There’s no easier, healthier or tastier way to enjoy fresh summer vegetables than in this simple Dump-and-Bake Ratatouille! Served hot or cold, it’s a delicious side dish or vegetarian entree that completes any meal.
If you want to feed your family lighter, nourishing options that still taste good (and that your kids will actually eat), then this easy ratatouille recipe is the perfect solution!
What ingredients are in Ratatouille?
Ratatouille is a hearty, stewed vegetable dish from the Provence region of France. It traditionally consists of seasonal vegetables, garlic, and olive oil – often in a tomato sauce. Basic, right?!
But there’s nothing basic about this flavor combination!
Classic ratatouille ingredients (especially in the summer months) include:
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini and/or yellow squash
- Onion
- Bell peppers
- Fresh herbs
- Garlic
- Olive oil
They slowly cook together and create the most delicious, satisfying, and nutritious vegetable stew that you have ever tasted!
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 do the work!
How to Serve Ratatouille:
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 freshly grated Parmesan and with some crusty French bread for dipping;
- 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, such as:
- Ribeye Steak with Garlic Butter;
- Country Pride Pork Chops;
- The Perfect 15-Minute Grilled Salmon;
- 20-Minute Garlic Shrimp Skillet;
- or even just a store-bought rotisserie chicken and some biscuits!
Even more healthy side dishes to enjoy the season’s produce:
Dump-and-Bake Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- Salt and pepper
- 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 2 sweet bell peppers (any color), seeded and sliced into strips
- 3 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into slices
- 4 tomatoes, quartered and seeds removed
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
- 1 small can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus additional for serving
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- Optional garnish: capers, drained
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant into chunks. In a colander, toss the eggplant with 1 tsp. salt, then let drain for about 30 minutes. Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.
- Meanwhile, spray a deep 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl (or in the prepared dish), toss together eggplant, onion, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, tomato paste, olive oil, and garlic.
Transfer vegetables to the prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during the baking time to make sure that the vegetables cook evenly (or until vegetables are tender). Garnish with capers, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper just before serving.
Recipe Notes
Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half and bake the ratatouille in an 8- or 9-inch square dish.
You can also prepare this recipe in a slow cooker. I suggest cooking for about 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW, but every Crock Pot varies slightly in temperature, so keep an eye on your vegetables and turn it off when they're nice and tender!
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! 🙂
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!