Name: Calabacitas con Elote (Mexican Zucchini with Corn)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil; 1 medium sweet onion, peeled & chopped; 3 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped; 3 cups chopped zucchini; 1 cup sweet corn (frozen and thawed — or cooked, cut off the cob); 1/4 teaspoon cumin; Bacon salt (or salt) and pepper to taste; 1 cup chopped tomatoes; For garnish: fresh cilantro and Queso Cojita (Mexican sprinkling cheese)

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If you love Mexican food but want something on the lighter side, this Calabacitas con Elote is for you! It’s a light, easy side dish that cooks quickly and tastes amazing. Calabacitas pairs well with other Mexican food as a side dish or you can scoop it into warm tortillas for yummy vegetarian tacos. You can also use it as a filling for enchiladas, tamales, quesadillas … the options are endless! It’s delightful with eggs and salsa for breakfast as well.

Especially if you have loads of zucchini from the garden, calabacitas is a popular delicious Mexican dish that you don’t want to miss. I know I’ve made it before, but somehow I’ve never blogged the recipe. I did blog my grilled zucchini corn salsa back in 2015, which has very similar flavors. But in my zucchini corn salsa recipe, the veggies are grilled. Today I had a few zucchini from my garden and some leftover Mexican food in my fridge, so I decided to make some calabacitas to spruce up my leftovers.

Calabacitas means “little squash” in Spanish and is a dish that the Pueblo Indians created back in the 16th century and then taught to the Spanish. You can make calabacitas with any kind of squash, even winter squash, but it’s often made with zucchini and/or yellow crookneck squash in the summertime. And since zucchini, corn and tomatoes are in season right now, it’s the perfect time to make this dish.

Did you know National “Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day” is August 8? If you don’t have a glut of zucchini from your own garden, perhaps a zucchini will find its way to your porch soon. My own zucchini plant has root rot so it’s not producing zucchini any more and I need to pull it. I only got a few small squash from the plant (which I used for this dish). My pottery friends were giving zucchini away last time I visited them so I gladly took one off their hands for my next zucchini adventure. I am sure more will find their way to my house as my mom tells me her plant is producing like crazy.

Then again, mom just told me on the phone that she picked 9 zucchini today and she’s going to compost most of them, so maybe I won’t get any from mom? I guess I just have to wait and see. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t save some for me!

Calabacitas con Elote (Mexican Zucchini with Corn)

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Author: Ann
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: About 4 servings 1x
Category: Mexican Food
Method: Frying
Cuisine: Mexican
Diet: Gluten-Free

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Ingredients

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1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, peeled & chopped
3 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
3 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup sweet corn (frozen and thawed — or cooked, cut off the cob)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Bacon salt (or salt) and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped tomatoes
For garnish: fresh cilantro and Queso Cojita (Mexican sprinkling cheese)

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Instructions

Add the olive oil to a medium frying pan over medium heat and use a spatula to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, then stir in the zucchini and cook for several minutes more, until the zucchini starts to get tender.
Add the corn and cumin and a sprinkle of bacon salt (or salt). Cook until warmed through and the zucchini is tender. Stir in tomatoes, taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
To serve: sprinkle with fresh cilantro and Queso Cojita. Serve as a side for other Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, tamales, etc. — or scoop into warm tortillas to make calabacitas tacos

Notes

Poblano, jalapeno or green chile peppers are also a nice addition. Add them with the zucchini in step 1. Some people also add a bit of Mexican oregano.

You can also melt Mexican cheese on top. Once veggies are tender, sprinkle liberally with queso quesadilla, then cover and cook until the cheese is melted.

RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2026, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. This recipe was made by a REAL person with REAL ingredients. The photos are real photos taken by me personally. There is nothing AI here. This is real food made by real people for real people. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.