Vegetarian eggplant recipes for dinner are a no-brainer for quick, healthy meal ideas. Whip up my simple ratatouille recipe for an effortless main course that’s the epitome of French cooking. Or, try out my Easy Eggplant Parmesan and savory Eggplant Baked Ziti for cheesy goodness and a rich tomato sauce you won’t be able to resist.
Ratatouille Ingredients List
Garden-fresh and flavorful, the main ingredients in ratatouille combine all the light, nutritious tastes of summer into a single bowl. Below, you’ll find my go-to ingredients to make an easy recipe worthy of a French restaurant.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is a classic choice for sauteing this recipe’s veggies. However, you can use any other neutral-flavored oil—such as avocado oil—if you prefer a different cooking base.
- Yellow Onion
- Bell peppers: Most recipes for ratatouille achieve their vibrant presentation by using a colorful assortment of bell peppers. I used a combination of red and yellow peppers, but any color would work.
- Tomato paste
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Eggplant: Of all the eggplant varieties available, I prefer globe eggplants due to their versatility and year-round availability at most U.S. grocery stores. You can even check out my beginner-friendly guide on how to dice eggplant for more tips on cutting this veggie for your ratatouille stew recipe.
- Zucchini: Tender and mildly sweet, zucchini is a classic summer vegetable guaranteed to elevate any ratatouille recipe. Due to their similar flavor profiles, you can also mix and match zucchini with yellow squash if desired.
- Tomatoes: During the summer, I love to use fresh tomatoes—such as grape, Roma, beefsteak, or any other vine-ripened variety—in this recipe. However, you can also make this easy ratatouille recipe with canned tomatoes if you’re short on time or don’t have access to fresh produce.
- Seasoning: I prefer a herby, bright mixture of fresh thyme, basil, salt, and pepper as my seasoning for ratatouille. Depending on what you have on hand, you may also use fresh parsley instead of basil.
- Vinegar: The best way to brighten a ratatouille stew is to add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar just before serving. However, if you prefer a more traditional flavoring, you may instead add ¼ cup of red wine to the mixture at the beginning of the recipe.
- Sugar: Adding a teaspoon of sugar is a great way to create a delicious contrast with this dish’s crisper, more earthy flavors. Though I prefer granulated sugar, you can also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, or cane sugar to help remove any bitterness in your ratatouille.
How to Make Ratatouille Food?
This vegan ratatouille recipe requires zero expertise and little time to make. These no-fuss instructions will walk you through every step to make this classic French dish like a pro.
- Saute the onion and peppers: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom pot (like a large Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and peppers to the pot and saute them for 8-10 minutes or until softened.
- Cook the garlic: Add the tomato paste and garlic to the pot, stir, and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the remaining veggies: Add the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar to the mixture. Give it a big stir. Put the lid on and cook for 20-25 minutes (or until fully cooked) over medium heat, stirring them once or twice during the process.
- Add the vinegar: Remove the veggies from the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar. Taste the ratatouille for seasoning and add more if necessary.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish the ratatouille dish with basil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. If desired, drizzle the stew with a little bit of olive oil right before serving.
What to Serve with Ratatouille?
Savory, tender, and tasty, homemade ratatouille is an unbelievably versatile meal-planning solution. Below, you’ll find all my favorite pairings, from a delicious side to a hearty main dish.
- Bread: If you want a side dish as easy to make as this quick ratatouille recipe, look no further than these crusty bread recipes. My No Knead Bread and Olive Bread will astound you with their rustic, artisanal taste—with less than five ingredients! Or, if you’re looking for a richer variation, you can enjoy a slice of Garlic Bread in Air Fryer for a robust, toasty accompaniment.
- Pasta: Bursting with luscious, complex flavors, pasta recipes are a must when you make this French vegetable stew. Ricotta Lemon Pasta strikes a delectable balance between smooth and citrusy flavors, while my Garlic Butter Spaghetti has impeccably bold, sumptuous notes. You can even spoon your ratatouille over a bowl of creamy polenta for a sweet, buttery base to your veggie stew.
- Meat: Nothing pairs better with a light zucchini ratatouille than a savory cut of meat. I especially love to eat this Mediterranean ratatouille recipe alongside a rosemary-crusted Roasted Rack of Lamb or juicy Oven Beef Kabobs for the most robust, mouthwatering flavors.
Expert Tips
There’s no secret to making this vegetable ratatouille recipe as tasty and full-bodied as possible. Using these master-level tips, you can make a delectably tender, flavorful summer stew every time.
- Cut vegetables in equal sizes: When you prepare ratatouille, it’s vital that you cut your vegetables in equal sizes. This way, all your chunky pieces will cook at the same rate, ensuring no piece comes out over- or under-cooked.
- Salting eggplant: Though an optional step, salting eggplant (also known as sweating eggplant) isn’t necessary when making ratatouille. In the past, eggplants had a bitter flavor, which the salting process could tamp down. However, new agricultural technology has eliminated most of the bitter taste from commercial eggplants, so salting is no longer necessary unless you’re growing eggplants yourself.
- It gets better as it sits: As odd as it may sound, the best ratatouille recipe is one that has time to sit after cooking. The stew’s flavors will continue to develop and mix as it rests, so if you have time, I highly encourage giving the stew time to sit before serving—even if you wait until the next day to eat it.
FAQs
Want to know more about cooking ratatouille? This basic FAQ will ensure no questions go unanswered, whether you’re curious about flavor profiles or alternate preparation methods.
Ratatouille is a classic French vegetable stew made from a mix of fresh vegetables—including eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes—and earthy seasonings, like oregano, thyme, and basil. Originating from the Provence region (i.e., south of France), this hearty dish is especially popular in the summer months and involves sauteing and/or stewing the veggies until they create a savory, stew-like mixture.
What ratatouille looks like depends on your specific preparation method. However, this one-pot ratatouille will result in a stew-like dish with a colorful array of tender, cubed veggies as its base.
Savory, fresh, and mildly sweet, ratatouille gets its flavors from tender, sauteed veggies and Mediterranean seasonings. However, its final flavor profile might differ, depending on the balance of fresh herbs and spices you use, so you can prepare a tangier, richer, or earthier finish, depending on your personal preference.
Yes, ratatouille is a naturally vegan recipe. It includes a natural mix of fresh veggies and seasonings—no meat or animal by-products necessary!
There are many different ways to make this iconic dish. The traditional way of preparing ratatouille is to individually saute each vegetable before adding it to the final dish. However, my method makes this traditional French ratatouille recipe easy by simultaneously cooking all its ingredients in a single pot. Furthermore, the version popularized by the animated Disney movie Ratatouille does something different by layering each sliced veggie in a casserole dish—a variation often called “ratatouille casserole.”
Though other preparation methods may take longer, my easy French ratatouille recipe takes about 30 minutes to make—the perfect way to make weeknight dinners easy.
Because eggplant skin is edible, I didn’t peel my eggplants when making my ratatouille. However, if you prefer, you may peel the veggie’s skin before adding it to your recipe.
If you make your own Easy Ratatouille Recipe following our recipe, I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a minute to rate it and leave a comment below. It is a great way to support this website and help those planning to make it. Also, if you took pictures, I’d love to see them. Share your creations on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them with the Foolproof Living community.
Easy Ratatouille Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. globe eggplant, 1 large or two medium- cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 lb. zucchini, 2 medium-sized – peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 ½ lbs. tomatoes, or three 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, granulated or cane sugar would also work
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom pot (such as a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add onion and peppers and saute until softened (8-10 minutes).
- Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for one more minute.
- Add eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, put the lid on and cook, stirring once or twice, for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are fully cooked.
- Off the heat, stir in the apple cider vinegar. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Garnish with basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and an optional drizzle of extra virgin olive oil right before serving.
Notes
- Yields: This recipe makes about 6-7 cups of vegetable stew, which is good for 4 servings as a main dish and 6 servings as a side dish. The nutritional values below are per serving (of 4).
- Cutting vegetables: When cutting veggies, make sure that they are equal in size to ensure even cooking.
- Salting the eggplant: If you are buying your eggplant from a grocery store and in season, you do not need to salt it. Because eggplant that’s freshly picked, harvested before it’s full of seeds, and eaten within a few days is naturally sweet and doesn’t need salting. However, if you are making this recipe using eggplant you harvest yourself (or purchase from farmer’s market), you can salt it before cooking to remove its bitter taste. For reference, check out our detailed post on how to salt eggplant.
- Storage: To store your ratatouille, place it in an airtight container and transfer it to the refrigerator. Your stew will then stay fresh for 4-5 days.
- Reheat: You can reheat your leftovers in two easy ways: microwaving them in 30-second increments or heating them on the stovetop until warmed to your liking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
First time I made this Ratatouille and it is fantastic!! I am a lover of eggplant no matter which kind. I read everything you said about eggplants and learned so much. Will try some of your other recipes, thank you. Hugs, Joan
YAY! This is music to my ears. Thanks for letting me know.
This is a great eggplant recipe that I know I will be making again. Thanks for sharing.
I am happy to hear that.