This Traditional French Ratatouille Recipe is a light and nutritious vegetable stew made with roughly chopped aubergines, courgettes and peppers in a lovely fresh tomato sauce and seasoned with herbs for a comforting dish that everybody loves. It can be enjoyed as a vegan & vegetarian main course or a side dish.
It's summer and there's an abundance of wonderful produce full of flavour and goodness. And this lovely vegetable stew is perfect for using up those veggies that are grown in the garden.
You might be confused why the recipe is called ratatouille, yet it's not perfectly layered but rather rustic looking. That's because the Disney movie actually shows a vegetable tian, which is very similar to this dish, but the emphasis is on a perfect presentation as well as taste.
Whereas a classic ratatouille isn't made with thinly sliced veggies, but rather brings together roughly chopped veggies simmered in a rich tomato-based sauce for the best possible taste.
Both dishes come from Provence and both are perfect on a hot summer's day when heavy meals aren't quite an option. They are big of flavour and packed with goodness and show that veggies can be the start of the meal too.
Unlike a winter stew that is usually made with seasonal root vegetables, this French stew is made with sun-kissed summer vegetables for a light dish that pampers our taste buds.
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- aubergines - or eggplant for the US audience, one of my absolute favourite summer vegetable, which is sadly grossly underrated in the UK. Cooked to a golden perfection that brings out the most flavour, aubergines work incredibly well with the other summer veggies
- courgettes - or zucchini, are light and soak up the flavours from all the other veggies. You can use any other type of zucchini, different cuisines prefer different varieties, but they are all similar in taste and texture, just different colour and size
- peppers - you can use any peppers you have around, the more colourful, the better, not only for presentation purposes, but they also have a slightly different taste
- tomatoes - I used fresh tomatoes for the sauce, as they are at their best at this time of the year. You can use canned tomatoes too, just add a pinch of sugar to balance out the acidity
- onion & garlic - make a great base for the tomato sauce
- herbs - I used dried herbs, bay leaf plus fresh basil for the finishing touches, but you can use whatever else you have around
- salt & pepper - adjust the amount used as you go
- oil - I absolutely recommend olive oil, it works beautifully with this dish and adds a Mediterranean touch
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- chop the aubergines, peppers and courgettes into cubes
- heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan set over a medium heat, add the chopped aubergines, season them with a pinch of salt, and leave them to cook for 4-5 minutes until they begin to soften and brown lightly
- remove them from the pan and set aside
- in the same pan, add more olive oil, and cook the peppers for 3-4 minutes until soft, then remove them from the pan too
- add more oil, then cook the courgettes for 3-4 minutes until soft, then remove them from the pan
- add the remaining oil, and fry the onion and garlic until golden
- add the tomatoes cut into half
- place the lid on and leave them to cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy
- add all the vegetables back to the pan together with the bay leaf and leave it to simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes
- season with salt and pepper, add the herbs and mix gently
Expert tips
Cooking the vegetables separately might seem like an extra step, but it's important for building layers of flavour, rather than just stewing the veggies together.
A low simmer will help the veggies soak up the tomato juices while keeping their shape, rather than turning mushy.
Like many Mediterranean dishes, ratatouille develops an even deeper flavour after resting overnight in the fridge, making it an excellent make ahead recipe.
You can also cook a bigger batch and blend some of it to be used as a base for creamed soups or veggie-packed pasta sauces.
What to serve with ratatouille
If enjoyed as a main meal, I would definitely pair with it some delicious French baguette, crusty bread loaves or soda bread. I would definitely spread some good-quality butter on the bread for the best French meal.
But as a side dish, I would use it as an accompaniment for a Sunday roast , spatchcock chicken, roast chicken legs or chicken drumsticks.
This stew also works beautifully with fish, be it pan-fried cornmeal fish, baked sea bass, baked sardines or trout piccata.
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Traditional French Ratatouille Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines (eggplant)
- 2 courgetters (zucchini)
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 orange pepper
- 400 g cherry tomatoes (13 oz)
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 125 ml olive oil (½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs de Provence
- 3 fresh basil leaves
- 1 bay leaf
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Instructions
- Roughly cut the aubergines, peppers and courgettes.
- Heat up a large pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the chopped aubergines, season them with a pinch of salt, and cook them for 4-5 minutes shaking the pan regularly until they are soft and lightly golden.
- Remove them from the pan, add 2 more tablespoons of oil, and cook the courgettes for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove them from the pan, add more olive oil, and cook the peppers for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove them from the pan, and add the remaining oil.
- Fry the peeled and chopped onion and garlic until golden, then add the tomatoes cut in half.
- Place a lid on the pan, and leave the tomatoes to cook for 3-4 minutes or until mushy.
- Add all the vegetables back to the pan together with the bay leaf, and reduce the heat to low.
- Leave the stew to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper, add the herbs and serve then dish hot or cold.
Video
Notes
- Cooking the vegetables separately might seem like an extra step, but it's important for building layers of flavour, rather than just stewing the veggies together.
- A low simmer will help the veggies soak up the tomato juices while keeping their shape, rather than turning mushy.
- Like many Mediterranean dishes, ratatouille develops an even deeper flavour after resting overnight in the fridge, making it an excellent make ahead recipe.
- You can also cook a bigger batch and blend some of it to be used as a base for creamed soups or veggie-packed pasta sauces.
Nutrition
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