Cooking Food Cloud

Sunday, 2 January 2022

Classic Ratatouille

This ratatouille is made up of delicious sliced vegetables that are seasoned to perfection and cooked in a delicious sauce. It’s so good that you will want to add it as a side to every meal!

If you love vegetable side dishes like this one then you MUST TRY these potatoes, carrots, or even this asparagus. They are all amazing which makes it hard to pick a favorite!

A baking dish filled with baked ratatouille.

What is Ratatouille?

If you have kids then I’m sure that you’re familiar with the movie called Ratatouille but what exactly is the food? Well, trust me when I tell you that this dish is one of the best ways to cook up some vegetables! Ratatouille is thinly sliced vegetables such as eggplant, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes that are seasoned and baked in a delicious sauce.

Ratatouille not only makes an excellent option for a side dish but it is completely filling on its own. Serve it with a French baguette or even some delicious garlic bread. I love using the sauce to dip them in! This recipe is simple to make but when you see it finished all baked and full of color, you will see that it not only tastes amazing but it looks so fancy! Try it out, I think it will become a favorite!

Ingredients in Ratatouille

These ingredients are so delicious and easy. The sauce that these vegetables are cooked in makes my mouth water! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.

Extra virgin olive oil: The extra virgin olive oil is adds a delicious flavor.
Garlic cloves: If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves you can use minced garlic. ½ tsp equals about 1 clove of garlic.
Yellow onion: This is going in your sauce so chop the pieces up really small.
Crushed tomatoes: This will be used as the base of the sauce.
Balsamic vinegar: Balsamic vinegar brings the best flavor to this sauce.
Italian herbs: This will bring in those classic herb that you typically see in a marinara sauce.
Sea salt: You will put this in to taste.
Vegetables: Zucchini, yellow squash, Japanese eggpant, tomatoes are classic in ratatouille.

How to Make Ratatouille

Ratatouille seems so intimidating but it’s really not! In less than an hour, you can have this steaming on your table and ready to eat!

Preheat and prep cooking dish: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 1.5 qt. baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Make the sauce: For the sauce, heat a saucepan over medium low heat. Add the olive oil and onions. Sauté for a 3 minutes until the onions start to soften. Be careful not to brown the onions. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, Italian herbs, and salt. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Cut up the vegetables: Prepare the vegetables by cutting the ends off of each side. Using a sharp knife, cut all vegetables into the same thickness so they cook evenly. The eggplant may need to be quartered to match the size of the other vegetables.
Assemble in baking dish: To assemble the ratatouille, pour the sauce into the prepared baking dish. Next, layer the vegetables over the sauce by overlapping each vegetable. Arrange the vegetables in a consistent alternating pattern.
Season: Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake: Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, not soggy.
Top and serve: Serve with fresh basil and grated parmesan. Enjoy!

2 pictures showing sauce and sliced vegetables.

Cooking Tips

I’ve come up with a few tips that will help your ratatouille turn out just right. In fact, this is going to taste so good that I bet it starts to turn up on your weekly menu at home!

Sliced vegetables: When you slice up your vegetables, try to make them all about the same size. That way they will cook evenly.
Keep it thick: If you want to keep your sauce from getting runny then stir it often. If it starts to become runny then turn the heat up a bit and continue stirring.
Double the recipe: This ratatouille tastes so good (if not better) the next day so if I were you, I would just cook up some extra all at the same time. You won’t regret it!

Cooked ratatouille being dished with a spoon.

How to Store Leftovers

Ratatouille tastes extra good the next day because all of the flavors have really mixed together. Just place the leftover ratatouille in an airtight container and put it in your fridge. It can last for up to a week. When you are ready to eat it, you can just reheat it in your microwave for a minute or two until it’s heated through.

Classic Ratatouille

This ratatouille is made up of delicious sliced vegetables that are seasoned to perfection and cooked in a delicious sauce. It's so good that you will want to add it as a side to every meal!

Course Dinner, main dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword ratatouille

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings people

Calories 91kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

Sauce

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 (15 ounces) canned crushed tomatoes
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon dried Italian herbs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt to taste

Vegetables

2 small zucchini
2 small yellow squash
2 small Japanese eggplant
5 roma tomatoes
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 1.5 qt. baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
For the sauce, heat a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and onions. Sauté for 3 minutes until the onions start to soften. Be careful not to brown the onions. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, Italian herbs, and salt. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Prepare the vegetables by cutting the ends off of each side. Using a sharp knife, cut all vegetables into the same thickness so they cook evenly. The eggplant may need to be quartered to match the size of the other vegetables.
To assemble the ratatouille, pour the sauce into the prepared baking dish. Next, layer the vegetables over the sauce by overlapping each vegetable. Arrange the vegetables in a consistent alternating pattern.
Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, not soggy.
Serve with fresh basil and grated parmesan. Enjoy!

Nutrition

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Spaghetti Squash Crust Pizza

This low-carb Spaghetti Squash Crust Pizza is the only way I can get my husband to eat spaghetti squash – it’s that delicious!

Spaghetti Squash Crust Pizza

This Spaghetti Squash Crust is a grain-free alternative to traditional pizza and a great way to get more vegetables and fiber. Along with spaghetti squash, I used egg, mozzarella, and parmesan to bind everything together and seasoned it was garlic and oregano. This veggie crust is so tasty – it’s even good as a snack without the sauce and cheese on top. For more of my favorite pizza recipes, try my bagel dough Margherita Pizza or this easy Cast-Iron Thin Crust Pizza made with tortillas.

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Air Fryer Parmesan Kale Chips

Crispy and seasoned perfectly with parmesan cheese, these kale chips that you cook in the air fryer are the BEST snack. They are quick and easy to make and I bet that you can’t stop at just one!

If you love simple and delicious air fryer snacks then try out these pickles, egg rolls, and these wings. They are all so good and make great appetizers to add to any party or get-together!

Air Fryer Kale Chips

I LOVE when I can cook things in my air fryer. Not only does it make everything crisp and fresh (I mean have you tried cooking leftovers in the air fryer…it’s brilliant!) but it’s kind of a set it and forget it deal. And it’s not just small appetizers that you can cook in it. I can have chicken, pork, and even steak at my disposal in a few minutes’ time. And it is always cooked to perfection.

These air fryer kale chips are the best example of taking an ordinary vegetable and turning it into a delicious snack! The parmesan cheese that is sprinkled on top adds in a yummy flavor and then they are cooked to be perfectly crisp. I love to make these when I want a savory snack but don’t want to load up on unhealthy food. These kale chips are the best of both worlds. I can eat something delicious and it’s a superfood vegetable!

Ingredients to Make Air Fryer Kale Chips

These chips only take 4 ingredients. That’s it! So there is no excuse not to try these out right now! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.

Kale: Make sure that it’s completely washed and dried!
Olive oil: This helps the seasonings stick to the kale.
Parmesan: I used parmesan from the can in my fridge but you could sprinkle on fresh too!
Salt and pepper: Sprinkle these on to taste.

Let’s Make Some Chips!

If you thought the ingredient list for these air fryer kale chips was simple then just check out these instructions… It doesn’t get much easier than this!

Clean the kale: Rinse and dry the kale. Remove the leaves from the stem and tear into small pieces.
Toss: In a medium sized bowl add the kale, olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Place in air fryer: Lay the kale in a single layer in the bottom of your air fryer.
Cook: Cook at 360 degrees for 7 minutes or until crisp.

4 pictures showing how to season kale with oil, salt and pepper and parmesan.

Cooking with an Air Fryer

Whether this is your first time cooking with an air fryer or you’re an old pro, I have some tips for you! There are a few things that you can do to make sure that your air fryer foods turn out just right.

Don’t overcrowd the basket: Make sure that you cook things in layers, one at a time. The basket should only be filled with one layer, don’t stack anything! This makes it so that your food will cook unevenly. It’s best do do a bunch of bathes then to try and cram more in at once… Trust me, your food won’t turn out!
Preheat the air fryer: Before you start cooking, press the preheat button on your air fryer. If yours doesn’t have this then set the air fryer to the temperature that you are cooking your food at. Then turn it on for about 3 minutes at that temperature before you put your food in!
Don’t use aerosol spray: If you want to put some grease in your air fryer beforehand then just rub a little bit of oil on the bottom of the grate. This will help your food not stick. Don’t use spray cans (like pam) because they can cause chipping and aren’t good for your air fryer.