Name: Gourmet's Best Ratatouille
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 onion, sliced thin; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 5 Tbsp. olive oil; ¾ lb. eggplant, cut into ½" pieces (about 3 cups); 1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; ¾ lb. small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1¼ cups); ¼ tsp. dried oregano, crumbled; ¼ tsp. dried thyme, crumbled; ⅛ tsp. ground coriander; ¼ tsp. fennel seeds; ¾ tsp. salt; ½ cup torn fresh basil leaves

Sauted eggplant onions tomatoes and zucchini topped with basil leaves in two bowls with glasses of red wine.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

Active Time
30 minutes
Total Time
40 minutes

Ratatouille is a classic French dish that combines summer vegetables—usually eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and garlic cloves. Ratatouille recipes vary when it comes to the cooking method, though. Some call for roasting the vegetables separately, then combining them; others start with a tomato sauce and cook the other ingredients in its liquid. This fairly traditional ratatouille recipe keeps things simple, with whole veggies stewed in a skillet on the stovetop in extra virgin olive oil until they are tender and their flavors have blended together beautifully.

This warm weather vegetable stew (which originated in Provence) is also flexible, so you can swap in any summer vegetables you have on hand. If you have too much yellow squash in your garden, for instance, use that in place of the zucchini. If you grow herbs, try using fresh thyme instead of dried. However you make it, you can serve it in a variety of ways: It makes a great appetizer with slices of French bread (or any crusty bread); it’s a lovely vegetarian main course served with couscous; and it’s an excellent, flavorful side dish for fish. Like most stews, ratatouille is also excellent the next day; store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For the best flavor, let it return to room temperature before serving.

Ingredients

4 servings

1 onion, sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 Tbsp. olive oil

¾ lb. eggplant, cut into ½" pieces (about 3 cups)

1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices

1 red bell pepper, chopped

¾ lb. small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1¼ cups)

¼ tsp. dried oregano, crumbled

¼ tsp. dried thyme, crumbled

⅛ tsp. ground coriander

¼ tsp. fennel seeds

¾ tsp. salt

½ cup torn fresh basil leaves

Preparation

Step 1
In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 Tbsp. of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the remaining 3 Tbsp. oil and heat it over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened.
Step 2
Stir in the zucchini and the bell pepper and cook the mixture over the moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5–7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the oregano, the thyme, the coriander, the fennel seeds, the salt, and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the basil and combine the mixture well.
Do Ahead: The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in the June 1991 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared on Epicurious in August 2004. For more of our best summer dinner recipes, head this way →

Leave a Review

Reviews (171)

Haven't tried it yet.. But I will.. I notice the recipe doesn't follow the chefs actual process.. Is his recipe available?
- Don Boyer
- Calgary, Alberta
- 4/18/2024
Very tasty. Tossed the eggplant with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper then roasted it.
- Monique
- California
- 4/28/2023
This is just perfect. Didn’t change a thing!
- Anonymous
- Dana Point, CA
- 1/1/2023
This is a perfect September recipe (at least here in California). I didn't have the fennel seeds and it was still delicious. I added mushrooms for some heft and served it with brown rice. Great main dish!
- Dorsey G
- Sacramento, CA
- 9/28/2022
I love the way the onions almost melt away into the dish—it turns out so mellow and savory! Made this tonight for the two of us, and there is almost none left over. The basil came from our garden, and everything was so FRESH and delicious. Five stars.
- Anonymous
- Tucson, AZ
- 9/7/2022
Similar to our recipe. Different every time. We serve it over a few think slices of hot French bread
- Nanlou
- Plymouth mi
- 8/27/2022
My only complaint about this recipe is the instruction to slice the onion thin. For me, this meant that by the end of cooking everything, the onions were a sort of stringy mush, even though I didn’t slice them super thin. I’d go with a 1/4 inch thickness minimum next time to avoid this.
- Anonymous
- Portland OR
- 8/27/2022
I haven't made this, but my go to recipe is almost exactly the same, with the addition of sweet or mild Italian sausages. Much more hearty.
- Fran
- Cambridge, MD
- 8/17/2022
Followthe recipe carefully and the results is 5 star. Aler it at your own risk. I've played with it and the result is never as good a this.
- Alton Ego from the movie.
- Ashland, OR
- 8/4/2022
This is my go-to recipe. Best ratatouille ever. I generally make it exactly as directed. I've sometimes added mushrooms along with zucchini and red pepper, and once or twice I've thrown in a splash of red wine. Very straightforward, yet delicious!
- at88
- Ontario, Canada
- 5/26/2020
Just made this this evening as written except that I did each step when they looked ready rather than adhering to suggested times (that would have taken too long). It was excellent as written but is of course the kind of recipe that can be worked with what's at hand. Actually I just remembered that I didn't have fresh tomatoes so I used a 14 oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and it was really good.
- ss in VA
- Richmond, VA
- 3/18/2020
After reading reviews, I added extra herbs and some kalamata olives. This recipe is easy to modify to include veggies on hand. I didn’t have as much eggplant as called for, so included mushrooms. The only other addition was some red wine. Served this over creamy polenta from this site. Will make this again.
- swiersem
- Elk Grove, CA
- 9/22/2019
I love this recipe and it works every time. Recently I had a ratatouille in aspic which loked great and was delicious. But I can't seem to find a recipe, do you have one?
- sangela5351
- Wombarra NSW
- 9/8/2019
This is a terrific recipe - just the right proportions of vegetables and flavourings - coriander, fennel and all! I have made it twice in the last week. It tastes even better the next day. it is going to be a regular on my menus.
- Moneesha
- Calcutta, India
- 9/3/2019
Excellent ratatouille. I added Kalamata olives to give it some salty pungency and my herbs were fresh from the garden. A burst of summer!
- lisasimpsonmbmph2607
- washington, DC
- 8/13/2019