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My Easy Ratatouille Recipe Is A Spiral Of Fresh French Flavor
If you think French food is all baguettes and croissants, let me introduce you to my ratatouille recipe. This classic French dish looks fancy, but it’s actually so simple and packed with fresh summer veggies. I first enjoyed it in the South of France, and here’s why I made this version the way I did:
- Layers upon layers of tender vegetables over herby tomato sauce – Many ratatouille recipes chop them small and saute in lots of sauce like a stew, but this layered spiral is by far my favorite way to make it. It’s just like my favorite one I had in France (and I later learned, it’s like the kind in the movie, too). Having this velvety, flavorful sauce on the bottom lets the veggies caramelize a little on top without giving up flavor.
- Fresh, simple ingredients – This ratatouille dish is a burst of fresh produce! Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions are the best of summer, but also a little cozy when we head into fall.
- So pretty, but so easy – I’m partial to beautiful food, but only if it’s simple! This is the best of both worlds.
This photo is from one of our strolls in the South of France. If you want to feel like you’re there, grab your veggies and make this easy ratatouille recipe with me!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my ratatouille recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Vegetables – I used sliced Roma tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and onions. You can also add or swap in yellow squash or patty pan squash. Some ratatouille recipes also use bell peppers, but these are primarily for the stew version.
- Canned Tomatoes – I usually use diced tomatoes, but crushed ones or even tomato sauce works fine. See my tips below to help you decide.
- Balsamic Vinegar – Adds a little tang and sweetness to this ratatouille. You can try a splash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar instead, but they’re not quite the same because they aren’t sweet.
- Herbs de Provence – I use this French spice blend and it takes me back to Nice, France! It has thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, savory, and lavender flowers. If you can’t find it, Italian seasoning will work.
- Garlic – I recommend fresh minced garlic, but you can substitute 1/2 tablespoon of jarred garlic or 3/8 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Olive Oil, Sea Salt, & Black Pepper – For roasting. Toss in some red pepper flakes if you want some heat.
- Fresh Basil – I use some in the sauce and extra on top of the ratatouille dish. If you don’t have any, add an extra 2 teaspoons of Herbs de Provence — but I don’t recommend it on top.
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How To Make Ratatouille
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Make the sauce. Combine the sauce ingredients in a blender, and puree until smooth. Spread sauce in a thin layer in a medium casserole dish.
- Assemble the ratatouille recipe. Arrange the tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and onions in a spiral, alternating them. Start on the outer edge of the dish and work inward. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.
- Bake until tender and bubbly. I like to garnish with fresh basil, but feel free to use any fresh herbs you’ve got.
My Recipe Tips
- Choose vegetables similar in size, and cut as needed. This means medium-large tomatoes (I used Romas because they’re the perfect size), small onions, and small eggplants (which are sweeter and less bitter anyway). You’ll still want to cut the eggplant into quarters.
- Cut the veggies to the same thickness, too. I recommend thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick, for fast and even cooking. Uniform size and thickness will ensure that the vegetables all cook at the same rate.
- A mandoline like this makes slicing faster and easier. I’ve made this ratatouille dish with just a sharp knife before, but it’s much faster with my mandoline! Highly recommend.
- If your eggplant is larger, you may need to salt it. Again, I recommend a smaller size anyway, but if you only have a big one, sprinkle it with salt and let it sit for 20 minutes to remove any bitterness. Rinse and pat dry before layering it in.
- If you don’t have a blender, use tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes and just stir the sauce together. This will get you closer to that smooth sauce texture, although it’s not quite as silky as blended.
- To make the vegetables easier to arrange, set up the alternating rows on a cutting board first. I just transfer them in stacks to the pan, fanning them out as I go.
- My ratatouille recipe is ideal in a medium baking dish, not too big or too small. I use this one (shown in my pictures here) and it’s the perfect size. Plus, there’s an option for a lid for easy storage! If your pan is too big, it won’t feel like enough sauce and the vegetables can dry out.
Ratatouille Recipe (Fresh, Easy Side Dish)
By
Make my easy ratatouille recipe with zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and onions layered in herby tomato sauce. A fresh, flavorful side dish!
Ingredients
[ See substitutions ]Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Ratatouille Sauce:
Vegetables:
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth. If needed, adjust salt and pepper to taste.
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Spread the sauce in a thin layer in a medium round or oval casserole dish (this one is the perfect size).
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Arrange the tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and onion in a spiral, alternating them. (You'll want the eggplant slices cut into quarters so that they are similar size to the tomato, zucchini and onion slices.) Drizzle with olive oil on top, and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.
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Bake ratatouille for about 30-35 minutes, until veggies are tender and sauce is bubbly at the edges.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cup
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to to help your ratatouille cook evenly, avoid bitter eggplant, arrange the spiral more easily, and more.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. If it’s only a day or two, I just cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Meal prep: You can chop the veggies ahead of time and stash them in airtight containers in the fridge. The eggplant is the exception — I recommend slicing it right before cooking, or it will brown.
- Reheat: Pop the dish in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or microwave individual portions.
- Freeze: This ratatouille recipe freezes great for up to 3 months. If I’m making it to freeze, I undercook it a bit, so the veggies are less mushy later. (Don’t freeze it raw, either, or the texture will be even worse.) Thaw before reheating.
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Ratatouille Recipe
Serving Ideas
Ratatouille makes an amazing side for any of my French main dishes, or just a simple protein to let the veggie dish shine:
- Every day French dishes – My most recent French dinner favorites are chicken paillard and salmon en papillote, but I’ve also enjoyed ratatouille with French onion chicken and chicken Florentine (yes, it’s French, not Italian!).
- Fancy French dishes – For a special occasion, try my Chilean sea bass with beurre blanc, lobster thermidor, or coq au vin. Start the meal with my chicken liver pate!
- Simple dishes – If you just want a simple weeknight dinner, you can’t go wrong with crispy baked chicken thighs, juicy baked chicken breasts, flaky baked salmon, or a tender petite sirloin steak.
- Potatoes – If you want to add a heartier side, my Greek lemon potatoes work surprisingly well alongside the flavors here.
77 Comments
Arielle
1Loved it. Very easy and was a big hit. I’d definitely make it again.
Anna Rubato
1This is a very savoury dish, a riot of colours, an explosion of flavours. I loved preparing it. So far I had only ever prepared ratatouille in a saucepan (cutting the veges into fine cubes). I love the baked variant and decidedly prefer it. The recipe can easily be varied upon, depending on the veges at your disposal.
Stacy Barnes
1I made this tonight as a side to fish – it was amazing! The only thing I did differently, was added goat cheese crumbled on top before serving (because I tend to think everything needs cheese….!) Delicious, and surprisingly easy – this is something I would order in a restaurant but not ever attempt to make at home until I started cooking keto a couple of months ago. Thank you!
WowRivers
1This looks delicious!
Karen
1Hi Maya, I made this dish last night to go with some chicken, it was really delish 🙂 Thank you, I can’t wait to try your mushroom recipe ! Cheers, Karen
Mackenzie
0I added buttered panko and some grated Parmesan to the top right at the end. This came out delicious! So happy I gave it a try, because I don’t usually like zucchini or eggplant.
Wholesome Yum D
0That buttery panko and Parmesan topping sounds delicious, Mackenzie! I love that this recipe won you over even though zucchini and eggplant usually aren’t your favorites. Thanks for giving it a try!
Vanessa
0I’m not a real fan of eggplant, but in ratatouille, I do like it. This recipe came out quite delicious. I like this style of ratatouille with the thin slices and being baked so much better than the diced-and-stewed version I grew up eating long ago.
Wholesome Yum D
1I’m glad you liked it, Vanessa! I agree, thin-sliced and baked really does make such a difference.
Kevin Anderson
0I love this recipe! I did it because of the movie and it was easy. I really loved it. I added mushrooms. My wife has me triple the sauce, just for the sauce. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I had it a handful of times since I first tried it
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so glad you loved it, Kevin! Mushrooms sound like a lovely addition.
Ruthy
0Great recipe, super easy and tasty. My only comment is that I cook it for twice as long as written as it is slightly undercooked with the listed time!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1I’m glad you liked it, Ruthy! The time can vary widely depending on the thickness of the pieces. Yours were probably thicker than mine, so took longer.
Courtney
0It was delicious! I even ate the onions & I do not normally like onions!!!
Britany
0We aren’t a fan of eggplant, so we use summer squash instead. It works amazing and tastes great everytime. Making it tonight for our 1 year old to try for the first time and excited for her to hopefully (fingers crossed) enjoy this dish as much as we do.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Britany! Yes, this dish is very versatile even without the eggplant. I hope your 1 year old likes it!
Lisa Martinez
0OK, so I tried this today, not expecting much. Usually the cooking times are not right, and the flavor is weird. This is delicious, and cooked perfectly as directed. It tastes so fresh, like I walked out to the garden and picked my dinner. Thank you. Also, it’s beautiful.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Lisa! Agree, I love the fresh taste of this dish. Enjoy!
Teresa Dower
0I used this recipe for the first time when we were hosting overnight guests. I usually try a new recipe out first but just decided to hope for the best this time since we had so many veggies in our garden and I haven’t been fond of my regular ratatouille recipe lately. Everyone loved it. It was amazing!
Luci
0This didn’t taste very good. The eggplant cooked wrong. The top edge will dry out if you don’t cover it. It also needed longer than 35 minutes to cook.
Do not recommend. There seems to be no shortcuts in making this dish. If it’s going to be good, then it’s going to be a labor of love.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1Hi Luci, Sorry to hear the dish didn’t turn out as expected. I’ve never had an issue with the eggplant drying out, could it be that your pieces were very large and sticking out a lot? You can certainly cover it if you like next time. As for the baking time, it will depend on how thick you slice your veggies, but if you slice them thin enough it should take 30-35 minutes.
Cynthia
0Thank you for posting a specific measurement of 1 cup for the portion size in this recipe. I have noticed several of your recipes here and in the app say 1/6 or 1/8 of the recipe as the portion size. Whats the measurement in cups, ounces, or grams please? We really enjoy many of your recipes, but I do not make any of those that do not have a specific weight measurement or portion measurement not just 1/6 of the recipe or 1/8 of the recipe as a portion. Thank you!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Cynthia, To get that information I recommend dividing the recipe into equal number of portions and then using a food scale to get the measurement.
Hannah
0I went into my journey of cooking ratatouille for the first time with a fear of the unknown. I thought surely it’s difficult and any recipe is going to be adamant about a specific way that you absolutely must do it, however I was so pleased to discover this recipe and how chill it’s author was, and the ratatouille itself was so good!
Jane
0I love this recipe! It’s so fresh and healthy, and just so easy to make. I’m always looking for ways to get more veggies in my day, and this is a great way to do it.
Lisa
0This veggie dish came out looking and tasting amazing. It was super easy to make, too.
Liz
0This ratatouille was the perfect way to use our produce from our garden! So yummy and nice and light. Will make again.
Angela
0Great recipe! I made it with vegetables from my garden. I love the way it is layered.