Homemade Ratatouille
What happens when you take thinly sliced vegetables, layer them in a dish, add a rich red sauce, plenty of herbs, and a cheesy topping? You get this insanely delicious homemade ratatouille, aka “the vegetable dish that vegetable haters won’t be able to get enough of.” While this interpretation of ratatouille isn’t exactly traditional, I think you’re going to love it. And once you learn how to make ratatouille this way, you’ll want to make it all the time!
“Easy to make, beautiful to look at, really inexpensive, very healthy and MUCH better than my stovetop ratatouille. My husband and I devoured it. Yum with a capital Y.”
Vicky
Easy Ratatouille Recipe with a Twist
Ratatouille is a classic French vegetable dish from Provence, and its name is linked to the French verb touiller, meaning ‘to stir.’ Traditional ratatouille is usually a rustic vegetable stew (hence the name!), but I went with a pretty layered version instead. It looks similar to a vegetable tian because both arrange thinly sliced summer vegetables in rows, but this recipe skips the potatoes, adds eggplant, and bakes everything over a saucy layer of marinara.
However, don’t let those neat layers fool you. This oven-roasted ratatouille is easy enough for beginners and a little more hands-off than cooking each vegetable on the stovetop, which I appreciate. I’ve also included step-by-step videos below to show you exactly how I build those layers! Roasting helps the eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes keep more of their individual flavor and texture, which you don’t get from a classic stovetop ratatouille. Then the marinara mixes with their juices to create the most delicious, rich, tangy, herby sauce (get some bread ready for dipping). Lastly, I topped it with cheese, which definitely isn’t the norm for ratatouille, but adds a creamy, salty finish. And don’t just take my word for it! Many of our readers have described this recipe as fresh, hearty, and inexpensive, and one eggplant skeptic even said it was the best vegetarian dish they’d ever had…hands down! 😉
Recipe Tips & Variations
- This recipe is extremely flexible. I’ve given some approximate weight values for the vegetables below, but you can really use whatever size you have available and whatever you can squeeze into your baking dish. But a word of advice: once sliced, the volume of the vegetables always ends up being more than you estimated, so err on the side of smaller vegetables.
- I don’t peel my vegetables as the skins help hold their shape and add color to the finished dish. However, feel free to peel your veggies if preferred!
- Use soft veggies (and slice them evenly). While this recipe is my easy oven-roasted version, I kept the vegetables true to a classic ratatouille recipe by using eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions. If you want to change things up, you can mix in other soft veggies like red or orange bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, or other tomato varieties like beefsteak tomatoes. Just make sure everything is cut to about the same thickness so the layers cook evenly.
- Check the veggies before adding the cheese. Ovens and vegetable sizes vary, so I highly recommend using the baking time as a guide! The eggplant should feel tender when pierced with a thin knife, and the onion should look translucent. If either still feels firm, keep baking in 5-minute increments before adding the mozzarella.
Ratatouille Recipe
Cost $7.02 recipe / $0.88 serving
Ingredients
- 1 cup marinara sauce ($0.80*)
- 1 yellow onion (thinly sliced, (170g, 1¼ cup) $0.90)
- 1 eggplant (thinly sliced, (about 1 lb, 450g, 3 ½ cups), $1.66**)
- 1 zucchini (thinly sliced, (about ½ lb, 227g, 2 cups) $0.77)
- 1 yellow squash (thinly sliced, (about ½ lb, 227g, 2 cups) $0.71)
- 3 Roma tomatoes (thinly sliced, (360g, 2 ½ cups) $0.66)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.18)
- ½ tsp dried basil ($0.25)
- ½ tsp dried oregano ($0.03)
- ⅛ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.03)
- ⅛ tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded, $0.97)
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped (optional), $0.05)
Video
Instructions
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Gather all your ingredients and preheat the oven to 400ºF.
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Thinly slice the yellow onion. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes into ⅛-inch thick slices. Cut any pieces with a larger diameter into half-rounds.***
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Pour the marinara in the bottom of a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the sliced onions over top.
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Begin to line up the sliced eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes into the dish, standing on their sides, and in an alternating pattern until all of the pieces are used up. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, then sprinkle the basil, oregano, salt, and pepper over top.
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Transfer the dish to the oven and roast the vegetables for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over top. Return the casserole dish to the oven for five minutes, or until the cheese is melted and creamy.
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After roasting, sprinkle the chopped parsley over top, then serve.
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Notes
**I use a standard globe eggplant, which is the common large, dark purple variety sold in most U.S. grocery stores. Japanese or Chinese eggplants also work well, and their long, narrow shape makes smaller slices that layer neatly and cook evenly. They also tend to have thinner skin and fewer seeds. Whichever variety you use, choose one that feels firm, smooth, and heavy for its size, with no soft spots or wrinkled skin.
***Try to purchase vegetables that are a close size in diameter to make layering easier.
Nutrition Information
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Oven Roasted Ratatouille Step-by-Step Videos
Gather all of your ingredients: Preheat your oven to 400ºF. For this recipe, I used one small eggplant (about 1 lb.), one yellow onion, one yellow squash (about ½ lb.), one zucchini (about ½ lb.), and three Roma tomatoes. The eggplant, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes are the vegetables that will get layered pretty in the dish, while the onion will hide underneath in a base layer.
Slice the vegetables thinly and evenly: Slice the eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and Roma tomatoes into ⅛-inch-thick rounds. Thin, even slices are important here, so all the vegetables soften at about the same rate. Cut any larger rounds into half-moons so the pieces are a similar height when arranged in the casserole dish. I usually halve the eggplant slices and the wider ends of the squash and zucchini.
Add the marinara and onion: Slice 1 yellow onion as thinly as possible, then spread 1 cup marinara evenly across the bottom of a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the onion over the sauce in an even layer, breaking up any thick clumps so it cooks through properly.
Layer the vegetables: Stand the sliced vegetables on their sides and arrange them in an alternating pattern, like cards in a card catalog (wait, did I just date myself??). They don’t need to look perfect! Just start squeezing them in as best you can. It’s nice to try to alternate them in a pattern, but once you get toward the end, you might have more left of one type of vegetable, so just start popping them in there anywhere they’ll fit.
Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil evenly over the vegetables, then sprinkle with ½ tsp dried basil, ½ tsp dried oregano, ⅛ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and ⅛ tsp salt. The vegetables should look lightly glossy, with the herbs and seasonings scattered evenly across the top.
Bake until tender: Transfer the dish to the preheated 400ºF oven and roast for 40 minutes. The sauce should be gently bubbling around the edges, and the vegetables should look softened and slightly shrunken. Check the eggplant with a thin knife or fork. It should slide through easily without the eggplant feeling rubbery or firm. If the eggplant or onion (if you can see them under those layers!) is still underdone, continue baking in 5-minute increments before adding the cheese.
Once the vegetables are tender, sprinkle 1 cup shredded mozzarella evenly over the top. Return the dish to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and creamy.
Garnish and serve: Sprinkle 1 Tbsp chopped parsley over the top, if using, then serve. The vegetables will release some juices as they roast, which mix with the marinara to make a rich, flavorful sauce…and it’s just begging for a beautiful baguette to bathe in it. Mmmmm. You’ve got to spoon some of that sauce from the bottom of the pan onto your plate!
Closer look? So pretty. I ❤️ vegetables!
Serving suggestions
This homemade ratatouille makes 8 servings (¾-cup each!), and I think it’s a delicious side dish for grilled or roasted meat. I always make it whenever my juicy herb roasted pork tenderloin is on the menu. Both recipes bake at 400ºF, but pork is usually ready before the ratatouille, so I let it rest while I add the cheese and finish baking the veggies. Or serve it next to garlic butter baked cod, where the flaky, buttery fish is a lighter contrast to the tender vegetables and tangy tomato sauce.
For something equally satisfying, I’ll pair it with juicy baked chicken breasts to turn this vegetable side into a filling family meal. Another good pairing would be our rich and creamy Parmesan risotto, which is a delicious vegetarian option, or spoon it over soft polenta so it can soak up all that herby tomato sauce!
Storage & Reheating
Store leftover ratatouille in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Let it cool before storing and transfer it to the fridge within 2 hours of cooking to keep it fresh and safe to eat!
Meal Prepping
I think this recipe works well for meal prep because it’s easy to portion with plenty of sauce and reheats well for quick lunches or dinners. Divide the ratatouille into individual containers, making sure to spoon some of the marinara and vegetable juices into each one. I’d store any sides separately until serving.
Reheating
Reheat individual portions in the microwave until hot, using short intervals to avoid overcooking the vegetables. Spoon some of the sauce over the top first to help keep everything moist as it reheats.
Freezing
You can freeze ratatouille in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. However, the eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes will be much softer after thawing, so I prefer this recipe fresh or refrigerated. Thaw frozen portions overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Try These Easy Classic French Dishes Next:
- I save this French Onion Soup for cozy days when sweet caramelized onions and gooey cheese sound especially good.
- A classic Niçoise Salad is a hearty meal-prep lunch with plenty of contrasting flavors and textures!
- I’d put this Quiche Lorraine on the menu whenever an effortless but impressive brunch dish is needed.
More Veggie Side Dish Recipes
Our Oven Roasted Ratatouille recipe was originally published 5/19/14. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 10/27/25.
