden buddies. I can’t wait to try them all. Enjoy!

From Shelly at Frugal Family Home – Rhubarb Crumble Coffee Cake

From Diane at Homemade Food Junkie – Roasted Peppers Parmesan 

Hearth & Vine

From Patti at Hearth & Vine – Simple Zucchini Gratin

From Jami at An Oregon Cottage – Zucchini, Corn, & Tomato Saute with Feta

About Michelle Marine

Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.

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4 Comments

  1. Hi Michelle,

    I love this easy skillet beef and zucchini recipe idea and can’t wait to try it. I’m all for the quick and easy and I think this one is something everyone will like.

  2. Oh, this dish sounds so delicious. We will have to give it a try soon. I know my kids would love it but we’ll have to enjoy it on a night my hubby is gone since he doesn’t like zucchini, but the rest of us will really enjoy it.

  3. I’ve never thought to combine lemon juice and chili powder! I’ll have to try it, though I’ll have to cube the zucchini and cook it less because I’m scared of mushy zucchini, ha!