Table of Contents
Description | Ingredients | Method | Nutritional Info | Notes And OptionsRatatouille
Originally published 2025.01.26, most recently updated 2025.08.21
Ratatouille was one of the first dishes that showed me how elegant simplicity could be. I learned it from Chef Serge Devesa, one of my instructors in culinary school. Amid the classical French recipes that often demanded countless steps and complex techniques, this stood out as refreshingly straightforward. A handful of good ingredients, a simple preparation, and suddenly you’ve got something deeply satisfying. Proof that great cooking doesn’t always have to be complicated.
And let’s clear up one common mix-up while we’re here:
The beautiful layered dish presented in Disney’s Ratatouille (a film I must have watched dozens of times with my kids when they were growing up) isn’t actually ratatouille at all. It’s technically a vegetable tian. The real version is a rustic, stewed medley of vegetables that celebrates flavour and simplicity, not meticulous layering.
For me, ratatouille now sits in that rare space where health and indulgence meet. It’s my favourite way to “eat the rainbow,” with the vibrant purple of eggplant, green zucchini, sunny yellow or orange peppers, and the deep red of tomatoes all coming together in one dish. It’s high in fibre and packed with micronutrients and phytonutrients, but still relatively low in calories. That balance makes it as fitting for a light, health-conscious meal as it is for a hearty accompaniment to something rich and comforting.
And versatile hardly begins to describe it. Ratatouille is a natural alongside grilled steak, chicken, or seafood. It complements roasts — beef, turkey, chicken, or pork — just as easily as it pairs with Mediterranean classics like chicken tagine with lemon and olives over couscous. It even finds new life the next day when leftovers become “pasta-touille,” folded into short pasta shapes like penne or rigatoni for a simple but flavourful meal.
One tweak I’ve made from the traditional recipe is to use canned diced tomatoes and tomato paste instead of cooking down fresh tomatoes. The consistency of the canned product is so much more reliable year-round, and paired with the year-round availability of the other vegetables, it means this dish has moved from being a summertime classic to something you can enjoy any season.
As ever for me, the cooking experience itself has a mood to it as well. Sometimes I’ll let the dish take its cue from what it’s accompanying — Moroccan music when it’s alongside a tagine, Italian opera if it’s part of a scallopine night. Other times I’ll put on one of my favourites like Spotify’s “Once Upon A Time In Provence,” “Rose Rouge Song Radio,” or my own “JP’s Cooking Playlist.” Just like the ratatouille itself, the music shifts easily, adapting to the occasion.
That’s the real magic of ratatouille: its ability to be whatever you need it to be. Light or indulgent, side or main, rustic or refined — it always delivers.
Ingredients (Makes 16 Servings)
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 large onion (diced)
1 eggplant (diced into 1 cm / 1/2 inch pieces)*
2 medium zucchini (diced into 1 cm / 1/2 inch pieces)
2 yellow, orange or red bell peppers (seeded and diced into 1 cm / 1/2 inch pieces)
4 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed)
1 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 sprig fresh rosemary)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried savory
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 2 sprigs fresh thyme)
Optional: 1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
796 ml / 27 fl.oz. canned diced tomatoes
156 ml / 5.27 fl.oz. canned tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
*NOTE: I was taught in culinary school (and it is mentioned in many other recipes online) to generously pre-salt the diced eggplant and let it drain in a paper-towel-lined colander in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, ostensibly to draw out “bitterness” from the eggplant. I don’t find the eggplants we get locally to be bitter at all, and have noticed no difference in flavour from omitting this step. Feel free to try it if you like.
Simple, Stovetop Method
In a large stockpot, sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the onions in the olive oil until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the bell peppers, season lightly with sea salt, mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the eggplant, season lightly with sea salt, mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the zucchini and garlic, season lightly with sea salt, mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the tomato paste and all the dried herbs, mix to combine, then add the diced tomatoes, bay leaves (and fresh rosemary / thyme if using)
Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring often, until it starts bubbling
Reduce heat to low-medium, cover and simmer for at least 30-45 minutes (preferably 60-90 - the longer it goes, the more the flavours deepen and develop), stirring occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Remove the bay leaves and fresh herb sprigs (if using), adjust seasoning with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, then stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
Even Simpler, Oven-Finished Method
This method doesn’t require babysitting and stirring it to prevent burning on the bottom like the stovetop method, but sometimes you just don’t want to run your oven in the summer! I’ve also used indirect heat on my barbeque as an oven as a substitute. 😉
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C
In a large stockpot, sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the onions in the olive oil until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the bell peppers, season lightly with sea salt, mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the eggplant, season lightly with sea salt, mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the zucchini and garlic, season lightly with sea salt, mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the tomato paste and all the dried herbs, mix to combine, then add the diced tomatoes, bay leaves (and fresh rosemary / thyme if using)
Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring often, until it starts bubbling
Cover and transfer to the oven to finish cooking for at least 30-45 minutes (preferably 60-90 - the longer it goes, the more the flavours deepen and develop).
Remove the bay leaves and fresh herb sprigs (if using), adjust seasoning with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, then stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
More Complex, But “Wow” Flavours Method
This method is more work, but pre-roasting the veg results in a killer extra flavour boost from the caramelization / browning. This is definitely worth trying at least once to see if the extra flavour is worth the effort for you, as the other methods do give delicious results - this just takes it to another level! I’ve also achieved similar results by pre-grilling the veg in larger pieces, then chopping them up before mixing in (again, usually in the summer when I don’t want to run the oven and will be finishing the ratatouille on the barbeque anyway… 😉
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F / 204 degrees C with three racks in place (if you don’t have three racks, you’ll need to roast in batches)
Prepare three baking sheets with parchment paper
In a large mixing bowl, toss the eggplant with 2 tsp olive oil and season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet.
In the same bowl, add the zucchini and another 1 tsp olive oil, toss and season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet.
In the same bowl, add the bell peppers and another 1 tsp olive oil, toss and season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet.
Place all baking sheets in the oven and roast the veg until they start to brown / caramelize a bit (time may vary for each veg, but somewhere around 15-30 minutes should work - check each individually and remove if they are cooked ahead of the other veg.)
Once all the veg have been roasted, turn the oven down to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C.
In a large stockpot, sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, with the remaining 2 tsp olive oil, sauté the onions until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for another 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic becomes very fragrant but not at all browned.
Add all the roasted veg and mix to combine.
Add the tomato paste and all the dried herbs, mix to combine, then add the diced tomatoes, bay leaves (and fresh rosemary / thyme if using)
Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring often, until it starts bubbling
Cover and transfer to the oven to finish cooking for at least 30-45 minutes (preferably 60-90 - the longer it goes, the more the flavours deepen and develop). Pre-roasting the veg gives this a deeper flavour to begin with, so it will likely need a bit less time than the other methods.
Remove the bay leaves and fresh herb sprigs (if using), adjust seasoning with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, then stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
Nutritional Info
For the Full Recipe:
Calories: ~850 kcal
Protein: 25.5 grams (~102 calories, 12% of total calories)
Fat: 40 grams (~360 calories, 42% of total calories)
Total Carbohydrate: 96 grams
Fiber: 32 grams
Net Carbohydrate: 64 grams (~256 calories, 30% of total calories)
Per Approx. 100 ml / 0.4 cup Serving:
Calories: ~53 kcal
Protein: 1.6 grams (~6 calories, 12% of total calories)
Palm-Sized Portions of Protein: ~0.1 palm
Fat: 2.5 grams (~22.5 calories, 42% of total calories)
Thumb-Sized Portions of Fat: ~0.2 thumb
Total Carbohydrate: 6 grams
Dietary Fibre: 2 grams (Women under 50: 7-8% | Men under 50: 6-6.5% | Women over 50: 9% | Men over 50: 7%)
Net Carbohydrate: 4 grams (~16 calories, 30% of total calories)
Cupped-Palm Portions of Net Carbs: ~0.2 palm
Fist-Sized Portions of Non-Starchy Vegetables: ~1 per serving
This nutritional analysis is an estimate only, based on available knowledge regarding the nutritional content of the individual ingredients. Nutritional content of foods is HIGHLY variable, so you should always base your dietary intake on whether it meets your needs and progresses you towards your goals rather than any theoretical numbers on paper.
Notes and Options
I prefer NOT to use a pre-made Herbes de Provence mix as some recipes call for because many in North America include lavender, which does not, in my mind, belong in the dish. Therefore, the recipe calls for a few different dry / fresh herbs instead.
For an in-between compromise between the simple methods and the pre-roasted vegetables method, you could pan sear the eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers each separately in the pot and then set them aside before starting the onions. This can add a bit of flavourful caramelization to each element to deepen the flavours in the finished dish.
As with almost any stewed dish, ratatouille actually tastes BETTER as leftovers (or made ahead) after being refrigerated for a day or two, so don’t be afraid that you’ll lose flavour by prepping this ahead. The only thing I would suggest is to add fresh basil just as you are serving for the most herbaceous punch!