Baked Ratatouille is layered with eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, summer squash and topped with melted Havarti cheese. So delish!
Baked Ratatouille
True story, my favorite Disney movie of all time is Ratatouille. I’ve watched it hundreds of times with Madison and it never gets old. My version of the classic French dish is more like a casserole, similar to this Noodless Zucchini Lasagna, only without the ricotta and meat sauce. It’s delicious and a great way to use up those summer veggies. If you want a main dish with grains try this Ratatouille with Farro, or if you want something with chicken, try this Ratatouille Baked Chicken.
How To Make Baked Ratatouille
I sliced the vegetables thin with my mandolin (please be careful when cutting) which speeds the prep time up, and grilled them on my grill pan to help dry out the vegetables so the end results won’t be watery which worked like a charm! This is especially great in the late summer, if you’re like me and have an over-abundance of veggies in my garden.
Baked Ratatouille with Havarti Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/8th inch thick
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 small zucchini, 6 ounces, sliced 1/8th inch thick
- 1 small yellow squash, 6 ounces, sliced 1/8th inch thick
- 3 oz light Havarti cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large non-stick skillet add olive oil and sauté onions and garlic 2-3 minutes. Add 1 tsp salt, black pepper, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes if using, bay leaf, thyme, basil, red and yellow bell pepper; sauté another 5-8 minutes on medium-low heat.
- In a large nonstick grill pan, grill the zucchini and eggplant 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
- Add 1 cup of the sauce to a casserole dish. Layer the eggplant, squash and the zucchini. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and top with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes.
This is one of our summertime favorites! Some didn’t care for the time to prep. My time saver was doing this on the grill. I put ALL of the zuchinni at one time (I elected to omit the eggplant and do more zuchinni since I have a lot of it from the garden) on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side. I have a metal mesh type sheet for the grill for smaller vegetables. Be sure to spray with oil. I did not grill the squash. I like someone’s idea for cutting the vegetables lengthwise. They would grill easily without the mesh sheet I have. I then put this together in a foil pan and back to the grill. Added chicken to the grill near the end of the baking time and everything came out perfect! It was not watery at all. Last year I added browned ground chicken and it turned out like a delicious lasagna! Don’t miss out on this dish!
Time consuming (I just spent about 90 minutes on prep, although I will admit I do more of the squashes than the recipe calls for.) But one of the few vegetarian recipes my husband likes, so I make it every summer. I add more basil to the sauce. (Also I set off the smoke alarm doing it on a grill pan on the stove, oops.) I cook for about 30 minutes without the cheese, then uncover and add cheese and let it cook uncovered for another 10 minutes.
I almost did too! All sliders are open and fans on, a/c running!
When this recipe first came out, I did everything but the peppers & onions on the grill. But I don’t have the grill plate you need to keep the smaller cuts from falling through. I might try the grill again.
My MIL made ratatouille all the time, but I didn’t like it at all. I think it was because she chopped everything and didn’t season the sauce. And no cheese. It was just too mushy. This isn’t.
I can’t find light Havarti in my area, so I use light Provolone. I sure with I could find light Havarti. I know it would bring this dish up another level.
I’ve been making this several times a year since the recipe first came out. My husband doesn’t eat it, so it’s all mine, and I use it as the main course for dinners.
Outstanding! I agree with other reviews about the time to prep but it certainly didn’t take 2 1/2 hr to prepare, more like an hour of prep using a mandolin. It was definitely worth it!
Made this again for a gathering and it was a big hit. I also added roasted mushrooms as my eggplant not very big and had trouble finding a good one for some reason right now. At an event it many wanted the recipe. Will do again often. Great vegetarian option.
awesome
I will never make this recipe ever again. I’ve made it twice and when cooking it the second time this evening, I now remember why I said the first time I would never make this again :
This recipe start to finish took TWO AND A HALF HOURS – including chopping all the vegetables. The total cook time is incorrect unless you’re buying pre-cut vegetables and have a stove that magically comes up to the right heat level Instantly – including the the oven.
For TWO AND A HALF HOURS of cooking I’m happy to have a ton of vegetables but it is NOT worth the level of effort.
Great one, like having vegetarian ideas. I have made as is, and also have turned it into a ratatouille lasagna–with a layer of cottage cheese with egg white and some spices, and I do use a lot less cheese to save calories–just 1/2 ounce parm and 1.5 ounce fresh mozzarella. Excellent both ways.
Soooo delish!!! Love it! My favorite❤️
I would suggest that you change the ‘Prep Time’. There is no way this recipes takes only 10 minutes of prep time. It takes more than that just to cut and prepare the vegetables. But in the end it is delicious!!!
How many servings are in this dish?
4
Can anyone tell me what size casserole dish? I’m making this for a friend who is going through cancer treatment and is trying to eat healthy/vegetarian. I am planning on buying a disposable pan to make things easier for her and her husband. Would an 8 x 8 size work?
Anyone try to adapt this for the instant pot?
I made this dish for my boyfriend and son and they loved it. I added some ground beef to the dish to make it more like a lasagna. I took some leftovers to work so that my co-workers could try, it was a hit. Everyone in the office who tried it wanted the recipe.
Thanks
This was so delicious and easy to make!!!!!!! I did longer slices and used my outdoor grill. I also subbed portabella for eggplant. The sauce is amazing!
Summer, did you grill the portabella the same amount of time you would have grilled the eggplant? That sounds like a perfect substitution!
Love your recipes but this was just sooo tasty! I grilled squash also and had a little grilled flavor going on in final dish! Thanks!
I made this for dinner last night amd invited my daughter and son-in-law. I was very disappointed.
It was very watery. None of us ate it.
Did you grill the veggies first? That got the water out for me.
I hope you precooked your veggies!
This is a Keto friendly recipe—dietary fibers are subtracted to the carbs (22-7=15) and then divided by the number of portions (4) makes each serving only 3.75 carbs! 😍
The squash doesn’t need to be grilled? Cant wait to try it!
I am also wondering about grilling the yellow squash???
That’s 22g Carbs and 7g Fiber per serving I believe, so it’d be a net of 15g carbs per serving.
Freeze before or after baking. Would be wonderful to freeze for winter when eggplant and squash aren’t readily available.
I would freeze either way!
What about adding ground turkey to this?
Sure
I make this all the time, but a little differently. I don’t precook anything but the baby red potato slices which are par-boiled. I also don’t put cheese on it. I stack it on edge in the casserole.
What would be a good way to incorporate some meat into this dish? I love meatless mains, but my husband prefers having a protein at every meal. Leave all your recipes and can’t wait for your new cookbook! Thanks!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I was a bit short on the zucchini and had some farm fresh tomatoes to use up, so I added them between the eggplant and zucchini layers. I didn’t quite use all the sauce, but that;s ok. Love the addition of the fresh thyme and havrti to make it less of an Italian dish. I broiled my veggies to get them cooking in a larger batch. I will say it was a bit time consuming, but worth the effort! Thanks for another amazing recipe, Gina!
Hi Gina – I’ve recently learned about your website and LOVE several of your recipes!!!
I was thinking of adding ricotta to this for the men in my life. Not sure if I would spread it on top of the veggies or put dollops on top. What would you recommend?
How long to bake once frozen?
Bake at 350 for abut 25-30 minutes until it’s heated through.
It says “grill the zucchini and eggplant” so are you not supposed to grill the yellow squash?
We loved this! I added 1lb chicken sausage/brats (casings removed and browned). My husband was pleased with this and happy to grill the egg plant and zucchini on the grill. We then “baked” the dish on the grill as well. Turned out fantastic! We had tried WW lasagna w/ egg plant in the past, so my husband and I were skeptical to try this as we were not satisfied previously. However, this was as close to as good as a real noodle lasagna as we have had! Yes, the chicken provides a few more points, but kept us from a piece of real lasagna. I had leftover low fat provolone and swiss in the fridge to use up, and we didn’t notice a difference at all. Thank you Gina for keeping us skinnier, healthier and satisfied!
Do you recommend a specific grill pan?
This was AMAZING! Everyone in my family gobbled it up. I baked the veggie slices with my oven set to convection at 300 for a few minutes instead of the grill pan. Worked great.
Served this with a fresh baked baguette and had a very happy family. Thanks so much!!
I used Mozzarella cheese because that’s what I had. This was absolutely delicious. It did take a while to make, grilling the veggies on my grill pan, but it was worth it.
Gina,
what size casserole dish did you use?
thanks
Diane
9 x 9
If you don’t have a mandolin slicer, make a horizontal cut down your veggies and use a spiralizer instead. It’s safer and works just as well as a slicer. Great recipe! I added lean ground beef to my sauce, big hot with the boys in my house.
This looks & sounds delicious, & will make great use of my garden produce. I must say though that the photograph seems to depict a lot more cheese than a mere 3 ounces.
Hi Gina,
I am a huge fan! Noodles Zuchinni Lasagne is one of my very favorite recipes! It is so strange that you posted this recipe today, because I was thinking of trying to create a ratatouille casserole, just yesterday!
Thanks so much! I will make it this weekend!
I know you have mentioned it in the past, but cannot find it at this moment. What grill pan do you use/recommend?
I have a few brands, my Le Crueset works great.
This is the best Ratatouille dish I’ve had. The Havarti cheese puts it over the top. So looking forward to your new cookbook!
Thanks Donna!
I was seriously reading this recipe while my daughter and I were watching Ratatouille (one of my all time faves too)! I can’t wait for the end of summer/start of fall when my veggie garden is overflowing with all these delicious ingredients! Grab a crusty baguette and I am happy! Thanks for another delicious recipe!
I would love to try this but just cannot handle the texture of baked squash and zucchini. What would be good substitutes for these 2 major ingredients? Thank you!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS RECIPE!! I’ve made it several times – it just gets better every time. Now that summer is in full swing, it’s the best time to make this!! Think I will make it this weekend!!!
I made this the other night. Absolutely delicious and even better as leftovers. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Made this tonight and it was sooo good! A great use of our garden veges. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes Gina!
my pleasure!
I started scrolling through comments but didn’t see anyone who had asked this yet. In the recipe Direction #2 says add sauce, it doesn’t; give an amount, I’m only assuming you’re meaning the crushed tomatoes, but it doesn’t give an amount, later you say use “add 1 cup of the sauce and layer the vegetables, then more sauce. So how much sauce are you using in Step 2?
In step 2 you’re making the sauce it doesn’t say to add it until step 4.
Holy cow is this ever good! I saw it in the meal planner and decided to give it a try. I don’t know why–my mother-in-law used to make ratatouille the traditional way, and I thought it tasted like so much vegetable mush. I think the fact that the squash & eggplant are sliced rather than diced makes a big difference. You can actually taste the individual vegetables. I baked the slices in the oven because I’m not a griller. I left them slightly crispy. And the cheese topping makes it seem like more of a vegetable lasagna. I love it!
I used half the portion size as a side dish tonight but will make a whole meal out of it tomorrow. My husband rarely eats any veggie other than a salad, so this is all mine, mine, mine! Nice one, Gina. 🙂
Lol thanks Cyndy!
What’s the best way to reheat this the next day?
I would put it back in the oven with foil.
Hi Gina,
I am allergic to egg plant and doesn’t like mushrooms. Can you please suggest what other veggie can I add to this ?
Thanks
Can I make a day ahead and then bake the next day? I love this recipe! Have made it several times!
You can certainly have everything prepped the day before.
I was thinking of making this for a work pot luck. Do you think I could triple the recipe and “bake” it in the crock pot?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but personally I don’t think it would come out good.
Hi Gina – making this tonight! Did you measure the cheese once shredded? Or do you measure the 3oz first and then grate? Just want to make sure I stay true to the points calculation. Thanks!
Hello! I plan to make this recipe for 12. Would you recommend just tripling the recipe and make in a larger baking dish or divide up into several baking dishes.
I would use 2 baking dishes.
I made this today and I must admit I was a little hesitant because I’ve never had much luck with eggplant but oh my goodness it was delicious!! I did roast the veggies for about 20 minutes while I prepared the sauce and I used light mozzarella and doubled the amount. I will definitely make it again!
This was very good, but time consuming. One of the appeals was the 3 smart points; however when I plugged it into my smart points calculator (not having the saturated fat info), I get 5 smart points.
The recipe builder will give you different SP value than the nutrition info because it counts veggies differently.
Should the other 1tsp of salt be added to the veggies before grilling?
Should only be 1t total, fixed, thanks for noticing!
I posted a couple of weeks ago about alternatives to using the mandolin and the grill pan since I have neither in my kitchen. Needless to say, I finally got around to making this tonight and it is absolutely AMAZING. I used a sharp knife to thinly slice the vegetables and roasted them for 10-15 minutes and it was so good. The best part of the dish is the tomato sauce and I normally hate tomatoes. It is HEAVENLY. This is my new favorite vegetarian recipe, hands down. Thanks for posting such delicious, healthy and fresh recipes!!
So glad you liked it!
I made this tonight. While doing the prep work, I thought that I wouldn’t do it again. After eating it with my salad, I am pretty sure that I will. I will try using the oven to dry the veggies though.
The ingredient list says 2 tsp of salt but I only found in the directions to add 1 tsp. Am I missing the other tap somewhere?
Good point, it should be 1 tsp!
I made this last week and simply loved it . However I want to know if I can use fresh tomatoes rather than crushed and would it affect the overall dish ?
I haven’t tried it with fresh tomatoes, let me know how is comes out if you do.
I just wanted to let you know that we have made these 3 times since you’ve posted it! It’s so delish. Thanks so much for posting such different, interest and yummy things. AND always with the Weight Watchers point value:)
Awesome, so happy to hear that Kelly!
I just made this tonight. It was really good, restaurant quality. I love how your recipes just work perfectly so much depends on technique and how you put things together. it’s so easy I just follow the directions and get a gourmet meal.
So glad you liked it!
I made this and served with polenta and it was amazing.
Love this way of getting more veggies into a main dish!
Can I make this ahead of time and then bake?
Sure
Made this tonight, it was delicious! I used shallots instead of onion and garlic. I could only find sliced havarti, and I used two more ounces of cheese, which I used between the layers of the veggies. We got six servings of this, so I think the calories work out about the same per serving. I served it with whole wheat angel hair pasta. Yummy!!!
ABSOLUTELY LOOOOOOVE Your new website format. It is beautifully put together. So happy you post smart points and points plus on everything! And I love how you categorize all the food. Best blog site out there. Thank you for all of your hard work. Hundreds of thousands of us just love you!!! xo -weightwatcher Amy
Thank you Amy!
Looks awesome! I am getting back on track (literally and figuratively) and planning my menu for the next week.. Your website was recommended to me and I love it – on the menu for tomorrow is the lemon feta chicken and I am definitely making this during the week too! Any idea on how it would freeze? I am overcoming a freezing phobia – but I am the only one in my household so need to select menu items appropriately.. BTW, that would be a great blog post (apologies if you have already done this) – yummy, healthy recipes that freeze well.. Thank you!
I made this last night. I had mushrooms so I chopped them up and added them to the sauce. Delicious! Only change I would make is to peel the eggplant. My 3 teens and I ate the whole thing.
Wonderful meatless meal idea, although I might have a hard time finding harvarti cheese in Switzerland. Maybe I’ll use Tilsit instead.
Made this tonight. Wow! Everyone raved about it, even my two “vegetable-free to the death” teenage boys. I really grilled the heck out of the veggies to give it some char flavor, including the red pepper, which I then chopped and put in the sauce. Also added a couple shakes of balsamic and a small squeeze of tomato paste. The grilling is the magic, as it gives both great flavor and texture (not slimy or watery ) to the meal and a mandoline or similar slicer makes quick work of this, allowing thin, charred slices which give the dish nice body. . One small eggplant and two small zucchini filled my 7×10 pan. I had Dill Havarti, so that’s what I used, and added a handful of shredded mozzarella , adding 1SP. The boys had some grilled filet mignon with it, but seriously delicious as a stand alone meal with a salad for me. Everyone insisted that I make this again. And I will. Try this one!.
Made a dish this afternoon. The prep took me a while, I’m slow when it comes to dicing. The flavor is delicious – we added a little parmesan cheese at the end.
Next time I’ll probably partially peel the eggplant, because I couldn’t get it as thin as it probably should be slicing by hand. Also, it looked watery in the dish in spite of my grilling – I may drying the veggies out on a baking sheet next time. Overall, I’ll definitely make this again!
This looks sooooooooooo good! Can’t wait to try it out!
This looks amazing…except that I hate eggplant…I’m sure i could just leave it out…but was thinking maybe I could use Portobello mushrooms instead. What do you think?
Sure!
Love the tip for using the grill pan for the veggies!
The list of ingredients includes “crushed tomatoes”. The directions say “tomato sauce”. I’m not sure what to use. It seems the crushed tomatoes would be watery.
Crushed tomatoes. Only used the crushed tomatoes, sorry about that.
I love the new recipe (website) layout and the “print” option that lets you get a clean screen shot. Thank You!
Thank you!
I’m a fan of making double batches of casseroles/bake-able meals for those busy days when I run out of time to cook. Does this freeze well?
Every one of your recipes I’ve tried has been wonderful – family loves them too.
Thank you! Yes, I think I would freeze it once it’s baked.
This looks delicious !! What cheese(s) can be substituted for the Havarti ?? Thanks ..
Mozzarella would work
Low fat Mozzarella – would that be the same Smart Points?
Do you think chopped mushrooms would work in the sauce instead of peppers?
How about mozzarella instead of havarti?
Sure! Use what you like 🙂
I would maybe cook the mushrooms first so your sauce doesn’t get too watery
Great tip, you’ll want your sauce on the thicker side.
Thank you for your recipes Gina. Love your new look blog, good job.
Thank you!!
Love all your recipes. I have noticed the FF for ? freezer friendly. I was wondering if true and would the zucchini and eggplant get watery when re cooked?
This looks Yummy. Thanks
Yes that’s freezer friendly. By grilling them first, it reduces the water drastically. To freeze, let it cool then cut in squares (if it’s watery you can place on a paper towel to soak up any excess liquid. Then freeze in ziplock bags or containers.
I love Ratatouille!! I just love this recipe! I’m trying not to eat certain carbs like pasta and bread products so this recipe is right up my alley!! It must be so yummy!! =) Pinning for a future dinner! Thank you!
THANK YOU!
Don’t wait on this one! It’s sooooooo delicious. My “eat no vegetable” teenagers actually not only wanted to taste it, but LIKED IT, and requested I make this again. The thin slices and grilling before assembly is key. Try it this weekend!
Yum, i’m a big fan of Ratatouille – very good way of making the most of your veggie garden!
I cant find the size of the casserole dish. Would you share the size of your dish?
It’s an 8×8 or 9×9
I was wondering the same thing. I made it in a larger casserole and 4 slices would be HUGE!
The picture looks like 8×8 or 9×9 and the recipe says it makes 4 servings so that would be consistent with my guess.
correct
This looks so delicious, especially for the warm summer weather and veggies that are coming into season! I love all of your recipes so much and I’m definitely putting this into my recipe rotation for next week! Do you think there’s any alternative way to make the eggplant and zucchini, as we don’t own a grill pan or a grill?
I also don’t have a mandolin…do you think the recipe would still work if I just hand sliced the veggies? (I guess I need to update my kitchen equipment a little bit… :))
You can cut this by hand, no problem! If you don’t have a grill pan, it should work on a hot skillet, or maybe lay them on a baking sheet and roast until they dry out, maybe 15 min?
Okay thanks so much! That’s a great idea, I think I will definitely try roasting them. I’m so excited to try this recipe, always looking for more yummy vegetarian recipes to throw into the rotation!
I tried the roasting method tonight and it worked really well. Mine only needed 10 minutes to dry out at 400 degrees. It went more smoothly than trying to rotate batches through my pitifully small George Foreman grill. Thanks for the tip and all of your fabulous recipes!!!
I just made this and used a griddle. Will try the oven next time. Took a while for all the veggies. Quicker to do all at once, perhaps while preheating.
Looks so good!! Can I use mozzarella instead of harvati? Or what would be a good swap?
Would this still be good without the bell peppers? If not, What would a good alternative be?
Sure
I’m a huge Disney fan, though I have to admit my favorite is definitely the Lion King. I have a soft spot for the old Animated Disney features.
I love that this is basically a gluten free lasagna. I love your zucchini lasagna, so I’ll definitely be giving this a try!
Lifestyle by Joules
Can you make without cheese? If yes, how does that change baking time. Any suggestions on a non-dairy replacement? We don’t do vegan cheese.
Sure, leave it out if you wish. Same bake time!
I make a “ricotta” from tofu. It’s really easy and goes into most any tomato-based dish really well.
Would LOVE to have your protein-rich take/riff on this…Please…pretty please….recipe for your ‘tofu ricotta’??? Much love from France…