This vegan ratatouille is packed with summer veggies and plenty of flavor. It’s super easy to make and perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Ratatouille is a classic French dish that combines delicious summer vegetables with olive oil and spices in a flavor packed stew.
It’s almost always vegan since it’s made with olive oil rather than butter.
A more classic way to prepare the dish is to cook each vegetable separately – so that each vegetable retains its individual flavor – and then combine them at the end.
We considered doing it this way, but then decided to take the easy road instead. So our version doesn’t cook the vegetables separately and rather combines them all together in one pot.
It’s really so flavorful and delicious that I can’t imagine we’re missing out on too much by doing it this way. It certainly makes it a quick and easy option for a weeknight dinner.
For more easy and delicious veggie packed dinners check out our vegan stew, our vegan gumbo and our vegan stir fry.
How To Make Ratatouille
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add olive oil to a pot along with some chopped onion and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add in crushed garlic and sauté until it’s lightly browned.
- Add chopped eggplant, sliced zucchini, chopped bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, sea salt and black pepper and toss everything together.
- Cover the pot and simmer at medium heat for around 35 minutes until the veggies are soft and cooked. Give it a stir occasionally, but stir gently so that the vegetables don’t break up.
- When the veggies are soft and cooked, stir in fresh chopped basil until just wilted.
- Your ratatouille is ready to serve.
How To Serve Ratatouille
- It’s wonderful served as a stew with some toasted bread on the side for dipping.
- It’s also great served as a vegetable side dish.
- Toss it with pasta for a delicious veggie pasta dish; or
- Serve it as a vegetable side dish for breakfast or brunch alongside a vegan quiche or vegan frittata.
Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing
Ratatouille is a great make ahead option as it tastes even better the next day. It can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
Leftovers will keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze it.
More Delicious Vegan Dinner Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil Extra Virgin
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 3 cups Eggplant (246g) Chopped
- 2 cups Zucchini (270g) Sliced
- 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Chopped
- 1 Medium Yellow Bell Pepper Chopped
- 3 cups Cherry Tomatoes (450g) Halved
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ¼ cup Fresh Basil Chopped
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a pot along with the chopped onion and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic and sauté until lightly browned.
- Add the chopped eggplant, sliced zucchini, chopped bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, sea salt and ground black pepper and toss everything together.
- Cover the pot and simmer at medium heat for around 35 minutes until the veggies are soft and cooked. Give it a stir occasionally, but stir gently so that the vegetables don’t break up.
- When the veggies are soft and cooked, stir in the fresh chopped basil until it’s just wilted.
- Serve as a stew topped with a sprinkle of ground black pepper and dried oregano with some toasted bread on the side for dipping.
Notes
- This is a great make ahead option as it tastes even better the next day. It can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
- Leftovers will keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days and it’s also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze it.
I love this recipe and how easy it is. I did make some modifications because I despise eggplant – reminds me of my ex-husband – LOL! I added extra zucchini, and chunks of carrots. I served it over some raw broccoli and it was amazing. Thank you so much, Alison, for another amazing recipe. I will be making this every week now as it is spring in Vancouver. Next time I will try it over some chickpea pasta.
So glad you enjoyed it Marnie, thanks a million for the great rating!
I really enjoyed my Ratatouille especially when paired with pasta 🙂
Hi , cant wait to try! Do i need to peel the eggplant?
Hi Claire, no need to peel the eggplant. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Hi Alison
I’ve made this a few times now, it’s so simple and I don’t see how it works so well but it always does, much like any of your other stuff I’ve tried! Many thanks for these fabulous recipes,
Clive
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much Clive!
I’ve never had a ratatouille before and this was awesome. It’s Spring in Australia so this is definitely going to be a Spring and Summer dish.
Because eggplant has a habit of biting me back (makes my tongue itch) I sliced the eggplants first and ground salt over them and stacked them between paper towelling and sat a plate on top to squeeze out as much excess water as possible. I let them sit for 1/2 hour until the paper towels were soaked and chopped them for the dish. Worked out perfect.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Duane and thanks for sharing the eggplant tip! 🙂
This was AMAZING! Could not believe how tasty it was and so easy to make too. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Janine!
Don’t you think that the veggies will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn without enough liquid to help them cook for the 35 minutes you are suggesting? The Aubergine is going to swallow all the oil and the cherry tomatoes juice in seconds. What about everything else?
Nope, it doesn’t stick at all. And I did not use a non-stick pot! The tomatoes make it get very saucy.
This looks amazing!! I want to try but I cant have tomatoes. Any replacement suggestions?
I have loved every recipe I have tried of yours <3
Hi there, I’m not sure, because the tomatoes do create the sauciness. You could try mushrooms or something like that, that also create a bit of sauciness but I’m not entirely sure how well it will work out.
Maybe cucumber or a little bit of veggie stock tomato free.