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Make delicious Mexican-style hominy and zucchini with ingredients like onion, garlic, jalapeño, tomatoes, lime, and cilantro for a new favorite savory, summery side! Plus, it’s ready in under 30 minutes!
What Is Hominy?
Hominy is a type of dried field corn (maize) treated with an alkali, like lye. The process, called nixtamalization, removes the hull and germ while giving hominy its distinctive chewy texture and nuttier, earthier flavor than regular corn.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
In Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, hominy corn is often used to make pozole (a hearty Mexican stew), ground into masa (dough), and added to chilies. This summer, though, I’ve been pairing it with summery zucchini for a simple, crowd-pleasing side.
This Mexican-inspired hominy dish is a delicious blend of some of my favorite ingredients, many of which are pantry staples for making fresh salsa. It’s incredibly easy to prepare with just a bit of chopping and simmering, budget-friendly, and you can even substitute corn if hominy is unavailable. The result is a warm, flavorful side that’s perfect with these air fryer tortilla chips, vegan tacos (like these vegan breakfast tacos), burritos (like these sweet potato burritos), and any summer gathering.
The Ingredients and Substitutes
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients, substitutes, and recipe instructions!
What Could I Add To Mexican Pan Fried Hominy?
- Bell pepper: Finely diced for added bulk and flavor.
- Cumin: For a subtle, savory, earthy flavor in this simple hominy corn recipe.
- Beans: Add heartiness and plant protein with black beans, pinto, or garbanzo.
- Vegan cheese: Sitr vegan cheddar or Mexican-style cheese into the zucchini with corn until melty OR top the dish with vegan tofu feta cheese for a salty, tangy addition.
How to Make Hominy
Step 1: Prepare all the ingredients by finely dicing the onion and zucchini, mincing the garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro, halving the tomatoes, and juicing the lime.
Step 2: Then, heat the oil over medium-high in a large, lidded pan. Once hot, sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, until tender.
Remove the ribs/seeds from the jalapeño before mincing for a milder flavor. Leave in some (or all) seeds for more heat.
Step 3: Add the zucchini, hominy, jalapeño, tomatoes, lime juice, chili powder, and salt, and stir well. Then, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Finally, stir in the cilantro, taste it, and adjust the amount of salt, chili, or lemon, if needed, then enjoy!
FAQs
Make sure to rinse it thoroughly. If that’s not enough, you could leave it to soak in fresh water for 10-15 minutes, too. Acidic ingredients (like lemon/lime, tomatoes, and vinegar) also help to neutralize any metallic taste.
Absolutely—the texture and flavor do differ, but zucchini and corn are a summery match made in heaven. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn.
Technically, yes, but it will need to be soaked either overnight (8-12 hours) with cold/room-temperature water OR an hour in boiling water.
Then, drain and rinse it well and cook using your preferred method (Instant pot, saucepan, etc.). Only then is it ready to use in this recipe.
Top Recipe Tips
- Customize the heat level: Make the sauteed corn and zucchini milder with a mild pepper or use less jalapeno. Add jalapeño seeds or use a hotter pepper (serrano, poblano, etc.) for more heat.
- Season to taste: Taste and adjust the levels of lemon/lime juice, salt, and chili powder.
Serving Suggestions
This tasty, savory, slightly spicy Mexican-style hominy makes for a delicious side at BBQs and potlucks, as well as for all your favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes:
- With warm tortilla/pita or air fryer tortilla chips
- Vegan tacos (Tofu tacos, cauliflower tacos, potato chickpea tacos, roasted veggie tacos, etc.)
- Within or alongside vegan burritos (like this bean and rice burrito) and bowls (like this sweet potato quinoa bowl)
- Vegan quesadillas (like these vegan bean quesadillas), kabocha sauce enchiladas, and tofu fajitas
- Southwest vegan stuffed peppers or quinoa stuffed peppers
- Grilled tempeh or tofu skewers/grilled tofu steaks
- Cilantro lime rice, easy vegan Mexican rice and beans, etc.
- Vegan refried beans or frijoles de la olla
- Side salads like sun-dried tomato pasta salad, Texas caviar, easy edamame salad
Storage Instructions
Leave the zucchini and corn (hominy) to cool, then store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheat either on the stove over medium-low heat or in a microwave until hot.
Summer Zucchini and Hominy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- ½ cup of diced yellow or red onion
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 ½ cups of diced zucchini
- 1 (20-ounce) can of hominy drained
- ½ cup of halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ to 1 lime juiced (depending on how much sourness you prefer)
- 1 ½ teaspoon of chili powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 3 tablespoons of minced cilantro
Instructions
- In a large pan (with a lid) over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add onion and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the zucchini, hominy, jalapeno, tomatoes, lime juice, chili powder, and salt, stir, lower the heat to low, and cover with a lid for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the minced cilantro and serve as a side dish.
Notes
- Customize the heat level: Make the sauteed corn and zucchini milder with a mild pepper or use less jalapeno. Add jalapeño seeds or use a hotter pepper (serrano, poblano, etc.) for more heat.
- Season to taste: Taste and adjust the levels of lemon/lime juice, salt, and chili powder.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although journeytowellnesspath.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. journeytowellnesspath.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Easy to male and delicious
Gotta love a quick and easy summer salad!