Classic French Provencal Ratatouille
A Classic French Provencal Ratatouille is a hallmark of summer. Filled with late summer veggies and fragrant herbs. An easy oven-baked dish, versatile, and even freezer friendly.
It has become a perennial dish in our family.
Surprising yet oh so grateful, I can thank Disney, at least in part, for a toddler son with an aversion to veggies, becoming a fan of this dish… (“Ratatouille,” the movie, was an early favorite of his).
Later, my sister-in-law made the dish for the family. Its memory lingers so that every summer since, it’s an August ritual on our summer table. As soon as the zucchini ripens on the vine, Ratatouille isn’t far from my mind.
History of Ratatouille
Ratatouille comes from the French term “touiller,” which simply means to “toss food.”
What is a Traditional Ratatouille Recipe?
A traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice, France, is popular along the Mediterranean coast as an easy summer dish. Originally considered “peasant food” because of the plentiful summer vegetables.
What is Ratatouille Served With?
Ratatouille can be the main course, a side dish, or even a salad. Delicious all on its own or served with a variety of foods that might include these ideas:
- Beef: flank, filet, or steak are delicious juicy options.
- Pork: chops or tenderloin pair well with ratatouille.
- Lamb: especially a well-seasoned leg of lamb.
- Chicken: always a popular option and perfectly suited to ratatouille.
- Grains: Ratatouille is delicious served over rice, quinoa, or risotto.
- Potatoes: I especially love it over roasted or mashed potatoes.
- Pasta: Like your favorite pasta sauce, ratatouille is an incredible accompaniment to any kind of pasta.
This Classic Ratatouille Recipe
Typically served as a side dish, Ratatouille can be the main course with added pasta or bread.
Traditionally, each vegetable is sautéed separately before being layered into a casserole dish and baked in the oven. This version simplifies those steps by uniformly slicing the veggies, tossing them into a bowl, and drizzling them with olive oil and salt and pepper.
When shopping for the vegetables, or harvesting from your garden, look for veggies that have a similar diameter that when sliced, will stack together evenly.
Ratatouille Ingredients
Specific measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Olive oil
- Yellow onions
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Eggplant
- Bell peppers: yellow and green
- Dried spices: thyme and dill
- Fresh herbs: oregano and basil
How to Make Ratatouille
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush a baking pan with olive oil and set aside.
Step One:
In a large bowl, add sliced onion, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and seasoning over the vegetables and drizzle with olive oil.
Step Two:
Layer the vegetables into the pan; cover tightly with foil and bake for an hour, or until the veggies are bubbling and the eggplant is soft.
Step Three:
Remove from the oven; sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately.
How to Serve Ratatouille
This simple recipe can be served as a side dish — or a main dish all on its own.
It’s excellent served with toasted slices of French bread, tossed with pasta, or even over rice. Add ground meat or cooked chicken for additional protein.
More Provencal Inspired Recipes
- A Favorite Stuffed Pasta Shells with Ratatouille Sauce
- Classically French Tian Provençal
- Simple Chickpea Curry with Eggplant and Butternut Squash
- Chinese Spicy Chicken Garlic Eggplant with Curried Rice
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Classic Ratatouille
A Classic French Provencal Ratatouille is a hallmark of summer. Filled with late summer veggies and fragrant herbs. An easy oven-baked dish, versatile and even freezer friendly.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 4-5 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 4 small to medium zucchini, sliced
- 2 medium eggplant, stemmed, sliced
- medium yellow pepper, sliced
- medium green pepper, sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush olive oil onto a baking pan, set aside.
- Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers to a bowl. Sprinkle seasoning and salt and freshly ground pepper over the vegetables and drizzle with the olive oil.
- Layer the vegetables into the pan; cover tightly with foil and bake for an hour, or until the veggies are bubbling and the eggplant is soft.
- Remove from the oven; sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately. It is excellent as a side dish tossed with pasta or served on toasted slices of french bread. Add some ground meat for additional protein if you'd like.
Notes
This recipe freezes well in air-tight containers for up to 3 months. (If freezing, leave out the fresh herbs until serving).
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 136Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 13mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 9gSugar: 11gProtein: 5g
Ratatouille the “Movie” was created by Pixar. Most people assume it was Disney. Fantastic music score which I believe won several awards. Love that movie!!
“ The eighth film produced by Pixar, it was written and directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005, and produced by Brad Lewis, from an original idea by Pinkava, who was credited for conceiving the film’s story with Bird and Jim Capobianco.”
Hi Teri, thank you for the clarification on the “movie,” Ratatouille— it’s nice to document the credit, thank you. Ok— now I’m in the mood to see it again!
Clearly, another script-generated recipe, which makes -again- no sense.
Peppers, crushed tomato, onions and garlic are for the sauce, overwhich you’ll put the sliced vegetables.
Other comments sound phony and made-up too.
I don’t do any script generated recipes and all comments posted on this site are posted exactly as yours has been.
Cannot wait to make this when the garden puts forth. Maybe the eggplant will sneak by my son. I enjoyed the history lesson.
Thank you, Nancy! I hope the family likes it — I am VERY familiar with “hiding” eggplant :)!
It is also pretty amazing over roasted garlic mashed cauliflower for a nice No Meat Monday ☺️
I absolutely love that idea! I am adding it to my weekend menu!
I haven’t had it yet but I am excited to try it!!! I am not a veggie person but maybe this will be different.
Hi Ember! I hope you like it. Try serving it over pasta or rice — or whatever you like best!
We love this recipe when the garden is overflowing, but it’s also great in the winter when you crave fresh summer veggies. The fresh herbs bring store bought veggies to life
I so agree, Pam! Thank you for your comments — I’m looking forward to those summer herbs and veggies!
This is wonderful, I enjoyed the amount of thyme you use, since this is the closest tasting I’ve had to my mother in law’s in 55 years, besides my own. I do add some other things…I get large button mushrooms & slice, Yukon gold potato slices And just prior to serving, I top with generous amounts of gruyere And fresh Parmesan cheese. My own grandkids finally tried it, after the movie, and loved it!!! It is truly special when the veggies are fresh from the summer garden!
The recipe looks indeed delicious, excet Disney have it all wrong and this is a tian, not a ratatouille. You actually looked at the origin of the ratatouille dish but this is not and adaptation but another dish.
Incredibly good. Summer at its best. And I never cared for eggplant, but I can eat it this way.
I’m so glad, Valerie! I love it in ratatouille too!