A rainbow of veggies-zucchini, onion, corn, and beans-gets an herby Italian glow-up in a tomato sauce, and lands on a bed of creamy polenta = this Italian-inspired zucchini tomato recipe in a nutshell. It's a weeknight winner! And a family favorite. Also: totally, 100% beginner-friendly.
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This zucchini tomato recipe changed everything ...
This was the very first recipe I ever created. Like, ever-ever.
A few years ago, I wasn't into cooking. At all. I didn't enjoy it, didn't feel good at it, and mostly just avoided it.
But then… this zucchini tomato recipe happened.
Just some zucchini, tomatoes, beans, herbs-nothing fancy. Tossed together, simmered into a saucy tomato mix, and spooned over soft, creamy polenta.
Simple. Fast. Cozy. Somehow it just worked. And more than that: it made me realize, "Wait… I can actually cook something?! And it tastes amazing?!"
Since then, I've made it more times than I can count. I've tweaked it here and there, played with the veggies, added a little more chili, a little less tomato paste. But it never fails. It's that kind of dish. If I'd taken a photo every time I made it, I'd have a whole cookbook by now. (Here are two snapshots from two different years!)
Why You'll Love This Zucchini Tomato Recipe
- It's beginner-friendly and done in 20 minutes.
- You don't need fancy ingredients-just a few pantry staples and fresh zucchini.
- It's naturally vegan and gluten-free.
- Leftovers? Even better the next day.
- Comforting and healthy, all in one cozy bowl.
I hope you give it a try. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
🍽 Recipe
Italian ZUCCHINI Tomato Recipe With Polenta
Equipment
Ingredients
For the polenta
- 1 l water
- 3 scant teaspoons salt
- 300 g grainy instant polenta
For the veggies
- 600 g zucchini (about 3 medium zucchini)
- 200-250 g of sweet corn (1 tin/jar, or use frozen)
- 200-250 g red kidney beans (1 tin/jar)
- 1 red onion
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 400 ml tomato passata (or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 small dried red chili peppers (or ½ fresh red chili pepper, seeds removed, flaked)
- 1 bunch mixed Italian herbs (e.g., basil, thyme, oregano, parsley), chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs)
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Start with the vegetables. Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Drain the corn if using canned.
- Drain the kidney beans and reserve the brine (great for aquafaba!).
- Peel and chop the onion, then sauté it in a pan with olive oil until translucent.
- Add the zucchini and cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the zucchini is soft. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.
- While the pan is cooking away, make the polenta.Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Stir in the salt. Slowly pour in the polenta while whisking continuously. Continue whisking until it thickens (about 5 minutes). Once it becomes too thick to stir, cover with a lid and set aside.
- Spoon the zucchini tomato sauce generously over creamy polenta and enjoy.
I'm always curious. How did it go? Tried this Italian zucchini tomato recipe? I wanna hear all about it. How did you serve it? Any fun twists? Any flops? Drop the details below because we all love a good kitchen win or a lesson learned.
Wishing you planty of delicious zucchini dishes,
Ramona
♥
Deanna Dewell says
loved this simple healthy way to eat my small red beans...made a difference that I had fresh italics greens in the garden this time of year! Thank you! I have a photo of it if you want me to share on some plate-form (ha ha get it?l
Ramona says
What a delight to hear you loved the dish! Fresh garden greens truly make all the difference.
Hehe, I absolutely get your pun! 🙂 Since I'm not on any "plate-form" (aka social media), please feel free to email the picture of the dish to me – my address is linked at the bottom of the page.