There’s no easier, healthier, or tastier way to enjoy fresh summer vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onions than in this baked ratatouille! Served hot or cold, it’s a delicious side dish or vegetarian entree for the oven or Crock Pot.
If you want to feed your family lighter, nourishing options that still taste good, then this easy ratatouille recipe is the perfect solution!
Ratatouille is a Classic French Dish
Ratatouille is a traditional French vegetable dish from Provence. Classic ingredients include a variety of fresh, seasonal vegetables like eggplant, summer squash like zucchini or yellow squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley, and thyme. The vegetables are typically sautéed or roasted together and may include a tomato-based sauce.
Here, we’re taking the flavor and ingredients of a traditional ratatouille recipe and preparing them in an easy, modern way. You can choose to bake everything together in a casserole dish in the oven or set-it-and-forget-it to simmer in a slow cooker. Either option is great, so choose the method that best suits your schedule. In either case, the vegetables slowly cook together and create the most delicious, satisfying, and nutritious vegetable stew!
This is fabulous, especially with farm fresh vegetables. I don’t usually comment on recipes but this is just wonderful. I’ve got my second batch in the oven right now.
– Patricia
How to Make this Baked Ratatouille Recipe
As usual, I’ve kept my recipe very simple – without the fuss of fancy layers, spiral designs, or any other “formal” presentations that you might find in other similar dishes. Using my dump-and-go method, this baked ratatouille is totally hands-off! Just stir everything raw in one big dish and let the oven (or slow cooker) do the work!
- Cube the eggplant and transfer it to a colander. Toss the eggplant with salt and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This process helps to draw out excess moisture, which can reduce bitterness, and also yield a firmer texture and better flavor. Pat the eggplant dry.
- In a large bowl, toss together the eggplant, the remaining vegetables and herbs, and the tomato paste, olive oil, and garlic cloves.
- Transfer the mixture to a big baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake for about 45 minutes – 1 hour, stirring halfway through. You’ll know it’s done when your veggies are perfectly soft and tender. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and serve!
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Crock Pot or Oven Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 small eggplant
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 2 sweet bell peppers (any color), seeded and sliced into strips
- 3 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into slices
- 4 medium tomatoes, quartered and seeds removed
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes)
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried basil)
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for serving
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 large cloves)
- Optional garnish: drained capers; grated Parmesan cheese; additional fresh herbs; crushed red pepper flakes; additional olive oil
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant into chunks. In a colander, toss the eggplant with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let the eggplant sit and drain for about 30 minutes. Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.
- Meanwhile, spray a deep 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl (or in the prepared dish), toss together the eggplant, onion, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, tomato paste, olive oil, and garlic.
- Transfer the vegetable mixture to the prepared dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes- 1 hour, or until the vegetables are all tender. Stir once or twice during the baking time to make sure that the vegetables cook evenly. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Garnish with capers, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes; and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is so flexible! You can serve the dish warm, at room temperature, or even chilled (leftovers straight from the refrigerator are so good!). Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Keep the meal vegetarian and serve the veggies in a bowl like a thick stew, garnished with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan, and a side of crusty French bread or baguette for dipping or over pasta or rice;
- Add poached, fried, or scrambled eggs and toast for a nutritious and hearty brunch;
- Serve it as a side dish with a protein-based entrée for a filling dinner. Good options include grilled salmon, grilled beef tenderloin or cast iron filet mignon, a simple grilled chicken marinade with garlic and herbs, Dutch oven chicken, and marinated grilled shrimp.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- To store ratatouille, allow it to cool to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can also store ratatouille in the freezer; however, the texture will be softer and more watery when thawed.
- To reheat ratatouille, warm the leftovers in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until heated through. You can also microwave individual servings for about 1 minute, or until warm.
This is ABSOLUTELY my go to recipe for ratatouille. Every time a winner.
– Venessa
More Recipes with Fresh Summer Vegetables
Eggplant Caponata
1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad
40 minutes mins
Southern Squash Casserole
55 minutes mins
Originally published in July 2018, this recipe was updated in August, 2025.
I’m so excited to try this one!!! You make great easy meals that are yummy! Thank you Blair!
Thanks so much, Ashley! I hope you love it! I’m craving another batch after looking at these photos again. 🙂
What a delicious veggie filled meal! And so easy too!!!
Thanks, Kristy!
This is fabulous, especially with farm fresh vegetables. I don’t usually comment on recipes but this is just wonderful. I’ve got my second batch in the oven rn.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Patricia! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi
This is ABSOLUTELY my go to recipe for ratatouille. Every time a winner.
Thank you
Wonderful! Thanks, Venessa! I’m so glad to hear that. 🙂
Have not made this yet but can this be made in slowcooker, for how long would you cook this ..
Yes! I just made it in a slow cooker two weeks ago. 🙂
Every slow cooker runs on slightly different temperatures, so I always suggest that you keep an eye on it the first time that you’re cooking the recipe in your slow cooker. That said, I find that the recipe works perfectly when cooked on LOW for about 6 hours or on HIGH for about 3 hours.
I have to say this was beyond my expectations. It was super yummy and super easy which is what I look for with recipes. Even my overly picky boyfriend liked it
I didn’t cut the recipe in half so I have this for days, hoping it will heat up well! If it does definitely will make again for meal prepping!
So happy to hear that. Thanks, Sarah!
This looks great! I’m going to try it in the crockpot cuz it’s too hot to fire up the oven.
Very easy and delicious. I didn’t have much tomato paste so I used some sun dried tomatoes and I added chopped black olives at the end instead of capers and some parmesan cheese.
I’m getting ready to make this a second time. Lots of eggplant from the garden and this is so delicious. I put it all in the slow cooker because I don’t like to turn on the oven during the hot weather. So easy. I need to figure out how to freeze my eggplant so I can make this in the oven this winter. Thanks for the great recipe. Love, love, love it.
Thanks, Chalene! I’m so glad that you love it!
Making this for dinner tonight. I can’t wait to try it. I put it together this morning to allow all the flavors to sit for a while. It already smells so good!
YUM! So tasty, Melanie! Hope you enjoy!
I have made Ratatouille twice this week. The first time I used a classic recipe, cooking each vegetable separately and then mixing then all together. It was a brown, mushy mess. I tried this one because I had all the veggies still. This was so much better! I did cook it twice as long, at a lower temp. It was delicious and beautiful. If I make it again I think I’ll try the Crock-Pot!
That’s wonderful, Kay! I’m so glad that it was a hit. Thanks for letting me know!
Oh this looks sooo delicious! I don’t like eggplant but I can leave that out & add more courgette (zucchini to you! Lol! I’m in Scotland) or tomato. Or an extra soupcon of both! LOL! I will make it in my slow cooker, but I wondered… do you think it would freeze okay? Or would, perhaps, bottling it be a better way to store it longer? I can grow most of the ingredients in summer but not winter. But I would love to have ratatouille in the winter months… So I’m wondering what would be best of the two methods? I’ll probably try both in time but I would like the opinion of someone who’s a more experienced cook.. TYIA.
Hi, Kate! Yes, this definitely freezes well. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Thank you for such a speedy reply and the advice! I’m certainly going to try freezing some so I’m grateful for that info! I’m sure I’m going to love it but I’m going to find out – this is my project for today! 🙂 I have everything in the fridge so no time like the present to do it! Can’t wait to try a bowl of it! Thanks so much, Blair!
That’s awesome — enjoy!
This was the first time I tried making ratatouille. The recipe was easy to follow and the ratatouille was amazing! I baked it in the oven. It made more than I anticipated, filling a 9×13 pan plus an 8×8 pan (must have been using large vegetables), which is great because now we have enough for a few days. The only change I made from the recipe was to substitute dried parsley for the fresh, only because I didn’t have any fresh available. It still tasted great.
Awesome, Lain! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it — and can enjoy leftovers, too. Thanks for your note!
Hi Blair,
Absolutely love this recipe, it is easy and really healthy. This recipe has become part of my weekly rotation. So good I had to share with all my friends at the office. Thanks so much for sharing.
That’s wonderful to hear, Debbie. Thank you!
Hi Blair! Was there a reason why you do not put salt on the veggies before they go in the oven?
Hi, Debbie! Since you salt the eggplant before baking, I like to wait to salt the rest of the veggies when they’re done and I can adjust the amount of salt accordingly. Otherwise I worry that the dish might taste too salty for some with the already salted eggplant. That said, you can certainly salt the other veggies before baking as well!