Grass Fed Beef and Zucchini Skillet Supper

The quick cooking, healthy, easy clean-up, entire family happy-making, grass-fed beef and zucchini skillet supper recipe.

I have been turning up the volume and increasing the frequency of my workouts lately, getting myself ready for the 165 mile hike in 2 months (take heed Sista’s – you better be doing the same!). More workouts mean I have a little less time to spend in the kitchen, and I typically need fuel more often, like a green juice isn’t cutting it guys – it just isn’t.

Do you have any skillet supper recipes in your arsenal? This is one of my go-to meals when the time is tight, for one main reason: ONE SKILLET (i.e. not a billion-trillion pots and pans to clean up for one little meal).

Have I told you that I don’t have a dishwasher? Actually, I haven’t had a dishwasher since I moved to New York 18ish years ago.

<<<Dramatic pause for pity>>>

Take a quick scroll through this website and imagine testing all of these recipes plus an equal or greater number of recipe fails without a dishwasher. Yeah, it gets pretty messy. I keep thinking that whenever I move somewhere that has a dishwasher I will have a solid 5-10 hours extra per week to watch Real Housewives 😉

So when my time is limited, I am all for the one pot or one-skillet meals that cook quickly and don’t make a huge mess.

I like to keep the veggies a little crunchy in this recipe if you like them super soft go ahead and cook them a bit more. To add more veggies to the final product I will typically serve on a large bed of steamed kale (there goes the ONE SKILLET bit eh? Nope, I, 90% of the time, have steamed kale ready to go in the fridge. Boom.)

I also like to serve it with a variety of salsa’s, spicy chipotle, salsa verde, whatever suits your fancy.  Make your own if you are into it, here’s a great recipe for a roasted tomato salsa.

I always make enough for several servings, this recipe will serve 4-6, but Jordan has a tendency to eat 4-6 portions on his own so I typically double it, as it makes great leftovers. You can top a salad with it for lunch the next day (think taco salad) or stuff it into a sweet potato, or toss it with some spaghetti squash, or serve it over brown rice, or, or, or… Seriously, the options are endless.

One little note about the beef. I don’t eat a ton of red meat personally. I eat mostly plant-based foods with a little bit of animal protein here and there, and when I do eat animal protein I try to make sure it is super high quality, meaning the animals were raised humanely, fed well, and maybe even loved up a bit 🙂 I like to think of myself as  “mostly plants + conscious carnivore”. This means when I do eat red meat it is grass fed. Period.

More tasty recipes:

• Southwestern Sweet Potato Skillet
• Creamy Chicken and Rice
• Cast Iron Skillet Crispy Chicken Thighs
• Za’atar Roasted Chicken Thighs Sheet Pan Dinner
• Greek Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Check out my grass-fed ground beef recipes roundup for more tastiness!

Let me know if you make this recipe! Tag me on Instagram (@abrapappa) with a picture of your final dish!

Grass Fed Beef and Zucchini Skillet Supper

Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

The quick cooking, healthy, easy clean-up, entire family happy-making, grass-fed beef and zucchini skillet supper recipe.

4.87 from 15 votes

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Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 220 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound grass fed ground beef ideally organic
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini large chop
• 1 cup red bell pepper large chop
• 1/2 large white onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup adzuki beans or black beans
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water

Optional, for serving

• steamed kale
• salsa

Instructions

 

• In a large skillet (ideally a cast iron skillet) over medium high heat, brown ground beef. Stir until you no longer see pink – this should take about 7-10 minutes. Continue stirring and breaking apart with a wooden spoon so beef cooks evenly. Season with half the amount of salt and pepper. Stir well.
• Remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain fat from skillet.
• Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to skillet – add zucchini, red pepper, onion and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes or until slightly tender. I like the veggies to have some texture in this dish – a little bite – if you prefer veggies super soft then cook for a bit longer at this stage.
• Add beef back to the skillet, add beans, add remaining salt and pepper, chili powder, and tomato paste. Stir well to break up tomato paste. Add water, scraping the bottom of the skillet to release flavor bits.
• Cook for 8 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve with your choice of salsa’s perhaps on a large bed of steamed kale – ’cause that’s how I eat it 🙂

Notes

• Ground turkey or chicken could be subbed for the beef
• For a vegetarian version, you can eliminate the beef altogether
• This is super yummy stuffed into a sweet potato!!

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 19gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 383mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3g

Snap a photo when you try this recipe!Tag me! @abrapappa or #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo!

Meet Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

Abra is a licensed nutritionist, seasoned home cook, and forever flavor-chaser. She’s spent more than two decades exploring the connection between food and health—and just as long obsessing over what makes something truly delicious. Abra’s Kitchen is where those two loves meet, with recipes that celebrate vegetables, follow the seasons, and make you excited to cook.