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–+ servings
A medium view of ratatouille on a pink background with chamomile flowers and pink tongs
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3.67 from 3 votes

Vegan Ratatouille with Eggplant and Zucchini

This simple, no-bake recipe makes a hearty pot of ratatouille that your vegan friends & family will love. The recipe is designed to feed a group of 6-8 (depending on serving size) or allow a family of 1-2 to have leftovers for 3-4 meals.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Brunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: French
Keyword: 10 ingredients or less, comfort, refreshing, summer, vegan
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 137kcal

Equipment

  • Soup Pot
  • Knife
  • Chopping Board

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons Oil Any cooking oil is OK

Ratatouille Vegetables

  • 1 Eggplant The stout dark purple eggplant or the long, skinny Chinese eggplant both work.
  • 2 lb. zucchini Also known as courgette
  • 1 lb. Tomatoes
  • 1 Green pepper Optional

Aromatics

  • 1 onion Sliced
  • 7 cloves garlic
  • 3 sprigs Thyme Optional, you could also use oregano or parsley
  • Salt To taste
  • Pepper To taste

Instructions

Prepare the vegetables

  • Slice all the vegetables into flat discs. You can slice the eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes horizontally. 
  • This is what the sliced eggplant should look like.
    An overhead view of a chopping board to show sliced eggplant
  • This is what the sliced zucchini should look like.
    An overhead view of a chopping board to show sliced zucchini
  • This is what the sliced tomatoes should look like.
    An overhead view of a chopping board to show sliced tomatoes
  • Slice the green bell peppers/capsicum into long strips. This is what the sliced bell peppers should look like.
    An overhead view of a chopping board to show sliced bell peppers/capsicum

Prepare the aromatics

  • Thinly slice the onion.
  • Coarsely chop the garlic cloves.
  • This is what the sliced onion and chopped garlic should look like.
    An overhead view of a chopping board to show chopped garlic and sliced onions

Assemble the ratatouille in the pot before putting on the stove

  • Pour the oil in a medium-sized soup pot. 
  • Layer the eggplant in the pot first. Eggplant loves to soak up oil, which is why we put the eggplant in first. Lay the eggplant slices flat to cover the bottom of the soup pot. Depending on the size of your eggplant, you should expect to put 5-6 slices.
    An overhead view of the soup pot to show layered ratatouille ingredients with eggplant slices on top
  • Layer the zucchini slices on top of the eggplant.
    An overhead view of the soup pot to show layered ratatouille ingredients with zucchini slices on top
  • Layer the tomato slices on top of the zucchini. Don’t worry about being perfect. Just focus on enjoying the task and the bright beautiful colors of the vegetables.
    An overhead view of the soup pot to show layered ratatouille ingredients with tomatoes slices on top
  • Layer the slices of bell peppers on top of the zucchini. Try your best to lay the strips so they create a flat surface on top of the tomatoes. You should now have four layers of vegetables.
    A close up overhead view of the soup pot to show layered ratatouille ingredients with tomatoes and peppers on top
  • Put half of the sliced onions in an even layer on top of the bell peppers. Distribute half of the chopped garlic on top of the onions. Put 2 sprigs of the thyme on top of the garlic if you’re adding herbs.
    An overhead view of the soup pot to show layered ratatouille ingredients with onions on top
  • Alternate the remaining vegetables. Layer the eggplant slices first, then the zucchini slices, then the tomatoes slices, then the bell pepper strips until you have used up all the ingredients. If you run out of a certain vegetable, just continue with the order until you finish all remaining vegetables.
    An overhead view of the soup pot to show layered ratatouille ingredients with tomatoes and peppers on top
  • Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Season it to your tastes. If you’re not sure how much salt and pepper to use, start with 1 teaspoon of salt. You can always add more when you eat the ratatouille.
    Alex sprinkling salt into the soup pot with the ratatouille ingredients
  • Put the remaining onion, garlic, and thyme on top of the vegetables.
    A view of the full soup pot with ratatouille ingredients

Cooking time!

  • Turn the burner on high. Allow the hot oil to sauté the eggplant for about 5 minutes. You should hear it crackling and see wispy steam rising from the pot. 
  • Once you see steam rising from the pot, turn the burner down to medium and cover the pot with a lid. Allow the vegetables to sweat and cook for 15 minutes. Set a timer and come back. 
  • After 15 minutes, lift the lid and stir the ratatouille gently to allow the top layers of vegetables to reach the bottom of the pot to ensure even cooking.
  • Place the lid back on the pot and turn the burner down to low. 
  • Allow the ratatouille to simmer for 60 minutes. Set a timer and go do a fun activity. Come back in an hour to check on your ratatouille. 
  • Once the hour is up, check the ratatouille. If it looks too watery for your tastes, remove the lid off to let the steam escape. Allow the extra moisture to cook off for an additional 10 minutes to thicken the ratatouille into a stew-like texture. When you’re happy with the texture of the ratatouille, then it is ready to serve.
  • Enjoy your ratatouille!

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 824mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1045IU | Vitamin C: 58.3mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1.2mg