This Slow Cooker Ratatouille is a simple, colorful way to enjoy fresh summer vegetables. Everything cooks together into a rich, flavorful stew that’s hearty enough to serve on its own, or as a side. The slow cooker does all the work, turning basic ingredients into something cozy and satisfying. It’s an easy, hands-off recipe that brings out the best in garden produce! Even if you don’t have a garden yourself, these classic summer veggies are in season right now, which means they should be at low prices in stores as well.
Traditional ratatouille, cooked uncovered in the oven, relies on evaporation to get rid of the large amounts of moisture contained in the vegetables. If you just tossed all of the vegetables in a slow-cooker, a device designed to trap and contain heat and moisture, you’d get a watery mess. That’s what has turned me away from slow-cooker ratatouille recipes in the past, and what made me so excited to see a solution in a recent issue of Cook’s Country.
Broiling the vegetables before popping them in the slow-cooker not only evaporates a lot of the excess liquid, but it adds flavor through caramelization. The result is an amazingly flavorful, thick vegetable stew. It may not be the prettiest dish (okay who am I kidding, it’s not pretty at all) but I will tell you… I could NOT stop eating this stuff. It was so perfect with a yummy loaf of crusty bread, and it made the perfect light summer meal.
A lot of people only pull out their slow-cookers in the fall and winter, but it’s actually one of my favorite cooking methods when the temperatures rise and it’s even too miserably hot to venture outside to the bbq to grill. It doesn’t put out a lot of heat in your house, and it’s super low maintenance.
Ingredients Needed
- eggplant
- zucchini
- red bell peppers
- onions
- olive oil
- sugar
- garlic cloves
- Herbs de Provence – A signature flavor in this dish, and lots of French cooking, is herbs de Provence (Provence is a region in France). You can find it with the rest of the spices in the grocery store. It’s one of my favorite seasonings, a mix of yummy things like rosemary, savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and most uniquely, lavender. If you don’t have any herbs de Provence, you can sub 1 teaspoon each of dried rosemary and dried thyme.
- canned tomatoes
- all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- balsamic vinegar
- Parmesan cheese
- basil – I whole-heartedly recommend fresh for this recipe
How to Make Slow Cooker Ratatouille
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Broil chopped eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onions with olive oil, garlic, sugar, and herbs until lightly browned. If you have heat setting options on your broiler, I’d recommend using a medium heat so they can broil for a good 10 minutes or so. This step gets rid of lots of liquid and adds great color and flavor. You’ll want to spread your vegetables over two baking sheets.
- Transfer roasted vegetables to the slow cooker and add canned tomatoes.
- Stir in a little flour, salt, pepper, and then cook on low until tender (about 4 hours).
- Finish with balsamic vinegar, Parmesan, and fresh basil.
- Adjust seasoning and serve warm, with a big chunk of crusty bread.
Storage & Other Tips
- Refrigeration: let it cool to room temperature before transferring to a clean airtight container. It can be stored in the fridge for 4 – 5 days.
- Freezing: For longer storage, freeze in 1 – 1 1/2 cup portions freezer-safe bags. It holds up well for 2 – 3 months.
- Reheat: gently warm it back up on the stovetop over medium-low, so the vegetables hold their shape. You can also microwave it in short bursts, with a quick stir in between.
- Adding flavor: after storage, this dish will absolutely lose some flavor. You’ll probably want to add more balsamic vinegar and seasonings when you reheat.
- Serving accompaniments: a big chunk of crusty bread is a must. If you want to make it a more substantial meal, pair it with grilled cheese, a ham & cheese sandwich, and a salad. It also goes great with grilled chicken, fish, or steak. Or pasta. Okay, pretty much anything. And as one reader noted after eating it in France, it’s great served over something like couscous, rice, or pasta as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically, yes. But I whole-heartedly do not recommend it. Broiling helps concentrate the flavors, caramelize the vegetables, and reduce excess moisture. Without it, the final stew may be more watery and less deeply flavored.
Using what you have works great too. A mix of dried thyme, oregano, rosemary, or basil will work.
Yes! However, we have never tried it this way so we can’t guarantee the results. Let us know how it goes in the comments.
Keep them in roughly 1 – 1 1/2 inch chunks so they hold their shape during cooking and don’t turn to mush.
Honestly, just about anything! Crusty bread, grilled chicken, fish, steak, or over couscous, quinoa, pasta, or rice are all great ideas.
Slow Cooker Ratatouille {Summer Vegetable Stew}
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds eggplant cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 zucchini, medium about 8 oz each, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 red bell peppers stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 onions roughly chopped
- 6 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence If you don’t have any herbs de Provance, you can sub 1 teaspoon each of dried rosemary and dried thyme.
- 1 28 ounce can tomatoes, diced, drained
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ¼ cup basil, fresh chopped
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. If you have different heat settings available on your broiler, set it to medium. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil. In a very large bowl, combine egg plant, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, olive oil, sugar, garlic, and herbs de Provence. Toss until combined.
- Divide vegetables evenly between prepared sheets and spread into a single layer. Broil, 1 sheet at a time, until vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes (or faster, if your broiler has only one heat setting and it’s super hot!) While the veggies are broiling, turn them a couple times during the cooking process to evenly cook them. Transfer broiled vegetables to slow cooker and add tomatoes.
- Stir flour, 2 ½ teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper into vegetables in slow cooker. Cover and cook until veggies are tender, about 4 hours on low. Stir in balsamic vinegar, Parmesan, and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Notes
- If you want to make this a more substantial meal, pair it with grilled cheese panini, or a ham and cheese sandwich and a salad. It also goes great with grilled chicken, fish, or steak, or try it served over something like couscous, rice, or pasta.
Questions & Reviews
Sara, making this right now and wishing that I could pick up the phone to call you. Can you even imagine what your life would be like if we all had your number..?.. no good. Hahaha so now that I sound like a creeper, the reason I’d call is because I really wanted to make this, so I started and realized I didn’t have bell peppers. An hour later I am home from the store, but now it is WAY too late to do this in the crock pot…so it is on my stove, I am wishing I had your advice, but I’ll let you know how it goes. I have it on low with the lid on. After broiling the veggies the house smells A-M-A-Z-I-N-G so we will see. If it is not as great as I dreamed…it’s my fault and I will try again the right way. Such a big emergency…I know. 🙂 Thanks for all the great recipes! I tried ratatouille for the first time about a month ago at a restaurant and fell in love, wishing I could make it at home and then this recipe appeared, you ladies are great!
Alright, the verdict…it worked! It is delish!! There was just a couple of changes I made because of food issues I have and preference. I wanted it to be a little more tomato-y and I can’t have flour, but I needed something to thicken up the sauce part of it, so I added one 6oz can of tomato paste and I can’t have sugar so I also added in some honey once I turned the stove off. Overall, very yummy, so excited to have this big pot of veggies for a few days!!
I was totally MIA during your emergency- I’m just now seeing this! I’ll have to give you my number so you can text next time 😉
I made this because I trust your taste; i’ve never had ratatouille before and eggplant done wrong is nasty. You were right. It was warm, comforting, and delicious. I am pleasantly surprised by just how good it is. My kids don’t care for it, which wasn’t a surprise; they avoid all of the ingredients whenever possible, but I’ll keep making it in the summer and someday they will realize just how good this is. Thanks for posting another great recipe! And to other readers: it’s definitely worth a try!
This was amazing! I had my doubts…but I am so glad I made it. Soooo good 🙂
I would not classify this recipe into the Dump and Go category. Although it is a great way to incorporate many of the bountiful vegetables of the summer, the recipe is more complicated than simply adding to a crock pot and turning it on for the day. I am thinking it was inappropriately listed in the featured category.
this was a great!!! I had never had it before – although I thought the eggplant didn’t hold up very well but it was nice to have something to do with it and not just let it sit there and go bad (we get it in our Bountiful Basket) – it was such a hit that my daughter asked for it for her birthday dinner tonight – so I’m back to get the recipe again!
Making this right now! It smells delicious, can’t wait to try it!
Yum! I made this for family on a gluten/dairy-free diet, so I subbed 2 T. cornstarch for the flour and left out the parmesan. Divine! The pickiest (seven year-old) eater in the bunch raved over the sauce. What a keeper! And it does feed a crowd. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers with some cheese. 🙂
I have never known what to do with eggplant…and now I do! Made it for dinner tonight. It is beastly ugly to look at, but tasty. I left my vegetables under the broiler until they were quite black (maybe 15 mins with some spatula tosses), so my finished project is very dark and caramelized.
AMAZINg giveaway wow! I came to find a dinner recipe but think i’ll try my luck first 😉
My favorite thing about my lil baby guy right now (who will turn one next week) is the way he tries to talk with us. it is absolutely hilarious how serious his face is when babbling something to us as if we understand and his face light up when we smile. Love.
I am making this right now and it smells DIVINE. Only 2 hours into cooking, but I had to sneak a taste and it left me drooling!