Mexican-Inspired Calabacitas Con Queso
Zucchini with Tortillas & Cilantro
- Milk
- Soy
- Wheat
Inspired by members of the HelloFresh community, we share this delicious 30-minute vegetarian dinner idea in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. “Preparing a meal is our way of showing we love each other,” says Ashley H., whose family is from Mexico. “My grandmother always says, ‘Primero comemos,” or “First, we eat.” For this homestyle dish, you’ll toss sautéed zucchini, corn, tomato, and onion in a creamy sauce, then top with melted cheddar and sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Our spin on calabacitas con queso is served with warm tortillas for scooping up all that savory, melty goodness.
Ingredients
1 unit
Corn
1 unit
Yellow Onion
1 unit
Long Green Pepper
1 unit
Zucchini
1 unit
Tomato
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 teaspoon
Cumin
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon
Dried Oregano
4.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Cheddar Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
6 unit
Flour Tortillas
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Drain corn, then pat dry with paper towels. Halve, peel, and dice onion into ½-inch pieces. Halve, core, and dice green pepper into ½-inch pieces. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick half-moons. Dice tomato into ½-inch pieces. Roughly chop cilantro.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over high heat. Add corn and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly charred in spots, 2-4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. • Add onion, green pepper, zucchini, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and a large drizzle of oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened, 4-6 minutes. • Add tomato and ½ cup water (¾ cup for 4 servings); cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender and sauce has thickened slightly, 1-2 minutes more. (For 4, you may want to work in batches.)
• Stir sour cream into veggies until combined, then sprinkle evenly with cheddar. Cover and cook until cheese melts, 1-2 minutes. • Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave until warm and pliable, about 30 seconds. TIP: Toast your tortillas on the stove if you prefer a crispier texture.
• Divide calabacitas con queso between bowls and garnish with cilantro. (TIP: For a little heat, drizzle with hot sauce from your pantry!) Serve with tortillas on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many found it mild; adding extra spices like cumin, garlic powder, or hot sauce boosted flavor 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple to make, though some noted lots of veggie chopping required.
- Suggestions: Consider adding black beans, chicken, or shrimp for protein; reduce water for a thicker consistency.
- Portions: Some felt it was more of a side dish; adding protein or serving over rice could make it more substantial.
- Texture: A few found it too watery or mushy; cutting zucchini smaller and browning veggies could improve texture.
Reviews from our home cooks
We received Italian Parsley instead of Cilantro in this bag. The meal was still delicious (and surprisingly filling!) but it would have been that much better with Cilantro. I did also add some additional spices I had at home (a blend that I usually add to salsa etc. to add a bit of heat and enhance the flavor) plus a dash of Cholula. I'm not usually into spicy food, but the recipe seemed like it needed a kick! Will still definitely make again.
Tasted good but the instructions were bad because step 2 said to add 1/2 cup water which was way too much and almost ruined it. I only added 1/3 cup which was still too much, queso was watery and runny and I couldn't cook it down enough to get rid of it. I think even 1/4 cup might have been too much. Instructions need to be fixed. Would have been good otherwise.
Reminds me of a hash without the potato. We both made tacos out of them by using the main meal as a filling. Lots of veggies and flavor. Partner added more sour cream to his and loved it! I probably would have preferred either a Mexican cheese blend or cotija cheese instead of plain cheddar. I didn't have any hot sauce on hand but that would have added some more flavor.
Loved the flavor combination and would never have expected zucchini to go well in a Mexican dish.
This had great flavors and was kind of fun to eat with the tortillas. I love corn, so this was a home run for me.
Directions should indicate zucchini should be cut up into smaller pieces, half moons were too large and didn't get cooked enough. All veggies except tomatoes would have been better if they were browned. Maybe roast the zucchini & peppers in oven or after corn is charred remove it & brown others then return corn to dish. Not much flavor, bland, expecting more. Would love to see this again but with added seasonings & spices. Love the all veggie meals, and would like more options like this that aren't Vegan.
This was really good. The preparation took longer than I thought it would because there was a lot of cutting. I did enjoy it and even plan to remake this recipe again. I also might have you guys add shrimp or chicken to this next time.
The flavors were amazing and it was so easy to make. Everyone in my family loved it.
Great textures with all the veggies, but wasn't as flavorful as I was hoping for a Mexican dish and I don't mean spice as I am not good with hot spiciness but more layers to the spices could have elevated the flavor.
The flavor was great and it was super fast. It could have used a little spice.
