This Easy Ratatouille Recipe is made with fresh vegetables layered in a pattern and then baked. It is a straightforward recipe with gorgeous presentation, and is also vegetarian and vegan! Try this recipe if you want to experience true French cuisine.
Recipe Origins
Ratatouille is a vegetable side dish made, usually, of tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, red onion, and red pepper. Depending on preparation, the vegetables are either all stewed together or layered in rounds and baked.
This healthy and light side dish originated in Nice, France around the 18th century. At the time, it was considered food for peasants and farmers, as it was a recipe created to use up all the vegetables that were ripe and ready to eat at once.
These days, it is considered a fancy dish that is served in many of the finest restaurants in France.
It became a global name after the 2007 Disney movie, Ratatouille, was released. It told the story of a rat living in France that runs a French kitchen and prepares a delightful Ratatouille recipe for a tough food critic.
It was so fun preparing this dish! The hardest part was chopping and assembling the vegetables, but apart from the time it takes to complete these tasks, there’s not a lot of cooking skill required to make this yummy dish!
Why Make this Recipe
- “Travel” to France: If you’ve ever wanted to experience France, food is a GREAT way to do so. This French dish will give you insight into what life was like in France in the past as well as a dish that is still widely celebrated today.
- Vegetarian/Vegan: This dish is full of healthy veggies! It is perfect for anyone looking for a healthy dish to enjoy.
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
Ingredients
- Vegetables: Zucchini, Roma Tomatoes, Red Pepper, Red Onion, Eggplant
- Herbs/Seasonings: Salt, Black Pepper, Fresh Thyme, Garlic
- Canned Goods: Crushed Tomatoes,
Tools
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Knife
- Cutting Board
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Bottom Layer
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using a 12” cast iron skillet, add 1 (14 oz) can of crushed tomatoes into the bottom of the pan and spread until the entire bottom is coated.
Sprinkle ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, and 4 sprigs thyme to the bottom of the cast iron skillet.
Step 2: Assemble the Vegetables
Use the vegetable rounds to form a vegetable pattern around the inside of the pan. For example, I placed the slices in the following order: zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, red pepper, red onion, repeat.
You can cut the larger vegetables rounds into halves or quarters if that makes them a better height.
Once the outer circle of the pan is complete, do the same thing in a smaller circle. Repeat until the entire pan is full of vegetables.
Step 3: Season and Bake
Once the pattern is complete, sprinkle another ¼ tsp salt and 1 tsp chopped garlic on top of the vegetables.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 55 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened and cooked through. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Sometimes the slices that you cut of the larger vegetables (ex: eggplants) are a lot larger than the slices you cut of the smaller vegetables (ex: zucchini). To get them to be relatively the same height, I would cut the eggplant slices into quarters, then chop off the tip of the quarter so that it would sit flat. This made the vegetables fit a lot better
- The red onion slices are a little difficult to work with but it can be done. When placing the red onion slices in order, I would place the layers and then quickly add the next vegetable slice in order to hold the onions in place. Once you have completed the circle, the red onion slices will stay nicely.
- I sprinkled the top of my ratatouille recipe with about ¼ tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder. This is not traditional, but I think it added a nice flavor.
- If you want to add a fun pattern to the design of your Easy Ratatouille Recipe, you can peel stripes into some of the vegetables (zucchini and eggplant) and then cut the slices from there. That way you have a pattern of light green, dark green on your slices of zucchini, etc.
- Feel free to add any other vegetables into this recipe that you think would be delicious!
Recipe FAQs
In the past, ratatouille was made by simply sauteeing all of the vegetables together until they are cooked down.
In this recipe, however, we take a more modern approach to ratatouille. We will be layering the vegetable rounds in a cast iron skillet and baking it all together. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, you can also layer them in a casserole dish instead.
These days, ratatouille is a side dish recipe that is eaten alongside meat or fish. During my French dinner party recently, I served it as a side to this Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon recipe with mashed potatoes.
If you want to make it a full meal, you can also serve the vegetables over rice. It would also be delicious with slices of yummy French bread!
Did you enjoy this Easy Ratatouille Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes that I picked out just for you:
- Escargot Recipe from France
- Creme Brulee Recipe
- Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon from France
- Roasted Vegetable Salad from Azerbaijan
- Corn Succotash from Equatorial Guinea
Easy Ratatouille Recipe
Equipment
- 12" Cast Iron Skillet
- Cutting Board
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 sprigs Fresh thyme
- 2 zucchini, sliced thin into rounds
- 5 roma tomatoes, sliced thin into rounds
- 1 eggplant, sliced thin into rounds
- 2 red peppers, sliced thin into rounds
- 1 red onion, sliced thin into rounds
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using a 12” cast iron skillet, add 1 (14 oz) can of crushed tomatoes into the bottom of the pan and spread until the entire bottom is coated.
- Sprinkled ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, and 4 sprigs thyme to the bottom of the cast iron skillet.
- Use the vegetable rounds to form a vegetable pattern around the inside of the pan. For example, I placed the slices in the following order: zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, red pepper, red onion, repeat. You can cut the larger vegetables rounds into halves or quarters if that makes them a better height.
- Once the outer circle of the pan is complete, do the same thing in a smaller circle. Repeat until the entire pan is full of vegetables.
- Once the pattern is complete, sprinkle another ¼ tsp salt and 1 tsp chopped garlic on top of the vegetables.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 55 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened and cooked through. Enjoy!
Notes
- Sometimes the slices that you cut of the larger vegetables (ex: eggplants) are a lot larger than the slices you cut of the smaller vegetables (ex: zucchini). To get them to be relatively the same height, I would cut the eggplant slices into quarters, then chop off the tip of the quarter so that it would sit flat. This made the vegetables fit a lot better
- The red onion slices are a little difficult to work with but it can be done. When placing the red onion slices in order, I would place the layers and then quickly add the next vegetable slice in order to hold the onions in place. Once you have completed the circle, the red onion slices will stay nicely.
- I sprinkled the top of my ratatouille recipe with about ¼ tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder. This is not traditional, but I think it added a nice flavor.
- If you want to add a fun pattern to the design of your Easy Ratatouille Recipe, you can peel stripes into some of the vegetables (zucchini and eggplant) and then cut the slices from there. That way you have a pattern of light green, dark green on your slices of zucchini, etc.
- Feel free to add any other vegetables into this recipe that you think would be delicious!
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