Instant Pot or Crock Pot Traditional Ratatouille Recipe (2024)

A traditional rustic Ratatouille made easy in your pressure cooker or slow cooker. This post has been sponsored by Muir Glen. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Every late summer through early autumn I make ratatouille at least once or twice. Eggplant is one of Yummy Hubby’s favorite foods, so when it’s in season I try to use it as much as possible for things like pasta, pizza, caponata, the Best Veggie Lasagna, or a healthy Vegan Eggplant Parmesan.

My favorite way to use seasonal produce is to keep it simple. A less is more approach that lets the ingredients stand out. Often I’ll simply slice and add summer squash, portobello mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant on the outdoor grill and top with some homemade pesto, chimichurri, or tahini sauce.

Ratatouille is a great example of simply preparing seasonal veggies. Though it’s typically made on the stovetop (I use my Dutch oven), using the Instant Pot or slow cooker to make ratatouille makes it easier than ever and keeps the kitchen cool.

What is Ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a traditional rustic French vegetable stew originating around Nice. Modern interpretations of ratatouille include beautifully swirled sliced vegetables.This pressure cooker or slow cooker ratatouille is the traditionally simple rustic stew version.

Ratatouille Ingredients

I picked up all the ingredients I needed at my local Vons grocery store. This is the store closest to my house. I love that I can easily find all the organic ingredients I need. I grabbed the produce in the organic section and the canned tomatoes and jarred olives in the canned vegetable section. There’s also a Vons mobile app where you can find coupons.

Traditional ratatouille is made with just a few simple ingredients:

• Eggplant: 1 large diced eggplant.
• Zucchini (courgettes if you’re in Europe): sliced or diced.
• Peppers: diced.
• Tomatoes: I used Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes in this recipe, which are grown in California and go from field to can in 8 hours or less.
• Onions: yellow onions are best here.
• Garlic: add more garlic at the end if the flavor disappears too much during cooking.
• Thyme: I love lots of fresh herbs, so I also add basil and/or parsley for garnish.
• Olive oil

How to Make Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker Ratatouille

Saute the onions and garlic.

Layer the vegetables on top.

I start with eggplant on the bottom and end with zucchini. It’s important not to cut the zucchini too small, or it will become overcooked.

Top the vegetables with Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes. When pressure cooking with tomatoes, it’s important to never stir the mixture before closing the lid and cooking, or the tomatoes will likely burn on the bottom. This is not a problem when slow cooking, however. Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes are perfect for when you want to see beautifully diced tomatoes and have a clean, bright, sweet-tart flavor.

After cooking, there will be quite bit of liquid. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the ratatouille to a serving dish, and discard the extra liquid or save it for soup for another day.

Stir in the olives. If you find your ratatouille needs more flavor at this point, stir in another two cloves of crushed garlic and season with salt and pepper. I like crushed red pepper flakes to add heat in this recipe. I also find the flavor is much better a day after cooking.

What to Serve with Ratatouille

Ratatouille is served as a side dish or as a main course with a piece of bread or polenta alongside. Here are some ideas for serving ratatouille as a main dish.

• With a chunk of good crusty sourdough bread.
• In a bowl with soft polenta.
• Topped with goat cheese or a creamy plant-based alternative.
• Alongside or on top of pasta drizzled with olive oil for a kid-friendly option.
• This ratatouille recipe is even tastier warmed up the next day.