Ratatouille, a delicious and easy French casserole with lots of vegetables. This classic dish is incredibly flavorful and packed with nutritious vegetables. It fits perfectly into the list of simple but oh so delicious casseroles.
Classic Ratatouille
We’ve probably all seen the movie Ratatouille, which is absolutely a family favorite in our house. And if you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it. Really fun Disney movie. And also the only time you will ever like a rat in the kitchen! 😉 A ratatouille dish is a French casserole that should definitely be part of your repertoire!
It might be due to the movie that the dish itself is also such a favorite in our family and I do believe the kids sometimes feel they are Anton Ego testing the recipe! (Anton Ego is the food critic that visits Ratatouille in the movie!)
Easy ratatouille recipe
This vegetable casserole is packed with Mediterranean vegetables such as fresh tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini or yellow squash and red bell peppers. It has a wonderfully full and fresh flavor and is a hit all year round. It is similar to Italian caponata or Greek moussaka. If you are a fan of these traditional dishes, then this French vegetable casserole is definitely for you! It’s also really easy to vary with the ingredients. The recipe below is for a traditional ratatouille but you can add other fresh herbs or fresh vegetables to your liking. My version of ratatouille is pretty close to the classic French dish.
Vegan and super tasty
You may not be surprised to learn that ratatouille is a vegetarian dish, in fact it is completely vegan. It’s also a pretty low-calorie dish, so if you want to add some body to the dish you can add things like a crusty bread, breadsticks, baked potatoes, rice, pasta or a nice big green salad. Those are all great options to enhance the dish and make it more filling.
It’s also a great side dish you can serve for holidays (Christmas favorite here too!) and if it doesn’t have to be vegetarian you can serve it with a piece of beef, chicken or fish as well.
Prepare in advance
You can prepare this vegetable stew almost entirely in advance, making it perfect for a busy day. The tomato sauce can be made in advance as well and can even be frozen if you want to save some of it for later use. If you love delicious vegetarian dishes like this one, make sure to also check this vegetarian lasagna!
Round casserole dish
As I said, this dish is very easy to make yourself. It is also a great main dish for weeknight dinners.
I would also choose a large round casserole dish so that you can divide the vegetables nicely into the casserole dish. Keep in mind that it is important to slice all the fresh produce in roughly the same size to make sure it cooks at the same time. It’s also fun to divide the slices the same way you can see in the photos here. That is not a must. It will be a great ratatouille if you dice all the vegetables as well. It just has a better look if you serve it with the slices all stacked neatly together in a single layer.
You start the layering with the tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan. That will also make it easier for the slices to stay in the right place.
Sprinkle the vegetables with a few tablespoons of olive oil and add the fresh herbs and salt and pepper. Place the dish in the hot oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked and start to brown a bit at the top. Bon appetit!
Ingredients
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 red bell peppers (diced)
- 400 gram tomatoes (diced)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 sprig rosemary (leaves, finely chopped)
- 1 tsp thyme (dried)
- 1 tsp oregano (dried)
- 1 tsp basil (dried)
- olive oil (salt and pepper)
- 1 tsp light brown caster sugar (optional)
- 1 zucchini (sliced)
- 1 eggplant (sliced)
- 3 tomatoes (sliced)
- 1 sprig rosemary (leaves, finely chopped)
- 1 tsp thyme (dried)
- 1 tsp oregano (dried)
- 1 tsp basil (dried)
- olive oil (salt and pepper)
Equipment
- Round casserole dish
INSTRUCTIONS (how to make this recipe):
Make the sauce
- Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic.
- Add the chopped red pepper and sauté until soft.
- Add the diced tomatoes and tomato purée. Stir well and simmer on a low heat for approx. 15-20 minutes.
- Add the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Add sugar if desired and mix together. Allow the sauce to cool slightly while you prepare the ratatouille.
Prepare the ratatouille
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit top and bottom heat.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the oven dish. Arrange the slices of zucchini, eggplant and tomato in a tiled pattern in the oven dish. Alternate the different vegetables to create an attractive pattern.
- Drizzle the vegetables with some olive oil and sprinkle them with the herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake the ratatouille for 35-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and starting to brown.
- Serve the ratatouille with delicious bread, such as French bread, a salad and/or baked potatoes. Bon appetit!
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