An easy slow cooker recipe for ratatouille, which is a classic French vegetable stew made with garden (or supermarket) summer vegetables, and added corn for a pop of sweetness.

Easy Slow Cooker Ratatouille with Corn (optional)

Name: Easy Slow Cooker Ratatouille with Corn (optional)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 4 h 40 min
Total time: 4 h 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil (I like to use extra virgin olive oil); 1 onion (white or red), finely chopped; 2 large cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated; 2 large aubergine (eggplant), topped, sliced lengthways, then sliced down the middle lengthways again and sliced into half moons (about half a cm thick).; 2 courgettes (zucchini) sliced to the same thickness.; 2 red bell peppers (you can add one red and one orange or yellow), cut into chunks.; 2 x 400g (14oz tin) cherry tomatoes in tomato juice (or canned chopped tomatoes), add 2-3 tablespoons of water to each empty can to swill out all the sauce left in the can; 3 tablespoons tomato puree (tomato paste); 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar would work too); 1 tablespoon brown sugar (you can use white sugar, like caster sugar or granulated sugar if you don't have brown); 1 tablespoon dried oregano; a good grinding of salt and black pepper; 330g (2 x 198g / 2 x 7oz tins corn drained) corn (you can use less if you like or skip the corn); 1 handful fresh basil

Now, don't have a go at me, I know corn doesn't belong in a traditional French ratatouille, but heck recipes can be tweaked to suit yourself or your loved ones, and I have a teen who loves corn.

So, in my latest slow cooker batch of this delicious classic French dish (from Provence) full of fresh veggies, I added corn, and guess what?

It added both a pop of colour and sweetness, so I'm a big fan, but I'm definitely not suggesting this is the traditional way of making it.

And you can skip adding corn if you like.

I also fly in the face of tradition and often oven-bake ratatouille in a roasting pan.

Crazy, I know!

Ratatouille can be cooked in a pot, in the oven, in a slow cooker, an instant pot or in an airfryer

Ratatouille is a very versatile dish, and there are so many different options for cooking it too. It can be cooked in a pot, in a casserole dish in the oven, in a slow cooker, an instant pot and even in an air fryer.

Pot-cooked ratatouille

In a pot, just saute the vegetables, starting with the onion and garlic, then add all the tomatoes and other flavours and cook until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has cooked down.

Oven-baked ratatouille

In the oven, cook the mixed ingredients in a roasting tin or casserole dish covered with foil, so it steams as it cooks, then remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.

Slow-cooker ratatouille

The onion and garlic are sauteed until soft, then the aubergine is added to cook for a few minutes to soften a little before the other ingredients are added, then just walk away and let the slow cooker do all the work.

Air fryer ratatouille

Use a deep silicone or glass dish to cook the ratatouille in an air fryer.

Cook the onion and garlic a little first, then add the other ingredients and give a good stir before cooking.

It will need to be stirred occasionally and will cook more quickly than in the oven.

You may need to cut down the quantity if cooking in an air fryer.

Instant pot ratatouille

Once again, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, then the aubergine, before adding all the other ingredients and setting to cook.

The Instant Pot is the quickest way to cook ratatouille.

Notes

In the slow cooker, add a few tablespoons of water to thin the mixture, but when cooking in a pot, an Instant Pot, in a roasting tin in the oven or in an air fryer, it is a good idea to add more liquids.

When I'm not cooking in the slow cooker I add about 1 cup, about 275 ml of vegetable stock, but it can be different from recipe to recipe.

What you need to make homemade crockpot ratatouille

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make a big batch of this easy ratatouille recipe in a crockpot or slow cooker with a colourful array of fresh vegetables

Traditional French ratatouille in a slow cooker.

Olive oil - or rapeseed oil
Onion - white or red onion both work well in this garden vegetable stew
Aubergines - also known as eggplant
Courgettes - also known as zucchini
Red peppers - you can also add yellow peppers and orange peppers, but I wouldn't add green bell peppers as they can be bitter
Tomatoes - I like to use tinned cherry tomatoes, but you can add regular tinned tomatoes instead
Tomato puree - also called tomato paste, or you could add sundried tomato paste
Brown sugar - white sugar like caster sugar or granulated sugar would be fine instead
Vinegar - white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar are all good options
Oregano - dried oregano
Corn - canned or frozen corn, stirred through at the end of the cook time (this is optional, you can skip the corn)
Fresh basil - added at the end of cooking (you could add other fresh herbs, parsley, dill and mint all work well)
Salt & black pepper - to season

The full printable recipe with the full ingredient list, method, notes and nutritional information is at the bottom of this page.

Keep reading, scroll down or use the jump to recipe button above.

Can you add fresh tomatoes?

Yes, you can definitely add fresh tomatoes to this stew along with fresh vegetables.

Slice bigger tomatoes and cut smaller tomatoes, like cherry tomatoes or baby plum tomatoes, in half.

Then just add them with the other veggies.

Slow cooker ratatouille topped with fresh basil.

It's always tastier on day two

Like soups, stews, curries and even chilli, this traditional ratatouille made with fresh produce will taste even better the next day.

So if you have time and room in the fridge, make it the day or night before (you could even make it in the evening, leave it to cook overnight).

Then simply spoon it into airtight containers and pop it in the fridge, until you need it.

Fridge space is always an issue in my wee fridge in my wee kitchen, but have a big fridge, then I would say make it ahead.

Although it is darn tasty freshly made.

How long will ratatouille keep?

Once cool, you can store this homemade rustic stew in an airtight container for 3-4 days, reheating before serving.

You can also portion it up and store it in the freezer in freezer soup bags or in freezer-friendly tubs, dated and labelled for 3-4 months.

To defrost, either use the defrost setting on your microwave (if you are in a rush) or pop a portion in the fridge overnight, then reheat before serving it.

French ratatouille - summer vegetable stew.

10 Ways to serve French ratatouille

Ratatouille is such a versatile dish, and there are so many ways you can serve it.

Here are a few ideas.

On its own - serve it as it is with some crusty bread (like this easy sundried tomato bread) or some easy air fryer garlic bread to sop up the sauce.
Pasta - toss it through pasta as a tasty sauce.
Spinach salad - serve with a spinach salad on the side.
Toast - serve it on crusty, thick toast and top with crumbled vegan feta.
Rice - serve with rice.
Couscous - it's good served with couscous or quinoa too.
Polenta - serve over a base of buttery, herby polenta.
Puff pastry tart - use is as a filling for a puff pastry tart, but try not to add too much sauce, then when serving, crumble over some vegan feta and scatter a few fresh herbs.
Sausages - serve with your favourite plant-based sausages, creamy mashed potato and broccoli.
Baked potato - spoon over an open, fluffy baked potato and top with grated vegan cheddar or a dollop of vegan sour cream (or plant-based creme friache or plain yoghurt).

I'm sure you will have some great ideas for serving it too!

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How to make this French summer stew

A step-by-step photo guide followed by a full printable recipe.

Step 1

Use the saute function of your slow cooker and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until soft (If your slow cooker doesn't have this function, you can do this in a pot and transfer to the slow cooker).
Add the aubergine (eggplant) and cook for a few minutes, while you chop the courgettes (zucchini) and the red peppers.

Step 2

Add the tinned cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes), you can also add some sliced tomatoes if you have some you want to use up).
Next, add the herbs and tomato puree (tomato paste).

Step 3

Add the sugar and vinegar and season with salt and black pepper.
Mix well, then set to cook on low or high depending on how long you want it to cook.
Stir once during cooking (it's not essential, but I like to), being careful not to let the water from the lid to slip into the slow cooker.
At the end of the cook time, add the corn (you can skip the corn if you prefer it without corn).

Step 4

The corn is added at the end of cook time, but if you are adding frozen corn add it about 15 minutes before the end of cook time. Stir in the corn and leave the ratatouille to finish cooking.
When the ratatouille is ready, add fresh basil.
Serve and enjoy!

ratatouille, slow cooker ratatouille, crockpot ratatouille, French ratatouille, French vegetable stew, ratatouille with corn

Dinner, Main course, Side dish

French

Yield: 6

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum