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A Ratatouille Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a great way to increase your family’s veggie intake while still offering them a buttery, rich, cheesy sandwich. The herbed dressing adds tons of flavor!
Comfort food, to me, is a buttery, crispy grilled cheese sandwich. Who doesn’t love that? Technically, this sandwich is a ‘melt’ rather than grilled cheese because of the veggies, but a ‘Ratatouille Melt’ didn’t sound as good.
Even though this is a melt, the sandwich, layered with roasted vegetables, can still be dipped into a steaming bowl of soup or paired with a salad.
What Is Ratatouille?
Ratatouille is a hearty and flavorful, summer vegetable stew that originated in Nice, France. It’s usually made up of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, tomato, onion, and garlic. You’ll often find it served with a simple green salad, boiled potatoes, or polenta.
Ratatouille Grilled Cheese Sandwich
This sandwich is pure comfort food. With gooey cheese, buttery, crisp sourdough bread, tender, fresh veggies, and a homemade dressing that is full of garlic, herbs, and red wine vinegar, this sandwich will satisfy your veggie haters as well as those with big appetites.
Ingredients Needed
This looks like a long list, but most of the items you probably already have on hand.
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic cloves
- Eggplant – use Italian eggplant that isn’t too big. The bigger the eggplant, the more seeds it will have.
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Sweet onion
- Plum tomatoes
- Roasted red peppers – you can use either the bottled peppers or roast and peel a fresh one.
- Basil and oregano – I like using fresh when I can find it, but dried works as well.
- Thick sliced sourdough bread – try to use the fresh, crusty bread found in the bakery section of your grocery for the best results.
- Provolone cheese – smoked or unsmoked, it’s your choice. You could also use mozzarella, gruyere, or even cheddar.
Tips For Making This Recipe
- Take the time to make the dressing. It adds a freshness that highlights the flavors of the vegetables in a way that bottled dressing can’t.
- Try to slice your vegetables so they are all the same thickness and will roast evenly.
- Remove the vegetables from the oven as they become tender and a little caramelized around the edges instead of waiting until all of the vegetables are tender. The onions will take longer than the zucchini. You don’t want the zucchini overdone and mushy or the onions still crisp.
- Be sure to use enough cheese to cover the bread fully. This will prevent the bread from becoming soggy from the vegetables and give the sandwich a beautiful, gooey cheese layer that you expect from grilled cheese.
- Don’t skimp on the butter! The butter is what will give the bread the buttery, golden, crisp crust.
- If the outside of your sandwich is perfectly golden brown and crisp, but the cheese isn’t melted and the vegetables are not hot, your pan is too hot. If this happens, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook the sandwich, flipping it often until the cheese is melted and the veggies are hot.
How To Make This Recipe
- Make the dressing. Start by mashing the garlic and salt together to get a paste.
- Mix the paste with the other ingredients and set aside.
- Salt the sliced vegetables to pull out the excess moisture. Rinse and pat dry.
- Brush the dressing on the vegetables, and roast in the oven until tender.
- Butter one side of each slice of bread.
- Layer 4 slices of bread in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Layer the cheese on top to fully cover the bread.
- Top with the roasted vegetables, drizzling them with the dressing after each layer.
- Place another layer of cheese on top and add the remaining bread slices, butter side up.
- Cook in a large skillet until golden brown and crispy.
More Recipes Like This One
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Ratatouille Grilled Cheese
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A Ratatouille Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a great way to increase your family’s veggie intake while still offering them a buttery, rich, cheesy sandwich. The herbed dressing adds tons of flavor!
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon of dried basil
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the sandwich:
- 1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 large zucchini, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 large yellow squash, peeled and sliced into ½-inch rounds
- Kosher salt
- 1 medium sweet onion, halved and sliced thinly
- 2 plum tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch thick rounds
- 2 roasted red peppers, peeled and seeded, cut into thin strips
- 8 slices thick sourdough bread
- 4 tablespoons butter, plus more for the pan
- 8 – 16 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
Make the dressing.
Place the salt and garlic clove on a small cutting board. Use a knife to scrape and mash the garlic and salt together until you have a paste.
Scrape the paste into a medium mason jar.
Add the remaining dressing ingredients and shake until well combined or use an immersion blender to blend. Set aside.
Make the ratatouille.
Place the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash in a large colander.
Generously sprinkle salt over the vegetables and toss to coat.
Allow the vegetables to sit for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture.
After 30 minutes, rinse the vegetables under cold water to remove most of the salt.
Pat the veggies dry with paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line two large baking sheets with aluminum foil.
Assemble the salted vegetables on one baking sheet and brush lightly with the dressing.
Arrange the onions and tomatoes on the other baking sheet and brush them with the dressing.
Bake in the preheated oven until the vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize 17-40 minutes.
Check the vegetables and remove the vegetables that are done to a plate and cover with foil.
Allow the remaining vegetables to continue to roast until tender and caramelized.
To make the sandwiches.
Warm a large skillet over medium heat.
Butter one side of each slice of bread.
Place 4 slices of bread, butter side down into the skillet.
Cover each slice of bread with a layer of cheese.
Layer the roasted vegetables and roasted peppers on top of the cheese.
Drizzle the dressing between each layer of vegetables.
Top the vegetables with a layer of cheese.
Place the remaining bread slices, butter side up, on top of the cheese.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Main Dish – Sandwiches
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: French-American
Keywords: ratatouille grilled cheese, ratatouille, grilled cheese, comfort food, kid-friendly, summer vegetables,
