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This easy recipe for Calabacitas Tacos is delicious and full of your favorite vegetables! I love this recipe as a main dish (hello, tacos!) or as a side dish.
Some calabacitas recipes call for cotija cheese or maybe even cheddar cheese, but I like to keep it dairy free and light over here. I don’t think you’ll miss the cheese at all, but you’re welcome to add them in!
JUST TAKE ME TO THE EASY CALABACITAS RECIPE
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If you’d like to skip over the information about freezing, swapping ingredients, and diet information, please simply scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find the printable Calabacitas recipe!
Ingredients for these Calabacitas Tacos
This recipe has just a few simple ingredients! I love how easy they are to make.
- Yellow Squash: In addition to being a filling vegetable, it’s high in vitamins and maganese, which helps to strengthen bones.
- Zucchini: So many vitamins and minerals! I also love that zucchini has antioxidants.
- Onion: has anti-inflammatory properties.
- Cilantro: it’s just delicious.
- Corn: high in fiber and I love the crunch it gives! I’m using canned corn but you could use fresh corn too.
- Salt: this is optional, but I find it adds the perfect flavor
- Chili Powder: just a touch!
- Green Chile: I love Anaheim green chilis! Fresh is definitely better for calabacitas. If you can’t find Anaheim, look for poblano peppers in your grocery store.
- Corn tortillas if making tacos
Recipe Tips
- You can easily leave out the cilantro if you don’t care for it. No need to add anything else in.
- You can add jalapeños if you would like this dish to be a bit spicy.
- You can use other types of summer squash if you’d like. Here in the southwest we have a delicious Mexican gray squash that we use.
- You can add other vegetables–diced tomatoes, mushrooms, anything your heart desires!
- If you want your calabacitas to be crunchy, you might want to cut squash into larger chunks. If you’d like them to be cooked more, cut into smaller chunks.
How to make these healthy Calabacitas:
This recipe takes about 25 minutes to make.
- Slice your veggies. Keep vegetables around the same size when possible. Slice the squash and zucchini into quarters and the green chili pepper and onion into small chunks. Mince the cilantro into small pieces.
- Spray the pan with oil or drizzle olive oil onto the pan and spread with a paper towel or spatula. Light is best here–just a little bit!
- Add squash, then add the onion and chili pepper to the pan. Stir in the corn kernels and cook in a pan or skillet on medium high heat. You can add the cilantro now or after everything else is cooked, depending on your preferences.
- Sauté for 10-15 minutes on medium. This is all about preference! If you like your squash cooked more, cook your calabacitas for longer. If you like crunchy squash, cook for less time. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- If making tacos, prepare your tortillas. Whether you’re heating or cooking your corn tortillas, get them ready for your tacos!
Healthy Eating Plans
Weight Watchers Blue Plan: Zero Point recipe if eating the calabacitas by themselves. 0 Blue Points | 1 Green Points | 0 Purple Points | As a taco, two corn tortillas add 3 Blue Points | 3 Green Points | 3 Purple Points
21 Day Fix Containers: (entire recipe) 6 green containers, 1 yellow container for the entire recipe. (per serving, which is about 1 cup): 1 green container, negligible yellow container. If you’re making tacos, be sure to count a yellow for your two corn tortillas.
2B Mindset: I’d eat this as part of my breakfast (50% veggie, 50% FFC), lunch (50% veggie, 25% FFC, 25% protein), or dinner (75% veggie, 25% protein)!
Other recipes you’re going to love:
Easy Calabacitas Recipe for Tacos
Equipment
- Kitchen Knife
- Cutting Board
- Enameled Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow squash
- 2 cups zucchini
- 1 ½ cups onion
- ½ cup cilantro
- ½ cup corn, canned canned
- 1 fresh green chiles diced, about 1/2 cup
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- 12 corn tortillas optional, for tacos
Instructions
- Slice your vegetables and cilantro. Add in spices. 2 cups yellow squash, 2 cups zucchini, 1 1/2 cups onion, 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/2 cup corn, canned, 1 fresh green chiles, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp chili powder
- Add to a preheated pan and spray with oil.
- Sauté for 10-15 minutes or until cooked to your preference.
- Add to corn tortillas, if you're making tacos. 12 corn tortillas
Notes
- You can easily leave out the cilantro if you don’t care for it. No need to add anything else in.
- You can add jalapeños if you would like this dish to be a bit spicy.
- You can use other types of squash if you’d like. Here in the southwest we have a delicious Mexican gray squash that we use.
- You can add other vegetables–diced tomatoes, mushrooms, anything your heart desires!
- If you want your calabacitas to be crunchy, you might want to cut squash into larger chunks. If you’d like them to be cooked more, cut into smaller chunks.
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
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This was fantastic. I happened to have a bottle of cilantro lime olive oil which really took it over the top, the lime kick was a great addition.