Craig Claiborne’s Ratatouille

Updated June 17, 2025

Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(386)
Comments
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Ingredients

Yield:About 10 cups
  • 1 eggplant, about 1 ½ pounds

  • 3 zucchini, about 1 ½ pounds

  • 2 onions, about ½ pound

  • 3 green peppers, about ½ pound

  • ½ cup olive oil

  • Salt to taste, if desired

  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

  • 2 tablespoons finely minced garlic

  • 4 cups drained, canned tomatoes, chopped or crushed

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

  • ½ cup drained capers

  • ½ cup finely chopped parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

26 grams carbs; 276 calories; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 10 grams fiber; 1190 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 15 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Trim off the ends of the eggplant and zucchini. Do not peel. Cut each into cubes measuring about one inch or slightly larger. There should be about nine cups of eggplant cubes and six of zucchini.

  2. Step 2

    Peel the onions and cut into one-half-inch cubes. There should be about one and one-half cups.

  3. Step 3

    Core, seed and devein the green peppers, and cut them into one-inch pieces. There should be about two and one-half cups.

  4. Step 4

    Heat the oil in a large heavy casserole and add the eggplant and zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, over high heat until the vegetables start to brown, about five minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Add the onions, green peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring, over high heat, about two minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and stir to blend. Add the bay leaf, thyme and capers. Add salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and cover closely. Reduce the heat and let simmer 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
386 user ratings
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Comments

I followed the recipe closely, since I haven't made enough ratatouille to wing it. Most of the ingredients came from my favorite farm stand, including red, orange, and green peppers, which looked nice. The dish was delicious and simple.

Forgotten how good that classic recipe is! Added 1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence to recipe and simmered it for 2 hours partially covered to intensify the flavor. Nice side dish with grilled meat. Tastes great re-heated after being stored, frozen for a while.

This is an extremely good basic, never-fail recipe which I will use again and again. I used half a tin of chopped tomatoes and a couple of over ripe fresh ones, lots more garlic and served with roast chicken and also some grilled fish. Will make a couple of batches to freeze for a winter treat.

My favorite! Such a simple version and sooo so good! A perfect summer recipe. I've been making ratatouille since I was a vegetarian in the 80's using Laurel's Kitchen Cookbook but these days this simple recipe can't be beat. Sometimes I add garbanzo beans for a bit of protein and any and all herbs will do. Don't skip the capers!!!

I love that it is not as fussy as many other ratatouille recipes. I too used a mix of squashes and pepper colors because that was what was at the farm stop, as well as some basil because I'm using the last of the season from my herb pot. Excellent!

My mother "discovered" ratatouille in the late 70s, and raved about it when I was a teenager (she was excited about anything French); the main thing that stuck with me for all these years is--CAPERS. And I had to search and search and finally googled "ratatouille and capers" before this recipe appeared. Also, it was never really meant to be roasted (hot summer!!!) and was meant to be stewed on the stove like this; the current recipes want everything roasted which is a pain! Enjoy.

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