With perfectly ripe summer vegetables, this Easy Ratatouille Recipe shows off local produce at its finest. When the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant are this good, you hardly need to do anything to make them shine with the essence of summer! Visit your farmers market, see what’s on offer, pick up some simple ingredients, and let’s make this classic French dish together. Stick with me to see how it’s done.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Homemade Ratatouille hits all the right spots for me. You’ll love it too, for reasons like:
- Showcases summer produce at its finest.
- Looks incredibly beautiful in the dish.
- So delicious that it’s hard to believe it’s so simple!
- Completely vegan and designed to be — no meat substitute products.
- Gorgeously sweet but with no added sugars at all.
- Perfect hot from the oven, but stores well in the fridge for cold meals the following day.
- Ideal vegetarian recipe to bring to a grill party or cookout.
What is Ratatouille?
Ratatouille is a delicious summer vegetable stew that originated in the countryside of Provence, France. It was developed by French peasants in the 18th century as a way of using up ripe or even over-ripe vegetables, to ensure nothing went to waste.
Inspiration Behind The Ratatouille Recipe
I found the most beautiful ripe summer tomatoes from the farmers market. I picked up an eggplant as well, and I had a couple of zucchini in the fridge. Still, the shape of the dish hadn’t really formed in my mind. I wanted to showcase these ingredients at their best, but I felt I needed something more filling. Pasta? Rice? I wasn’t sure. But the gods of food must have been watching over me that day because when I got home and opened my laptop, my streaming service popped up with a recommendation to watch the Pixar movie Ratatouille! Well, that was all I needed to hear! Ratatouille was the perfect solution. Throw in a few potatoes as well, and I was in heaven. And yes, I watched Ratatouille while eating my easy baked ratatouille recipe. I like to think that Remy, the cooking rat, would be proud of me!
Ingredient list
To make this French ratatouille recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
For the tomato sauce
To assemble the Ratatouille
Ingredient Substitutes
If you’re missing any of the above ratatouille ingredients, you can sub in one of the following:
Variations
How to Make Ratatouille Recipe With Easy Cooking Steps
Cooking Tools
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Chopping board
- Kitchen knife
- Immersion blender (optional)
- Mandoline slicer (optional)
- Small saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Large ovenproof dish or baking tray
Cooking Method
- Simmering
- Baking
Preparation Steps
- Assemble all the tools and ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C.)
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Chop the tomatoes and the roasted red bell peppers.
- Finely slice the garlic and finely chop the rosemary.
- Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant very thinly.
Cooking Steps
For the tomato sauce
- Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the onions, garlic, and rosemary with a pinch of salt. Fry for about 5 minutes, until softened but not colored.
- Add the tomatoes and the roasted peppers. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.
- Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and somewhat reduced. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and (optional) blend with an immersion blender if you want a smooth sauce.
For the Ratatouille
- Put the sliced vegetables into a large bowl with the olive oil, rosemary, and sliced garlic, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat well.
- Add the prepared tomato sauce to a baking tray or ovenproof dish and spread it out over the base.
- Stack the sliced veggies upright in the baking tray, pushing them half into the tomato sauce. Try to more-or-less alternate potato, zucchini, eggplant, but don’t worry about getting it perfect.
- Continue until you have used all the vegetables; you may need to add a second layer, depending on how big your baking tray is.
- Cover the Ratatouille with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
- Uncover, and bake for 30 minutes more, until bubbling at the edges and the vegetables are slightly browned and crispy at the top.
- Leave to cool slightly for about 5-10 minutes before serving.
Alternative Method
For an extra crispy top, you can turn on the broiler in your oven for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. This is especially good if you chose to add grated parmesan to the top!
Best Tips to Ace This Recipe
- Slice the vegetables as uniformly as you can, to about the thickness of a quarter or a little thicker. This is the absolute best way to cook them evenly and crisp the top edges. The best tool to use for slicing is a mandoline slicer. You can achieve this result with a knife, but a mandoline makes slicing vegetables SO easy.
Time-Saving Tips
- Use marinara sauce instead of making your own tomato sauce. Be careful to check the label to ensure there are no added sugars.
- If you don’t have time to stack the vegetables upright, you can just haphazardly scatter the thinly sliced vegetables over the tomato sauce. The dish won’t look so beautiful, and the crispy parts will be more uneven, but you will still get a good and tasty result.
What To Serve with Ratatouille?
I am perfectly happy to eat my easy ratatouille recipe for dinner, with nothing more than a simple green salad and crusty bread on the side. But it makes a great dish to bring to a potluck — everyone will exclaim over how beautiful it is. Bring it complete in the ratatouille dish you baked it in — it’s just as good at room temperature as it is hot from the oven.
You can also serve it as part of a salad buffet for a summer BBQ or grill party. For a fantastic side dish selection, match it with:
- Spicy Tofu Panzanella Salad: This vibrant salad combines crispy tofu with crunchy bread cubes and spicy seasonings, creating a flavorful and hearty side that pairs beautifully with the rich and savory flavors of Ratatouille.
- Strawberry Cucumber Salsa: A refreshing and zesty salsa made with fresh strawberries and cucumbers, offering a delightful contrast to the warm and robust flavors of Ratatouille, perfect for adding a burst of brightness to your meal.
- Quick Marinated Tomato Salad: This simple yet flavorful salad features marinated tomatoes in a tangy vinaigrette, providing a juicy and acidic complement to the rich and aromatic Ratatouille.
How To Store Ratatouille?
Ratatouille keeps very well in the fridge. Leave it in the roasting pan, allow to cool to room temperature, and cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. Alternatively, transfer leftovers to an airtight container. It should stay good for up to a week.
The flavorful ratatouille recipe can be eaten cold, but if you want to reheat it:
- Put the whole roasting pan back in the oven, set at 350°F (180°C) until warmed through, about 10 minutes.
- Alternatively, lift out individual portions from the roasting dish and place on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on full power for about 1 minute until piping hot.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy my Easy Ratatouille Recipe as much as I did! Whether it elicits memories of childhood, a French vacation, or relaxed summer dinners with family, it’s bound to be a winner for you, too. Pick up the best summer vegetables your local farmers have to offer, and give this traditional ratatouille recipe a go. Let me know in the comments how you get on!
More Healthy Vegetarian Side Dish Recipes
Looking for more healthy vegetarian side dishes for summer? Try out one of these:
FAQs
Ratatouille is made of fresh colorful vegetables, usually including eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Sometimes additional vegetables such as potatoes or yellow squash are added.
Yes, Ratatouille is gluten-free. The only ingredients in a classic ratatouille are vegetables and olive oil, making it naturally gluten-free with no substitutions required.
Easy Ratatouille Recipe
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 4-5 large ripe fresh tomatoes chopped
- 8- ounce jar of roasted red peppers roughly chopped
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and diced
- 1 sprig of rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
To assemble the ratatouille
- 1 ½ pounds of small potatoes thinly sliced
- 2 medium zucchini thinly sliced
- 1 medium eggplant quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced
- 3 cups of tomato sauce all of the sauce in the recipe above
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Preparation Steps
- Assemble all the tools and ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C.)
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Chop the tomatoes and the roasted red bell peppers.
- Finely slice the garlic and finely chop the rosemary.
- Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant very thinly.
Cooking Steps
For the tomato sauce
- Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the onions, garlic, and rosemary with a pinch of salt. Fry for about 5 minutes, until softened but not colored.
- Add the tomatoes and the roasted peppers. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.
- Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and somewhat reduced. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and (optional) blend with an immersion blender if you want a smooth sauce.
For the ratatouille
- Put the sliced vegetables into a large bowl with the olive oil, rosemary, and sliced garlic, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat well.
- Add the prepared tomato sauce to a baking tray or ovenproof dish and spread it out over the base.
- Stack the sliced veggies upright in the baking tray, pushing them half into the tomato sauce. Try to more-or-less alternate potato, zucchini, eggplant, but don’t worry about getting it perfect.
- Continue until you have used all the vegetables; you may need to add a second layer, depending on how big your baking tray is.
- Cover the ratatouille with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
- Uncover, and bake for 30 minutes more, until bubbling at the edges and the vegetables are slightly browned and crispy at the top.
- Leave to cool slightly for about 5-10 minutes before serving.
