30-min One-pot Ratatouille (Vegan)

A red pot from above with veggie chunks of all colors: red, yellow, green, orange, brown. There is a serving spoon taking a portion from the middle.

30-min One-pot Ratatouille (Vegan)

This is the best French summer vegetable stew that you can stir up in one pot within 30 minutes. I say to stir up because the traditional ratatouille is cooked on a stovetop and not baked. It is a quick and easy dish to make from colorful summer vegetables like fresh tomato, zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper. It is naturally vegan and vegetarian.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Dairy-free, Egg-free, French, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword eggplant ratatouille, quick French ratatouille, ratatouille, vegan ratatouille, vegetable ratatouille

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 215kcal

Author Nandor Barta

Equipment

Ingredients

3 Tomatoes (large)
1 Onion (large)
4 cloves Garlic
1 Bell pepper (red, yellow, green)
1 Eggplant (medium)
1 Zucchini / Courgette (small)
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh basil to taste
Fresh thyme to taste

Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

Peel and chop onion and garlic.
Wash and chop zucchini/yellow squash and eggplants. Cut them into 1-inch (1-1,5 cm) thick slices and then cut the "discs" into quarters. No need to peel them.
Wash and cut tomatoes first into wedges, then cut them in half or in third. You need to end up with pieces in the size of an inch (1-1,5 cm) cubes.
Wash and slice bell peppers. First cut them in half, and remove the seeds and the stem. Lay it on the cutting board and slice vertical stripes. Now, cut the stripes in half horizontally so you have 2-3 inch long (3-4 cm) stripes.

Cooking ratatouille in one pot

Heat your stockpot or a Dutch oven to medium heat and add olive oil.
Cook the chopped onion, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
Add chopped garlic, stir and cook for a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, salt, and pepper. Start with 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper, and adjust at the end. Cover it with a lid and cook it on medium heat until it is boiling. Remove lid, stir and cook for 6-8 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy and there are juices.
Finally, add the chopped zucchini and eggplant. Stir and cook until they are tender, not mushy. The zucchini should be a bit crunchy to bite on. The eggplant should be soft and not crunchy at all. The juices should be evaporated mostly and it should get a stew-like consistency. It takes us about 10 minutes to get this texture in our Dutch oven.
Stir in some freshly chopped basil or thyme and you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Juicy tomatoes -> You should use juicy, soft, mature tomatoes. They are the ones that are so ripe that they fall apart quickly and form the base of the stew easily. If you have hard, unripe veggies or cocktail tomatoes (that are more skin than flesh), then it will take longer to cook them or even you will not be able to produce the juices needed to make ratatouille.
Fresh tomatoes vs canned chopped tomatoes -> The traditional way is to use fresh, juicy, ripe tomatoes, but we do understand that it is not always possible to get hold of those. You can use chopped canned tomatoes (not tomato sauce or tomato paste) so you have a bit of chunky texture.
Cut all veggies in the size of 1-2 inch cubes -> The smaller you cut them, the shorter will be the cooking time.
Use the lid -> Covering your pot with a lid ensures that the juices are kept in the stew as well as it maintains a hot temperature to cook the chopped vegetables faster.
Read our Cooking with Eggplants Guide if you need more tips and hacks on choosing, storing, and preparing eggplants.

Nutrition