Ratatouille Recipe

Ratatouille Recipe: delicious and spectacular vegan gluten-free dish that will be a star of any table. Healthy, flavorful, impressive looking and comforting dish.

Here is something that looks impressive and is insanely delicious, comforting and filling. I mean, even people who don't like onions, eggplants and zucchini find it super tasty. It says a lot, doesn't it? Ratatouille might be a perfect vegan side (main) dish you are looking for. It takes a while to make but believe me, it's certainly worth the time and efforts!

The classic version of ratatouille recipe is a simple rustic vegetable casserole, but it can be transformed in a spectacular dish that will impress everyone (even vegetable haters)! You can be sure that it'll be the star of your holiday table, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other family gathering. Oh, and if you think that there is no way vegetables can surprise you, make sure you try it.

Ratatouille is often mixed up with confit byaldi. The difference is that confit byaldi is a contemporized version of ratatouille recipe which doesn't require frying vegetables before being baked. It also looks more fancy, as vegetables are arranged in fine slices, resembling an accordion.

Remember the animated movie Ratatouille? The recipe of ratatouille made by the little rat chef Remy was adopted from confit byaldi and specifically designed for the movie. Remember the culmination? The snuffy food critic is struck on the spot by the masterpiece of Remy. Something like this has happened to me when I've first made ratatouille: it was just too delicious to be true. And yet it was

As always, I've adopted the recipe of ratatouille for those who are on the healthy side, so you can be sure that you will stay fit even after an extra portion. I like tomato sauce a lot, so in my recipe veggies are floating in it, as you can see on the pictures of the ready dish. I also add carrots to the sauce because it makes the taste richer.

You can use a mandoline to slice vegetables or do it carefully with a knife. I recommend this Mandoline Slicer. If you think about purchasing it through Amazon, please use the link I provided, because it would get me a tiny commission. 🙂 I only recommend it because it is very useful and I use it a lot.

If you are looking for other vegan holiday menu ideas, make sure to check my Thanksgiving roundups including best vegan appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, sides and desserts, as well as 50 best vegan Christmas recipes.

So, back to the recipe. I would divide the whole process of making ratatouille (enough for 8 servings) in 3 steps:

How to Make Ratatouille. Step 1.

Make the sauce. It's also called a pipérade. You'll need 2 bell peppers (yellow or red), 2 onions, 2 medium-sized carrots, 7-9 fresh tomatoes or 2 cans of tomatoes and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Additionally, you'll need thyme and bay leaves. Roast bell pepper halves in the oven for 20 minutes. Chop and sauté onions and garlic, then add diced tomatoes, two bay leaves and 3-4 sprigs of thyme.

When bell peppers are done, remove the skin, chop and add them to the sauce. Let it cook for as long as possible, stirring occasionally (up to 1 hour 30 minutes). I will state the minimum cooking and roasting times in the recipe below. When the sauce is ready, discard the herbs and blend it until smooth.

I use this Phillips blender, but a handheld immersion blender will work just fine, too. We got our blender as a Christmas gift from my parents-in-law last year, and I'm very happy that we did! I, for example, use it to make sauces, soups, smoothies and even crush ice for cocktails! I'm glad I have it, as I need it very often. It's definitely a good thing to have in your kitchen and a great idea for a Christmas gift, too!

How to Make Ratatouille. Step 2.

Prepare your vegetables. You will need one medium-sized eggplant and zucchini, 2 yellow bell peppers, 4-5 tomatoes and 3 onions. Try to pick up veggies with a similar diameter. Finely slice your vegetables in 2-3 mm (0.1 inch) rounds and arrange them in any order you like. I put a slice of eggplant, then zucchini, tomato, onion, bell pepper.

Fill your form tightly with overlapping vegetables, arrange them in circles or rows, depending on the shape of your form. Make a try-out to estimate if it's enough slices. If not, slice more. It's hard to predict how many vegetables you need, as it depends on their size and on the size of your dish. If the difference between the sizes of your slices is too big (normally, the eggplant has the biggest diameter), you can cut rounds out of the large slices.

Cut a section off the bell pepper rings to make them smaller and hide the cut-out pieces on the bottom.  After you are done determining the amount of veggies needed for your ratatouille, empty the dish again. It's a bit annoying but this way you can make sure that you have enough of veggies beforehand, as the sauce goes to the bottom.

How to Make Ratatouille. Step 3.

Roast. Preheat the oven. Pour the sauce in your baking dish and arrange the vegetable slices just like the first time. Sprinkle with the mixture of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for at least 1 hour 30 min (up to 2 hours 30 minutes) on low temperature. Uncover and roast for 20-40 more minutes.
The longer you roast it, the more rich is the taste and the thicker is the sauce. When you uncover the dish, the liquid from the veggies will evaporate and they will caramelize and acquire an extra rich flavor. You can eat it once it cools down a bit or make it ahead, freeze and enjoy it later. You can refrigerate it for up to a week. Just like Russian borsch, stuffed eggplants, chili or vegan grain stew, ratatouille is getting better on the second day.

Serve it with festive German mulled wine (Gluhwein) during the holiday season.

It might seem like a lot of work but believe me, it's worth every minute! Check the full ratatouille recipe below:

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4.67 from 18 votes

Ratatouille

Ratatouille Recipe: delicious and spectacular vegan gluten-free dish that will be a star of any table. Healthy, flavorful, impressive looking and comforting dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 200kcal

Author Elena Szeliga

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• ▢ 2 bell peppers yellow or red
• ▢ olive oil
• ▢ 2 onions
• ▢ 3-4 cloves garlic
• ▢ 2 medium-sized carrots
• ▢ 7-9 fresh tomatoes or 2 cans of tomatoes
• ▢ 3-4 sprigs thyme
• ▢ 2 leaves bay
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper

For the ratatouille:

• ▢ 1 medium-sized eggplant
• ▢ 1 medium-sized zucchini
• ▢ 2 yellow bell peppers
• ▢ 4-5 medium-sized tomatoes
• ▢ 3 red onions
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil

Additionally:

• ▢ 2 sprigs thyme
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Make the sauce: Preheat the oven to 180 ºC or 350 ºF. Cut 2 bell peppers in halves and discard the seeds. Put the halves on a baking tray with the outsides facing up and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop and sauté onions and garlic in a skillet over medium-heat. Peel and grind carrots and add them to the skillet. Add diced tomatoes, two bay leaves and 3-4 sprigs of thyme. When bell peppers are done, peel of the skin with your fingers after cooling down, chop them and add to the sauce. Let the sauce cook for as long as possible, stirring occasionally (from 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes). When the sauce is ready, remove the herbs and process it with a blender until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Prepare your vegetables: Finely slice them in 2-3 mm (0.1 inch) thick circles and arrange them in any order you like. I put a slice of eggplant, then zucchini, tomato, onion, bell pepper. Fill your form tightly with overlapping vegetables, arrange them in circles or rows, depending on the shape of your form. I used 13 x 9 inch pan (33 x 22 cm). Make a try-out to estimate if it's enough slices. If not, slice more. It's hard to predict how many vegetables you need, as it depends on their size and on the size of your dish. If the difference between the sizes of your slices is too big (normally, the eggplant has the biggest diameter), you can cut rounds out of the large slices. Cut a section off the bell pepper rings to make them smaller and hide the cut-out pieces on the bottom. After you are done determining the amount of veggies needed for your ratatouille, empty the dish.
• Roast: Preheat the oven to 150 ºC or 300 ºF. Pour the sauce in your baking dish and arrange the vegetable slices just like the first time. Sprinkle with the mixture of olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper and thyme leaves. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for at least 1 hour 30 min (up to 2 hours 30 minutes) on low temperature. Uncover and roast for 20-40 more minutes. The longer you roast it, the more rich is the taste and the thicker is the sauce. When you uncover the dish, the liquid from the veggies will evaporate and they will caramelize and acquire an extra rich flavor. Serve it with bread, rice, pasta or potatoes. Or just enjoy its unique taste by itself. Bon Appétit!

Notes

You can eat it once it cools down a bit or make it ahead, freeze and enjoy it later.

You can refrigerate it for up to a week. Just like Russian borsch , chili, stuffed eggplants or vegan grain stew , ratatouille is getting better on the next day.

Nutrition

Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 1167mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 6740IU | Vitamin C: 172.1mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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