This post is all about how to make an easy homemade Ratatouille Recipe.

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Published December 2, 2024
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So sorry for the lengthy hiatus! It has been challenging to get back to writing a blog, cooking, going to school to complete my bachelor’s degree, losing our precious Lucy dog in October, and we were ill in November.

But this lady is back with her scratch kitchen, ready to bring you fresh recipes, food inspiration, food recipes on a budget, and how to make food GOOD for you and your people.

What is Ratatouille?

This French Provincial dish has roots in 18th Century France, specifically in the Occitan region. The origins of the dish are from peasants, poor villagers and farmers, trying to make food that used up the last of their vegetables from the growing season. Traditionally, it was made into a stew, instead of the well-known layered dish that we know today.

This dish didn’t make it to “fine dining” until the 20th Century, when chefs in France realized this “simple” dish was simply amazing.

The word “ratatouille” comes from the Occitan word “ratatolha” and the French words “rata” (chunky stew) and “touiller” (to stir). – Google

The Occitan region of France borders with Spain on the southern border.

The Perfect Side Dish

Everyone has seen the movie, Ratatouille. If you haven’t, you need to! It is all about adorable rats, yes rats, cooking in a high-end French restaurant. In the movie, the main character allows a rat to cook the dish, using the human’s body in an amusing way, to complete the task and not be seen in the kitchen. This dish, and movie, were inspiration for this blog post.

For the last five years, our little family has had “Feast Night” the night of Thanksgiving. We each decide on a menu item, and we cook it, prepare, or just enjoy the snack. Last year, my husband made homemade eggnog. This year, we had a few different recipe ideas.

Our middle son, Matthew, wanted me to make Ratatouille and I was more than up for the challenge! We also had pan seared duck breast (for real, SO amazing), shrimp, deep fried shrimp, deep fried alligator bites, beef summer sausage with crackers and cheese, smoked string cheese, and more.

The duck breast and Ratatouille were both made down at my in-laws house on Friday and Saturday. It was a nice trip down and they always enjoy having our four kids in the house. Ratatouille was a side dish with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, biscuits, and butternut squash.

Tips to Making it Tasty!

To start with, this dish is traditionally made in one pan. Truly! Just one pan. However, you should make sure it is heavy-bottomed. A run of the mill regular pan will not do. A cast iron, Dutch oven or equivalent pan works perfectly.

Have all of your vegetables sliced and prepped ahead of time. Well, most recipes this is important so you are not scrambling to get things prepped when the clock is ticking. This Ratatouille recipe is no exception. Once you are ready to lay your slices, you want them all prepped and not having to slice more if you do not have enough eggplant.

Try to find eggplant that is similar in diameter with the rest of the foods you are using. By having a uniform size, you help the final look be more cohesive and pretty. Truly, it will look amazing. As it was November when the ingredients were purchased, we made do with weird shaped eggplant and tiny zucchini.

Finally, use fresh tomatoes, not canned. There are quite a few recipes out there that I used as helpful inspiration that called for canned tomatoes. For the freshest taste, that was found in research, use fresh tomatoes. They truly make a difference to the sauce in the Ratatouille. Plus, traditional Peasant Ratatouille would not have used canned tomatoes in 1700.

Ratatouille Recipe

Ratatouille Ingredients

2 Eggplants
3 Zucchini
2 Red Bell Peppers
4 Large Ripe Tomatoes
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup Oil
2 Tbsp Thyme
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup Fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Easy Homemade Ratatouille Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 Oil over medium heat. Make sure the pan is heavy-bottomed, like a cast iron or similar.

2. On a cutting board, dice 1 onion and mince 4 garlic cloves.

3. Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the warm saucepan and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft and tender.

4. Wash 2 tomatoes and then on a cutting board, dice the tomatoes. They don’t have to be perfect, just roughly chopped is fine. To the saucepan, add the diced tomatoes and sauté an additional 3-4 minutes. Additionally, wash and then dice the 2 red peppers, adding them to the saucepan to sauté. Season with salt, pepper, Thyme and 1 tsp Italian seasoning. Stir often, but not constant; you want the ingredients to really cook down.

5. Transfer the cooked ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. You can also use an emersion blender but make sure to use a tall container when blending so the sauce does not splash all over.

6. Replace the sauce in the saucepan and set aside. Or, in the case that the pan you are using is not oven-safe, use a baking dish to prepare the Ratatouille. If using a baking dish, spray the dish with a nonstick spray ahead of assembling.

7. Wash all of the vegetables and then prep each. Prepping ahead of time helps to keep the stress low when laying out the slices in the pan.

8. On a cutting board, peel (if desired) and then slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch slices. Not too thin, but thin enough that they aren’t paper. Using a mandolin helps as well. Some people choose to peel the eggplant while others leave the skin on. Either way is fine. As the eggplant that were sourced for this had a few scratches (they were the best we found, sadly), peeling was the go-to.

9. On a cutting board, use a sharp serrated knife to slice the tomatoes to 1/4-inch thick. Serrated knives work best when cutting tomatoes.

10. Lay the saucepan with all of the sauce spread out in the bottom next to the cutting board, on a trivet, and then begin layering the sliced vegetables. Lay an eggplant, tomato, and then zucchini, repeating the pattern down one length of the saucepan. Then turn the pattern and continue layering the slices on the sauce until all slices are used.

Traditionally, one would hold the slices in their hand, and then lay the long chunk of slices into the sauce, fanning them out in a wonderful design. This, to my disappointment, does not quite work with slices of various sizes. Laying them in the sauce works just as well. Might have to try the stacked way the next time. If you have ever done Ratatouille that way, let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then bake the Ratatouille for 30 minutes, covered with a piece of parchment with a hole cut in the center. To cut the hole, fold the parchment in quarters and cut the center corner with a scissors.

Oven temperatures and times may vary.

12. Remove the parchment paper and bake the Ratatouille for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until browned.

13. Remove the Ratatouille from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes before serving.

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This post was all about how to make an easy homemade Ratatouille recipe, the perfect side dish! For Thanksgiving, this dish was perfectly paired with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some delicious stuffing.
~Monica

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