Easy Ratatouille Recipe

Name: Easy Ratatouille Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: serves 4 to 6 people
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 lb eggplant, peeled (or part-peeled in striped pattern), and cut into 1-inch pieces; Kosher salt; Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped; 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces; 6 garlic cloves, peeled, and minced; 2 lb vine ripe tomatoes, chopped; 2 zucchini, halved length-wise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces (half moons); 1/2 cup red wine; 2 springs fresh thyme; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tsp dried rosemary; 1 tbsp sherry vinegar; 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil; Eggs over-easy fried in extra virgin olive oil; Crusty bread

June 18, 2018 | Updated May 18, 2019 | By Suzy Karadsheh | 23 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Ratatouille is one of the more known classic French dishes. And it’s the perfect example of a dish that is truly way grander than the sum of its ingredients. My easy ratatouille recipe makes a satisfying one-pot dinner for any night of the week. Vegetarian (vegan without egg) Gluten Free.

Be sure to check out my tips and the video tutorial for how to make this ratatouille recipe below!

What is Ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a traditional dish from the home kitchens of Provence, France. It’s a simple stew of glorious summer vegetables—zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers.

Why this Ratatouille Recipe works

This ratatouille recipe is not fussy. It is not fancy. But it’s so darn tasty and satisfying. It’s the kind of meal that gives me so much joy to make and allows me to feel like I somehow obtained a little culinary wisdom.

This ratatouille recipe is plenty flavorful, hearty, and satisfying enough to stand on its own as the star dish.

Some classic ratatouille recipes call for cooking each ingredient separately, so you’ll end up using like four separate pans. This is a simpler recipe using mainly one large pot, adding ingredients in stages.

Important Tip

Cooking ratatouille in one pot is possible. And it’s what makes it the perfect weeknight meal.

But, there is one helpful first step in this ratatouille recipe: salt the eggplant and let it sweat for 20 minutes or so. I realize there is some dispute around whether it helps to salt eggplant before cooking it. I personally believe it does. In this ratatouille recipe it helped in two ways:

The eggplant sweats its bitterness
More importantly, salting eggplant will help its spongy structure is weakening the cells as they collapse. So, the eggplant will cook more quickly (this really helps avoid overcooking and turning the rest of the veggies into mush as we wait on the eggplant to soften)

How to Serve Ratatouille

There is a small French bakery nearby called Douceur de France. Without fail, every time we visit, I order their ratatouille. They serve it in the best traditional way—topped with a perfectly runny, golden fried egg and a piece of crusty French baguette to the side. The bread is essential to sop up all the tasty juice.

Make ahead Tip: ratatouille is even better the next day. If you make it ahead, simply store in a tight-lid container (preferably glass) and refrigerate. It will keep refrigerated for three to four nights.

Watch Video Tutorial for How to Make Ratatouille

More Recipes to Try:

Briam: Greek Roasted Vegetables

Easy Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

Easy Italian Baked Chicken

One-Pan Baked Halibut and Vegetables

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! JOIN MY FREE E-MAIL LIST HERE TO RECEIVE NEW RECIPES, WEEKLY MEDITERRANEAN DINNER PLANS, AND MY FREE E-COOKBOOK WITH 15 HEALTHY RECIPES TO TRY!

SHOP OUR ONLINE STORE FOR QUALITY OLIVE OILS, ALL-NATURAL SPICES AND MORE.