Ratatouille is a simple dish of layered tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant. With a touch of tomato sauce and a drizzle of oil, this dish is as delicious as it is beautiful!
Serve these roasted vegetables as a side dish or a meatless main dish with crusty bread.
Ratatouille (rat-a-too-ee) comes from Nice, France, and is a simple vegetarian dish and the name of a mouse in a Disney movie! It can be prepared in two ways: chopping the vegetables to create a stew or by layering slices of vegetables. This particular recipe layers the vegetables for a pretty presentation.
- Flavor: This dish has a fresh flavor with a bit of earthiness from the eggplant.
- Tools: While it’s not required, a mandoline makes nice, even slices and saves on prep time. I have this mandoline and use it frequently (it’s great for scalloped potatoes, too).
- Serving suggestions: I love this dish with fresh crusty bread or garlic bread. You can also serve it over pasta or quinoa.
Ingredient Tips for Ratatouille
This recipe is a great way to enjoy those fresh garden veggies and a hearty vegetarian entree!
- Zucchini: Choose medium zucchini or summer squash or yellow squash. There is no need to peel it.
- Eggplant: I try to choose smaller eggplants as they tend to be less bitter, and their size is closer to that of the zucchini and tomatoes.
- Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes are best in this recipe as they hold up well, have fewer seeds, and are a nice size. Any fresh tomatoes can be used.
- Sauce – Crushed tomatoes, peppers, spices, garlic, and onion combine to create the simple sauce for this ratatouille recipe. Diced bell pepper or shredded carrot adds a bit of sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes—you can replace it with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of sugar if needed.
Variations
- Short on time? Replace the homemade sauce with marinara.
- Garnish with a little bit of Parmesan cheese if desired.
How to Make Ratatouille
- Simmer the sauce ingredients in a pan until thickened (full recipe below).
- Thinly slice vegetables (I use a mandoline) and stack them. Arrange the stacked vegetables on their side over the sauce. Brush with olive oil.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender and browned.
Top with chopped basil and serve immediately. A slice of homemade garlic bread or fresh French bread is perfect for soaking up this delicious sauce!
Got Leftovers?
Store leftover Ratatouille in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Did you make this delicious Ratatouille? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ratatouille (Layered)
Layered ratatouille is a beautifully arranged dish with thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes, baked to tender perfection with herbs.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Preheat oven to 375°F.
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In a large skillet, cook onion, garlic, and carrot (or bell pepper) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, 4-5 minutes or until tender.
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Stir in the crushed tomatoes and seasonings and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
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Meanwhile, cut vegetables to ⅛-inch thickness.
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Add the sauce to the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Starting with the outer edge, arrange the sliced vegetables standing up on their sides over the sauce. Brush with remaining olive oil.
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Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
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Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve hot or warm.
Herbs can be replaced with 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning.
*Diced bell pepper or shredded carrot adds a bit of sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes—you can replace it with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of sugar if needed.
Allow the sauce to simmer until thickened. The liquid from the vegetables will mix with the sauce and thin it out as it bakes.
For firmer vegetables, reduce baking time. For softer vegetables, increase bake time.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Calories: 152 | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 561mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1095IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Diet Vegetarian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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