This Instant Pot Ratatouille recipe is a delicious satisfying vegetarian and vegan dish made with summer’s bounty of zucchini, bell pepper, eggplant, tomato and fresh herbs. This pressure cooker ratatouille recipe was inspired by Julia Child’s stovetop ratatouille recipe. Stovetop directions included too!
** Note: the pressure cook time on this recipe has been reduced from 8 minutes to 4 minutes based on reader feedback. Feel free to pressure cook for longer to get really soft vegetables. **
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Table of Contents
Introduction
I’m embarrassed to admit that my family’s favorite ratatouille (pronounced rat-ah-too-ee) was the Disney movie with the same name! That was until I made this recipe for the first time and we fell in love with it.
Ratatouille is a hearty French stew made with eggplants, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions. It’s vegan, healthy, and delicious.
I ended up making this Instant Pot Ratatouille purely by chance. I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal about the Instant Pot, and it included a ratatouille recipe that was based on Julia Child’s classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
I love to serve this ratatouille on toasted crostini, with goat cheese, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It is the best recipe and you won’t believe that something so healthy can taste so good.
Even if you’re not a big fan of eggplant I urge you to give this Instant Pot eggplant stew a try. My kids are not eggplant lovers, but they love this dish.
The main work involved with this recipe is chopping the vegetables into ¼-inch pieces and then sauteing them to get them slightly brown. The Instant Pot does the remaining work: just pressure cook and saute at the end to let the liquid evaporate.
So the next time you go to the farmer’s market and pick up fresh summer vegetables, consider making this tasty and healthy dish. It tastes even better the next day, so make it ahead and serve it at your next gathering.
Here are some other Instant Pot vegetarian recipes you might also enjoy:
– Instant Pot Moroccan Vegetarian Stew
– Instant Pot Vegetarian Rigatoni Bolognese
– Instant Pot Middle Eastern Style Green Beans
Tips and Substitutions
Liquid
Yes, the recipe is correct: you don’t add any liquid because the vegetables release enough liquid to bring the Instant Pot to pressure. If you have an 8 quart Instant Pot, you might need to add a tablespoon or two of water.
However, make sure that there are no browned bits stuck to the bottom of the Instant Pot after cooking the eggplant and before you begin pressure cooking.
Otherwise, your Instant Pot won’t come to pressure (been there, done that). Add a bit of water or white wine if needed, to deglaze the pot.
Consistency
The ratatouille will have quite a bit of liquid when the pressure cooking is complete. In order to thicken it up, cook it in Saute mode to allow the liquid to evaporate.
The ratatouille will be quite soft and tender. If you want it to be cooked a bit firmer, decrease the pressure cooking time by a couple of minutes.
Some readers have suggested draining the tomatoes before pressure cooking. I don’t do this, but feel free to drain the tomatoes if they have a lot of liquid after you chop them up.
Flavor
Be sure to use a good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar for drizzling on the ratatouille before serving. Don’t skip the balsamic vinegar drizzle at the end; it adds a nice finish to the ratatouille. And be sure to add salt to taste.
To give the ratatouille more flavor, you can add a tablespoon of tomato paste over the vegetables before pressure cooking, and stir the tomato paste in once cooking is complete.
Feel free to add your choice of spices along with the pepper. Rosemary, thyme, herbes de Provence are all good options.
If you’re not opposed to using more olive oil, I recommend using a couple of extra tablespoons of olive oil when you’re sauteing the vegetables, particularly the eggplant which drinks up the olive oil!
How to Serve
Make it an appetizer by topping crostini with ratatouille and goat cheese. Make it a side dish with roast chicken or lamb (try Coq au vin blanc), or a main dish served over pasta or polenta.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- General Instant Pot Instructions for Beginners
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Ratatouille Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Onions
- Bell peppers
- Garlic
- Red pepper
- Basil
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- capers
- Black pepper
How to Make Ratatouille in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Drain eggplant
- Turn on Saute mode
- Saute onions, zucchini and garlic
- Saute bell peppers and set aside
- Saute eggplant and add vegetables, spices
- Pressure cook
- Release pressure
- Reduce to thicken ratatouille
Drain Eggplant
- Sprinkle kosher salt on the eggplant, toss to coat and allow to drain in a colander set over a bowl.
How to Turn on Saute Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Saute Onions, Zucchini and Garlic
- Allow Instant Pot to heat up. Once the inner pot is hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add onion, and cook until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add zucchini and garlic, saute 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Saute Bell Peppers and Set Aside
- Add bell pepper, saute 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add whole basil leaves and stir.
- Press Cancel and transfer contents of inner pot to a large bowl and set aside.
Saute Eggplant and Add Vegetables, Spices
- Select Saute again.
- Add 2 more tablespoons olive oil to the inner pot.
- Add drained eggplant and saute until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Add more olive oil as needed.
- Add back in reserved vegetables, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and capers.
- Stir gently, allowing the reserved vegetables to deglaze the pan. (If there are brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, add a tablespoon of water or white wine.)
- Top with tomatoes.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 4 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads 4 (4 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 4 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 4 minutes (00:04).
- Press ‘Start’.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display L0:00 or 00 00 and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
Reduce to Thicken Ratatouille
- The ratatouille will have some liquid.
- Select Saute mode.
- Simmer until the ratatouille has thickened up, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Stovetop Directions for Ratatouille
To make this recipe on the stovetop, saute each set of vegetables separately in a large heavy-bottomed skillet and set aside. Combine the sauteed vegetables and simmer until all vegetables are cooked through. If there’s extra liquid, open the lid and increase the heat to medium, allowing the liquid to evaporate. See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Instant Pot Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 3 cups eggplant (about 1 medium), cubed into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin), divided
- 1 ½ cups onion (about 1 medium), diced
- 3 cups zucchini (about 2 medium), cubed into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoon garlic (about 6 cloves), minced
- 3 cups bell peppers (about 2 medium), cubed into ½-inch pieces
- 5 whole basil leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoon basil leaves thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder freshly ground, to taste
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 ½ cups tomatoes (about 2 large) chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar good quality
- Additional olive oil and balsamic vinegar for drizzling
Instructions
- Sprinkle salt on the eggplant, toss to coat and allow to drain in a colander set over a bowl.
Instant Pot Instructions
- In Saute mode, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil.
- Add onion, and cook until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add zucchini and garlic, saute 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add bell pepper, saute 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add whole basil leaves and stir.
- Press Cancel and transfer contents of inner pot into a large bowl and set aside.
- In Saute mode, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil.
- Add drained eggplant and saute until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Make sure it doesn't burn.
- Add back in reserved vegetables, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and capers.
- Stir gently, making sure that there are no brown bits sticking to the bottom of the inner pot. *
- Top with tomatoes.
- Pressure cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a quick release of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot. The ratatouille will have some liquid.
- In Saute mode, simmer until the Instant Pot ratatouille has thickened up, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped basil and parsley, drizzle additional olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top.
- Serve as a side dish, with pasta, with a medley of salads, or on a toasted baguette topped with goat cheese.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed large skillet. Drain the eggplant and saute until lightly browned. Add more olive oil as needed. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and saute the zucchini for a couple of minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the onions and bell peppers until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and saute for a minute.
- Spread the tomatoes over the peppers and onions, cover and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to break down and the mixture thickens. Stir in the crushed red pepper, black pepper and capers.
- Stir in reserved eggplant and zucchini, lower heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more, until all the vegetables are soft. Make sure the vegetables don't burn or stick to the bottom. If there's extra liquid on the bottom, remove the lid and increase the heat to allow the liquid to evaporate.
- Finish by sprinkling with chopped basil and parsley. Drizzle additional olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- Adapted from Wall Street Journal’s Can the Instant Pot Cook as Well as Julia Child?
- * Be sure that all brown bits are incorporated into the dish before pressure cooking begins, otherwise there is a risk of the Instant Pot not coming to pressure. Adding the reserved vegetables should take care of deglazing, but if that doesn’t work, add a tablespoon of water to scrape up the brown bits.
- This recipe has been modified to decrease the pressure cooking time from 8 minutes to 4 minutes based on reader feedback.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
Nutrition
Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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More Instant Pot Recipes
Susan says
I’ve been making Barbara Kafka’s microwave ratatouille recipe for years. I made this Instant Pot version for the first time two days ago, and was impressed with both the speed of cooking and the taste; I think the capers and balsamic made the difference. This is a real keeper.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Susan! I appreciate the kind words 🙂
Kathy says
My favorite ratatouille recipe 😋
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Awesome! Thanks, Kathy 🙂
T says
This is so good!! I needed to use up some produce and other ingredients so made some tweaks. The two that might be of most use to others are that I used a tiny eggplant from the garden plus 8 oz sliced button mushrooms instead of one big eggplant, and about 3 Tbsp pesto instead of fresh herbs.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks so much for sharing your modifications – mushrooms and pesto sound like a great addition. Was it too “green”?
T says
Not at all! And I loved the flavor.
KayGrace says
I am OBSESSED with this recipe. I swear I would eat it on ice cream! It is so versatile – with quinoa, with pasta, on top of an open faced omelette… or any good small frozen pizza … I love making it and I love eating it and I love sharing it – in that order !Ha! Thank you!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’ve not thought about using it as a topping on pizza but what a great idea!
Michele says
I made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious! I doubled the recipe and added yellow squash. I plan to share this recipe with my Weight Watcher group! Low points! Our new family favorite! Thank you.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Michele, good to hear that doubling the recipe worked for you – that’ll help others who might want to do that. Thanks for your comment and rating – much appreciated 🙂
ron tucker says
We have made this with some minor variations a couple times. Love it.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Ron, for taking the time to rate the recipe 🙂
Dee Davenport says
Hi, I know this would not be true Ratatoiulle at all, but if I wanted to add some protein, would I be able to add some canned chickpeas or black beans? Would the cooking time change at all? Many thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Dee, I’m a believer in making recipes your own, so I have no problem with adding other ingredients to established recipes 🙂 I would do the chickpeas. You could add them to the ingredients and pressure cook or just add after pressure cooking and heat up on ‘Saute’ mode. Enjoy!
Elizabeth says
I love this recipe and have made it multiple times! I usually double it and it does come out a bit watery when doubled. But it still tastes great and it’s a regular in my recipe rotation. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Elizabeth, I’ve never doubled the recipe, so thanks for sharing your experience. Have you tried reducing the liquid by a bit? I bet it would work.
Andres says
I tried the recipe out last night and it was awesome! Thanks so much, I like the bell peppers and the balsamic vinegar finish is a nice touch. I would also recommend giving argan oil a go for the finishing drizzle. It adds a nice nutty flavour.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Andres, thanks for the hint. I’m glad to hear you liked the recipe and thank you for your comment!
Tess Geer says
Thank you for this excellent recipe! I live part of the year in the Languedoc Region of France. And I do love Ratatouille! After reading the other comments, I cooked at medium pressure or seven minutes. I used canned whole peeled tomatoes which I chopped and drained No problem with excess liquid. I cooked it down for only about five minutes and it was absolutely perfect in every way. One other thing, instead of chili pepper flakes, are used 1/2 teaspoon of Pimente de Espelette. Yummy!,,,,
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Wow, what a great comment coming from someone who lives in France – thank you! I think I will make a modification to the recipe to make it a 7 minute cook time once I’ve had a chance to test it out. I’ll have to check out pimente de espelette 🙂
Tess geer says
Also draining, chopping and then draining the whole canned tomatoes worked out great. I gave a bowl to my neighbor and he LOVED IT.
roch says
A gppd basic recipee that would benefit of few adjustement. 7 or at the most 8 minutes are largely enough cooking time. Removing the seed and the watery stuff from the tomato will reduce liquid. Addding about half cup of leek (white only) enhances the taste.. Otherwise the sip of balsamic vinegar before serving is a very good idea.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Roch – thanks for sharing your suggestions!
Lisa Lane Libman says
Hello
I have made ratatouille many times over the 45 years that I have been cooking. But have only used an instant pot for 9 months so when I found your recipe and the acknowledgement to the newspaper article that focused on Julia Child’s version I knew this would be delicious. However, a fine 1/4” chop versus the larger 1/2” chop makes a big difference in the end result. What you have made here is essentially a caponata – and very good with the addition of capers and balsomic vinegar. But a true ratatouille is more of a vegetable side than a topping on a crostini. Non the less, it was delicious in the larger dice. Thank you for bringing it to your blog.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Lisa, thank you for the constructive feedback and information. Happy to hear that you liked the taste nonetheless.
Gayl says
I made this a couple of weeks ago. Everyone was skeptical when they saw it, but when they tasted it, they couldn’t believe how good it was! Thanks for sharing your recipe. I plan to make it again this week.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Lol, I had the same reaction with my family too, the first time I served it! I love the fact that it’s so tasty yet so healthy! Thank you for commenting, Gayl!
Tom Miner says
I am a long-time ratatouille fan and tried our Instant Pot to make it last night. I had two problems with the result. First, all the vegetables came out mushy. Second, I have never used crushed red pepper in preparing ratatouille before.
I’m going to try the recipe again, decreasing the pressure cooking from 10 to 8 minutes and eliminating the red pepper. Hopefully, the result will be closer to the slow cooked ratatouille I’ve made and eaten in the past.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Tom, thanks for your suggestions – hope your modifications work for you next time!
Becky says
We tried to make this tonight, but just got a burn message 3 times in a row. We deglazed after sauteing and then then each time again, but just kept getting the burn message. Giving up now…
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Becky, I’m sorry you had trouble. The Instant Pot models can vary with each revision, and yours is probably having the same issues some readers have had. Please read this burn message post to diagnose your problem. I think you needed to add some liquid. When you had the first burn message and tried again, did you replenish any evaporated liquid?
Deb Correia says
Mine ended up very watery, but the flavor was good! I think the tomatoes I had weren’t very ripe, since I made it in January. I cooked it on saute at the end for about 10 minutes, but it was still watery so I just used a slotted spoon to serve it.
Monica Roberson says
I made it tonight. It’s delicious!! Easy too. I will definitely keep this in my rotation Thank you for sharing with us.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Monica, thank you for letting me know. Glad to hear you liked it. And it’s so healthy too, right?!
Betty Maria says
Really delicious instant pot ratatouille, best thing in this dish you used fresh vegetables and herbs, can I use holly basil instead simple basil
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Betty – the taste will be quite different, but you can definitely substitute. I happen to love the flavor and aroma of holy basil, but I’m not sure I would us eit for a ratatouille since I like the traditional taste!
Teresa says
This looks delicious!!! Can this recipe be doubled in the instant pot – and if so, how should I adjust the cook time?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Teresa, as long as the Instant Pot is not overfilled past the max fill line, you should be fine to double the quantity. Cook time would remain the same.
Barbara Schieving says
Such a great idea! Love the pictures.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you for the compliment, Barbara!
Diana says
I made polenta in the Instant Pot and served the ratatouille over it. My husband doesn’t care for eggplant, so I substituted yellow squash from my garden. It was really good- thanks for the recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
You’re welcome, Diana. My kids don’t like eggplant either, but they really liked this dish – maybe you can work on him 🙂