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
Looks yummy!
Some cooks said canned tomatoes are better than fresh ones. But I’m quite a health-conscious. I still believe that fresh materials are always the best.
I love ratatouille cover with grated mozzarella cheese.
Hey! I just wanted to let you know that we tried your recipe last night and it was so amazing! My husband eats Paleo so we opted out of the flour and the sugar, but all of the sweetness from the broiling still gave it that somethin-somethin. 🙂 Also, the advice to use balsamic vinegar was divinely inspired. Definitely a do again!
I just wanted to let you know I made this, and it was absolutely delish! And yes, my house smelled like heaven! My whole family loved it — thanks for a great, healthy recipe!
Can you not just roast all the veggies with the seasonings as you advised, and call it done? Skip the slow cooking entirely?
Hey there!
I’m a Virtual Assistant working with a client, Tiffany of Eat at Home Cooks on a summer series called “100 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes”. We’re hoping to feature your recipe in the series! We never share the recipe, just the picture, a blurb about why we think it is great, and a link back to this page for readers to come visit you all and get the recipe straight from the source!
We’ve had GREAT success with our series, and all of our featured sites have gotten lots of traffic and new followers. Everyone’s been loving it!
If you’d rather not be featured, just shoot me an email and I’ll take you all off the list. 🙂
You can visit http://eatathomecooks.com/2014/05/100-days-of-summer-slow-cooker-recipes.html to see what’s been featured so far, and how we’re doing it.
Let me know if you have any questions!
I’ve made ratatouille before,and my family has always loved it. Well, yesterday I couldn’t find my recipe so I started looking online. I was dubious about using a crock pot, but I was intrigued by the idea of roasting the vegetables first. OMG! This is the best ratatouille I’ve ever had. I made two minor substitutions. I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned. I did not roast them. I peeled and diced them, then added them into the crock pot with the roasted vegetables. I did not have herbs de province so I used fresh rosemary, thyme, and lavendar finely minced. I served it with brown rice and a nice baguette. Once again, this is the best ratatouille ever. Roasting the vegetables is pure genius. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
hi – I’ve commented before about how much we like this! and I hadn’t made it all winter long but here we are with my #3 child turning 15 on Wed and I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner and this is what she asked for!!! and since we have friends and family coming over to celebrate I am having to make 3 crockpots full (on a forecasted 90 degree day!!) – Thanks for all your wonderful inspiration this mom of 7 LOVES it!
Hi all,
We were very pleased with this recipe! Very quick to prepare. One caveat, it did give me wretched, explosive gas all night long. I was forced to sleep on the couch. I still have gas, in fact I am tearing ass right now. Recommend installing a bio hazard quarantine facility in your home after eating. Enjoy!
I was just reading through the comments and when I came to yours I couldn’t stop laughing! Don’t you hate it when that happens with delicious food? You want to eat it again, but you know what you’ll be in for if you do…