Ratatouille is a classic French vegetable stew from Provence made with eggplant, red bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil and herbs- a summer celebration in one dish! Video.

Ratatouille is a classic French dish from Provence made with eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil and herbs- a celebration of summer in one dish! Video.

Summertime. It was a song. It was a season. I wondered if that season would ever live inside me.

Benjamin Alire SAenz

Here is one of our favorite recipes for Ratatouille. During the summer months when eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and zucchini are in season, the flavor of each vegetable is elevated-you really don’t need to do too much to them! Making Ratatouille is a beautiful way to highlight your garden veggies and truly captures the essence of summer!

Easy Ratatouille Recipe | 60-sec video! 

WhY You Will Love This recipe!

  • The best flavor and texture! Roasting the veggies instead of stewing them intensifies their flavor, caramelizes them a bit, and gives them a better texture.
  • Fast and easy! It only takes about 15 minutes to prep the veggies, and then they go into the oven to roast.
  • Versatile! Serve it over pasta, rice or polenta, or pile on toast. Get creative! Ratatouille can be served warm or cold.
  • Nutritious & Healthy! This recipe is all about the veggies and it is totally vegan!
  • Perfect for meal prep! Make a big batch of Ratatouille on a Sunday, then serve it up in various ways during the workweek (see below for ideas). You can also freeze Ratatouille for winter- a little summer treasure when we need it most!

ingredient Notes

  • Eggplant– Globe or Japanese are great, but any variety will work here.
  • Bell Peppers– Red, yellow, orange or green. Nice opportunity to get colorful!
  • Summer Squash– Zucchini, yellow summer squash, patty pan whatever is fresh and available.
  • Tomatoes- Any variety will work here!
  • Herbs– Thyme, oregano, or rosemary or a combination! Or make Herbs de Provence!
  • Olive oil – use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil, for the best flavor.
  • Vinegar– Just a splash. Balsamic or Red wine vinegar both work.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.     

prepping the ratatouille ingredients on a sheet pan.

How To Make Ratatouille

  1. Prep the veggies: Cut all the veggies into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Toss! Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on 2 sheet pans.
  3. Bake! Stirring every 20 minutes.
  4. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, and a splash of vinegar.
  5. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate (or freeze) until ready to use.
Ratatouille -served over creamy polenta, with herbs.

What is ratatouille Eaten with?

  • It makes a delicious appetizer with French bread or baguette slices to mop up all the juices.
  • Spoon warm ratatouille over creamy polenta for a delicious vegetarian meal– comfort food in a bowl It’s probably my favorite way to eat it.
  • Create a pasta dish out of it! Toss ratatouille with pasta along with capers and grated pecorino for a punch of flavor!
  • Turn Ratatouille into breakfast, serving it over toast and topping it with an egg.
  • Serve it as a healthy vegetable side dish to grilled fish or meat.
Ratatouille tossed with pasta.

And here’s how to serve ratatouille for breakfast or brunch; warm and spoon over toast, and top with an egg if you like!  So yummy.

Ratatouille served over toast with egg for breakfast.

faqs

What is ratatouille supposed to be?

Ratatouille originated in Provence France in the 1700’s, traditionally made as a stew with summer ripe vegetables. The combination of eggplant, bell peppers, summer squash, herbs and olive oil with just a touch of vinegar is what creates the beautiful flavors.

What do the French eat with ratatouille?

In France, ratatouille is typically served with baguette, crusty French bread, polenta, pasta and rice.

What does ratatouille translate to?

Ratatouille, in essence, means a stirred, chunky stew. “Rata” translates to ‘stew’ in French, while “toiler” is a verb meaning to ‘stir and mix’.

More Recipes You May Enjoy

I hope this easy, delicious Ratatouille Recipe inspires you to try something new and different this summer! Let us know how you like it…. it is one of our favorite meals!

Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.

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how to make the best ratatouille!

Ratatouille Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 70 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home Blog
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 60 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Yield: 56 cups 1x
  • Category: dinner, vegetarian dinner, appetizer, side dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: French
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Ratatouille is a classic French dish from Provence made with eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil and herbs- a celebration of summer in one dish! Serve with crusty bread or baguette as an appetizer, serve over creamy polenta, rice, or pasta for a delicious vegetarian meal, or serve as a side dish or for breakfast over sourdough toast with an egg. 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 cups eggplant- 3 Japanese eggplant or one large globe eggplant
  • 12 red bell pepper – or use yellow bell pepper or green bell pepper
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 2 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash
  • 1 onion
  • 814 garlic cloves, whole, peeled
  • 23 tablespoons fresh herbs – fresh thyme, oregano, or rosemary or any combination.
  • olive oil for drizzling
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • splash balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

Optional Garnishes: Italian parsley or fresh basil ribbons, red chili flakes, olive oil


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F and line two sheet pans with parchment
  2. Prep the veggies: Using a vegetable peeler, peel eggplant if you want – or remove some of the skin in long strips. (Or if you prefer, leave the skin on.) Cut into ½-inch thick bite-sized pieces.  Slice the bell pepper into ½-inch wide strips. Cut the tomatoes into 3/4-inch wedges. Slice the zucchini the long way and then slice into ½ inch thick half-moons. Slice the onion into ¼-½ inch thick half-moons.
  3. Spread out the veggies on the sheet pan in a single layer (this is why you most likely need two sheet pans). 
  4. Drizzle with olive oil and toss, using enough oil to coat generously. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Toss well.
  5. Roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes; then scatter the whole garlic cloves (peeled) and herbs and mix the veggies. Roast for 20 more minutes, mix again. Turn heat down to 300F and roast for 10-20 more minutes, or until tender and edges begin to caramelize- watch closely here. 
  6. Remove from oven, taste, adjust salt and pepper, and drizzle with a little splash of vinegar, carefully mixing. 
  7. Use immediately, or cool and refrigerate (or freeze) until ready to use.

Notes

Ratatouille will keep up to 4 days in the fridge in an air-tight container or can be frozen for up to 6 months. It can be eaten warm or chilled. 

Garlic: I really love garlic, so I add a lot here; feel free to cut back if you like!

To serve with pasta: cook pasta according to directions. Heat Ratatouille in a large skillet adding a little more olive oil and capers (optional). Stir in the cooked pasta, adjust salt. Sprinkle with grated pecorino (optional) and fresh herbs.

To serve over toast: Toast the bread, heat up the Ratatouille and poach an egg. Drizzle toast with a little olive oil, top with warm Ratatouille and poached egg. Season with salt and pepper and top with fresh herbs.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cup
  • Calories: 147
  • Sugar: 7.1 g
  • Sodium: 202.8 mg
  • Fat: 9.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 15.1 g
  • Fiber: 4.2 g
  • Protein: 2.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Comments

  1. This is so easy and so delicious! Great for using late summer produce as we have here in NZ at the moment.

  2. I adore this recipe! It is on a constant rotation for me. I shared this with my aunt and she shared it with my cousin out in CA who made it for a dinner party and everyone went wild over it. So simple and great to use in many combinations with other foods. I build bowls for lunch to take to work.






  3. Easy and delicious! I had never made ratatouille in the oven before and was a little skeptical, but it was fantastic. I added Bragg Herb blend to veggies, which is my go to veggie roasting herb mix. I love your recipes! Thank you so much!






  4. So easy, healthy, and absolutely delicious! A perfect side dish but also an amazing pasta/ orzo /farro topping! Will make this regularly! Thanks so much!






  5. many of the ratatouille recipes from star chefs and websites call for canned tomatoes. not this one. oven roasting brings out the sugars without destroying the vegetable shapes. for aromatics I paid up for a new jar of herbs de Provence. my family loved it. will make it again






  6. I’m allergic to nightshades but my husband loves them. We were looking for a recipe for all the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes that come in our farm share. He LOVES this recipe. Enough to ask for it again and do all the prep work. Thank you Sylvia for yet another great recipe.






  7. I added whole mushrooms (tossed in a bit of brandy and olive oil) roasted. I was concerned that this did not have a sauce so added one. I pulsed a tomato and clove of garlic, reduced it with 1/4 cup red wine, 3 tbsp balsamic for about 3 minutes then added 1/2 cup of mushroom broth, reduced it all to about 1/4 cup and poured over the vegetables before serving over polenta. Delicous!

  8. So tasty and simple! I love so many of your recipes as they are easy to make but very delicious and adaptable and vegan or vegetarian friendly! Thank you so much!






  9. I’ve tried other Ratatouille recipes, but this is by far the best. I like that it’s not saucey or soupy. I used oregano & basil from my garden. All the vegetables came from a local farm. I rushing back tomorrow to get more veggies and make another batch to last through the week.






    1. I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Yes the there is a bit more structure in the textures here…. I enjoy it too!

  10. Didn’t taste good to me. I love veggies and vegetarian food, but there were just too many textures and it wasn’t appetizing. The creamy polenta was good though.






  11. This is a great recipe! I made it last night & served it over cheesy vegan polenta. I loved it so much that I bought another eggplant today so I can add this to my meal prep for the week. Thanks for another awesome recipe! 🙂






  12. It’s incredible how much flavor comes out of these veggies! I used rosemary and purple sage from the garden. I served it on sourdough toast with leftover French onion dip, then when I ran out of dip I started using red pepper harissa! It was so good. This was a wonderful recipe, thank you for sharing it!!






  13. It’s incredible how much flavor comes out of those veggies! I seasoned with rosemary and purple sage from the garden. I served it on sourdough toast with leftover French onion dip, then when I ran out of dip I used red pepper harissa sauce. It was so good. This was a wonderful recipe, thank you for sharing it!!






  14. I made this recipe doubled. It was great, but my wife recalled “saucier” versions of ratatouille. So, I puréed a can of San Merzanno tomatoes, put half of the ratatouille in it, added some chopped basil and simmerd for hlf n hour. Fabulous.

  15. Will not be making traditional recipes again.
    The layers of flavors bursting with “Umami”
    I am grateful to have been
    guided to your site!
    Also love your positive quotes. Thank you






  16. This seems delicious but it is absolutely not the authentic ratatouille.
    In ratatouille, you cook the veggies on the stove, starting by onions then add each one.
    And then you will add the spices, and so on.

    1. Not an authentic technique, I realize, but if you try it, you might be pleasantly surprised at how roasting brings out the flavors.

    2. I didn’t get the impression that she was claiming to be authentic. I’ve made authentic ratatouille before and it takes a lot of work and prep–hard to do as a mom of twins! So I personally appreciated this recipe for making the flavors and “essence” of ratatouille accessible to busy people who can’t be bothered with thin slicing, layering, many steps, etc.

  17. Such an easy meal to prep! Love that I toss it in the oven and can have a clean kitchen by the end of cooking. Just me or does that make dinner taste even better?






  18. This is the most amazing, tasty meal. I make it regularly and it is easy and delicious every time! It is my best eggplant recipe, but it is so much more than an eggplant recipe. And the creamy polenta makes the dish sing!






          1. Thank you — I’m preparing Easter dinner will it taste as good if I make day before and if so how would I reheat?

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