This homemade baked ratatouille recipe has tons of flavor! Roasted garlic sauce is covered in paper-thin spiced vegetables. This would be perfect for an impressive summer dinner or appetizer! Originally posted June 24, 2015.
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Yesterday afternoon my sisters and I were hanging out eating cold pizza that was at LEAST 4 days old. And not just any 4-day old pizza: hot-dog stuffed-crust 4-day old pizza.
I thought we had reached the depths of trashiness, when Nikki turns from where she was standing at the counter: “I have to say, putting butter on your cold pizza is the way to go.”
And there you have it my friends: What’s Wrong With America.
When I was little I used to be grossed out by how much butter my mom put on her rolls, but these days I’m the one slathering it on. Nikki was just telling me yesterday that when her friends comment on the yummy-looking food on my blog, she tells them, well yeah, if I started every recipe with a stick of butter, my food would be that good too. (Butter is where it’s at guys.)
Well, if butter-slathered cold hot dog pizza is what’s wrong with America, here’s what’s right about France: Ratatouille. More specifically, Roasted Garlic Ratatouille. Full of vegetables, and no butter in sight.
How to make baked ratatouille
Have you ever had Ratatouille? I first heard of it from the movie, of course, and I tried my first traditional version just a couple months ago. Honestly? Kind of bland! After all that hype and rat endorsement, I was like really, this is it?
Enter Hidden Valley, king of flavor! I sprinkled a packet of their new Greek Yogurt Mix into some of the roasted garlic sauce and on top of the veggies, and it was pretty magical. I made this here at my sister Nikki’s house and she LOVED it. I didn’t use an entire packet in the original version, and she kept going back to sprinkle more on top, even after it was baked. (No, she didn’t add butter this time.)
What is the best way to eat Ratatouille?
You could eat ratatouille with potatoes, polenta, couscous, pretty much any grain you can think of. I spread softened goat cheese on a slice of toasted French bread and put the veggies on top, like in this photo. SO GOOD. We ate nearly the whole pan, and then tonight I had a ratatouille taco with the leftovers.
What equipment do I need to make this ratatouille recipe?
Now here’s the thing about ratatouille: there is a LOT of slicing. I highly recommend a mandoline for this project. I actually made this one using a knife because I’m at my sister’s house and when I asked her if she had a mandoline she said isn’t that an instrument? And then I still had to borrow knives from her neighbor because hers suck so bad. (She’s a writer, not a cook, though to her credit none of her 5 children have starved yet.)
>>>GIVEAWAY! (This giveaway is closed.) Hidden Valley is going to give FIVE of my awesome readers a fun prize! The prize includes samples of Hidden Valley’s newest products, a $75 Target gift card, as well as a vegetable peeler set and cutting board. (Free ranch! Free kitchen stuff! $75 at Target! Just think how many 6 dollar tees that is.)
More great summer vegetable recipes!
- Poblano, Corn, and Zucchini Lasagna >> This recipe surprised me with its amazing flavor!
- Grilled Squash, Red Pepper, and Feta Sandwich >> (This ones an oldie but a goodie, I’ve made it so many times)
- Easy Caramelized Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella >> A great weeknight meal
- Tomato Tart with Blue Cheese >> like Ratatouille it is both delicious AND beautiful
- Spicy Smokey Ratatouille Casserole from Tori Avey
- Ratatouille Pizza from The Healthy Foodie << that sounds amazing
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Homemade Baked Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon white wine
- 1/4 onion, chopped
- 1 package Hidden Valley Greek Yogurt Dips, not made, divided
- 1/4 cup Parmesan, fresh
- thyme, fresh, optional
- 1 long red bell pepper
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 large yellow squash
- 1 eggplant, *
- Parmesan, grated, to garnish
- 4 ounces goat cheese, softened, for spreading
- French bread, crusty
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Use a sharp knife to cut off the top of the head of garlic so that the inner flesh is revealed. Remove the papery layers on the outside that come off easily (don’t take them all off though, you want the head to remain intact.)
- Place the head of garlic on a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Wrap the foil around the garlic, place on a baking sheet, and roast for about 25 minutes.
- When cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft cloves of garlic into a small saucepan. Mash with a fork. Turn the heat to medium and add cream, wine, onion, and 1 tablespoon of the dip package. When is starts to bubble slightly, add the Parmesan. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly. Add fresh thyme to taste, if you want.
- Pour the sauce into a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Set aside.
- Use a sharp knife to cut out the top of the red bell pepper. Remove as much of the core as you can, leaving the pepper in it’s original shape. Use a sharp knife or mandoline to slice the pepper into rings.
- Use a mandoline or a very sharp knife to slice the zucchini, squash, and eggplant.*
- Layer the vegetables in the skillet with the sauce. Start on the outside edge. Layer them in whatever order you want, I did eggplant, zucchini, squash, then pepper. Continue layering until you run out of vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Sprinkle the remainder of the ranch packet over the vegetables. You don’t have to use all of it.
- Cut out a circle of parchment paper that is about the size of your skillet and lay it on top of the vegetables. This keeps it from getting brown and dried out.
- Bake at 375 for about 38-40 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Toast a slice of bread, spread it with goat cheese, and spoon some of the ratatouille on top. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Hidden Valley, whose products I always have on hand. Seriously, working with brands I love is the best! It’s basically like a party. Thanks for coming!
Not only is the presentation of this beautiful!, but when I walked into the party the smell of it turned noses! It was delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Isn’t that the best feeling Stacey!! So glad it turned out well, thank you for coming back to comment and review! Super helpful!
delicious! I used the spicy Dips though.
I made this for our Lent dinner at church. It was casserole night. Since I’m a vegetarian I always make something so I will have a meal I can eat. So far everyone loves the dishes I bring. But this dish was the hit of the night!! Comments are still coming to me. Plus everyone wants the recipe. Love it!!
So happy to hear that Marki!! It’s definitely an impressive dish to bring to a get together :) Thanks for the review!!
Am anxious to try this recipe!! Â Sounds like it would taste fabulous!!! Â The new Hidden Valley Ranch dressing that i would try first is the Avacado…….just love those green miracles! Â But the Roasted Garlic and Cucumber also sound terrific too. Â Any Hidden Valley Ranch dressing will be used up quickly in our house……..our most favorite brand!!
It’s not a ratatouille it’s called a tian.
My husband and I hosted our first Thanksgiving two years ago and made this recipe as a pre-meal snack (we eat consistently, all day long on Thanksgiving). This was such a hit that it’s been a holiday staple since. I’m back checking the recipe for Thanksgiving this year!!
So beautiful and so full of flavor, definitely a hit with both of our families. It is the perfect side dish to bring if you don’t want to accidentally bring the same thing as someone else, too. Thank you for sharing. :)
Happy Holidays!!
That is so much fun Jenna! I never would have thought to make this for Thanksgiving! But yes, total show stopper. What a great idea! You can always be sure you’re not bringing the same thing as someone else, you are so right :) Happy Thanksgiving!
Can I make this ahead and freeze it for serving in a few days?
Hey Wendy! I would not recommend it! I think the squash would get very mushy.
The photos are beautiful and your description was so convincing I had to try it. Sadly it was not very good.
First off, ratatouille does not have cream sauce, so the name should be something else altogether. Secondly, the visual appeal of this is really tied to finding eggplant, peppers and squash the same diameter (good luck). Assembling this was so tedious to even come close to the intended results. Lastly, after all that effort it was pale, milky, and very bland at best. Really not worth the effort. Perhaps skip the sauce and slice in some vine ripened tomato for a more authentic ratatouille.
I can’t even understand a food writer recommending use of junk like powdered salad dressing. A fully sad and disappointing meal if it weren’t for bread and goat cheese to shine on their own merits without this dreadful excuse of a dish. Sorry but that’s how my entire family ranked this never to be made again mess.
Wow Patricia! That was really harsh. My family and I liked it a lot, I’m sorry yours didn’t. If you don’t like “junk” powdered salad dressing, I recommend finding a recipe that doesn’t use it. Also, next time you comment on a food blog, try to remember that you’re talking to a person, not a computer.
Can’t help but ask and I’m too impatient to read through these comments. Your pic sure looks like more than one zucchini and squash to fill that pan. And did you steam them or micro them first to get them to bend like that in the middle? I’m just trying to see what I’ll be up against once I start!
Hey Hannah! No, that’s exactly the amount I used actually. When you slice them that thin, there is a lot to go around. :) And no, I didn’t microwave them, when you slice them thin enough, they become flexible. I highly recommend a manodline for this project! I hope it goes well!
Bahaha when I saw an advertisement for that hot dog stuffed pizza, I said to Lucas, “this is what’s wrong with America” – but then…BUTTER! Haha. You are my hero.
Also – could this ratatouille be ANY prettier?! Seriously – that takes some talent and dedication. And that first photo = <3 <3 <3.
I am currently loving taziki so the cucumber one looks good!