Get your veggie fill with this hearty one-pot ratatouille! The recipe is ready in about half an hour & features peppers, zucchini, baby kale, potatoes & beans. It’s perfect as a healthy side dish or for your main course!
It’s hard to believe that we’re already a week into November. Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here and the holiday season will be underway!
Truth be told, I don’t get to be part of the Christmastime cooking festivities as much as I’d like. My husband and I always fly to the east coast to be with our families, and with all of the traveling around from house to house, there’s not all that much time for me to be in the kitchen – well, my family members’ kitchens that is.
In recent years I have been able to make a few things for Christmas Day at my grandparents’ house. I love all of the classic dishes that my family makes every Christmas, but it’s nice to switch it up and bring some new things too.
For Thanksgiving, we usually go to our friends’ house for a fun Friendsgiving party, and I usually bring a dessert and appetizer. But this year we’ll be out of the country on Thanksgiving, so we’re kind of diving right into the holiday season once we get home. And then we’re packing two trips into one in December, when we first head to Florida for my father-in-law’s beach wedding before heading up to NJ for the holidays. We have a lot of fun festivities coming up, and I’m pretty excited for the rest of the year!
All of this holiday talk brings me to today’s recipe. While the word ratatouille may first make you think of the cute mouse chef movie, the dish ratatouille is pretty fun too. It’s a stewed vegetable dish that originated in France.
For this one-pot dish, we use some of the classic ratatouille ingredients, including tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, onion, herbs and garlic. I made the dish heartier with the addition of yellow potatoes and white beans.
Note: One classic veggie that I left out in this recipe is eggplant. I think it’d be a nice addition to the recipe if you’re a fan, but I’m allergic to it. I developed an allergy to eggplant as a teenager, and while I’m curious to see if it still makes my throat feel like it’s closing and causes me to break out in hives, it never seems like a good time to test it out, ya know?
Since it’s packed with veggies, ratatouille is high in nutrition and low in calories. My hubby and I ate it last week for dinner one night, and he kept saying he was so full afterwards. He ate about 3/4 of the recipe, so I think it’s safe to say that he got his servings of veggies in that day!
And speaking of nutrition, one serving of this ratatouille packs 10 grams of fiber, 152% of Vitamin A, 298% of Vitamin C, 14% calcium, and 19% iron standard recommended daily amounts – in just 250 calories. Plant power! It’s also gluten free, vegan/dairy free, soy free, nut free, and refined sugar free, so it’s a very allergen friendly dish.
I think this ratatouille recipe is a neat dish idea to bring to your upcoming holiday parties as a healthy side dish, but really, it’s a good idea any time of the year! This ratatouille is a warm, comforting stew that will leave your belly happy.
Hearty One-Pot Ratatouille {vegan + gf}
Ingredients
- 1 lb yellow Dutch potatoes
- 2 zucchini
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1-15 oz can Great Northern beans or other white beans
- 2 packed cups baby kale
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion do a whole one if you like your onion strong
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs of choice minced (I use a mix of oregano and basil)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TSP salt
- 1/2 TSP pepper
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and onion. Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until lightly browned.
- Add the kale to the pot and cook for just a few minutes until wilted, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, chop the zucchini, peppers and tomatoes. Add them to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth, and bring it to a low boil.
- Peel and dice the potatoes, then add them to the pot. Mince the herbs and add them into the pot, and also add in the can of beans, salt and pepper.
- Cover, and lowly simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the veggies are all tender.
- Allow to slightly cool, then serve, or transfer to a serving dish until it's ready to be served. Note: The dish is a stew, and the liquid will soak up a bit the longer you wait to serve the dish.
Nutrition
If you’re looking for another healthy side dish to bring to your holiday parties, check out this kale & apple salad with pistachio hemp clusters that I recently created for FITNESS Magazine.
Tell me.. Do you cook a lot for your holiday festivities? Or are you always traveling like me?
Nicole @ Bento Momentos says
We tend to stay at home for the holidays and have local family visit us. 🙂 These dish looks like a great way to use up some of the zucchini I bought on sale!
foodielovesfitness says
That must be nice to have family come to you! Oh yes, I️ love zucchini in general.. it’s so easy to throw some into so many different dishes!
David @ Spiced says
Wow, it sounds like you’ve got your fair share of trips coming, Nicole! I know that it will be busy, but I trust that it’ll be fun to see all of the family, too. So whenever I hear ratatouille, I always think of the movie, too! 🙂 But this sounds like an amazing (and easy) dish for a busy weeknight. I’ll have to grab all of the veggies and give this one a shot soon. Yum!!
foodielovesfitness says
Yes, lots of travel & fun coming up! Ratatouille is such a cute movie.
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
This ratatouille looks so flavorful and perfect for a chilly fall day!
Now I can’t help but wonder where you’re going for Thanksgiving?! Sounds adventurous. 🙂
foodielovesfitness says
I’ll be in Spain! 🙂
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
Evie would love this version of ratatouille – she hates eggplant!
We have SO many Barcelona tips for you. In the air right now, but I’ll text you tomorrow.
foodielovesfitness says
That’s funny! I️ feel like eggplant doesn’t have a strong flavor at all… and I’m loving all of your Barcelona pics!
Ashley@CookNourishBliss says
This is the first year we aren’t traveling for either holiday and I’m not gonna lie I’m kinda excited about all the festive cooking I’ll get to do! haha But before we get to that I must make this ratatouille! It sounds fantastic!
foodielovesfitness says
Yeah that should be nice! I️ don’t even know what that’s like ha. Knowing you, you already have a kickass Thanksgiving menu planned! 🙂