The actual word and name for the dish, Ratatouille is derived from the French term Occitan Ratatolha. This is an expressive form of the verb Touiller, which means “to stir up”.

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So, you get where we’re going with this and why the dish is named Ratatouille. In the late 18th century, this term meant a coarse stew.

Considering it’s been served and adapted for centuries, it comes as no surprise that the dish is so depended upon and loved in many countries outside of Europe even.

Once a dish becomes popular, its origins develop over time and the longer it’s been around, the more we love it!

Many peasant families, as they were known a few centuries ago, relied upon foods like ratatouille to feed their families.

It contained what was around and was rather simple to throw together at the end of the day.

It helps that the popular Disney film brought this dish into the light outside of France and Europe, and anyone who watched that movie, has at one point or another desperately wanted to try it for themselves.

Despite it being a straightforward dish. If it wasn’t for the Disney film, Ratatouille, I wouldn’t know what on earth the term means either!

Pork Chops

Ratatouille itself is a dish consisting of an abundance of vegetables and herbs, alone it tastes fantastic. However, it’s also great served with pork chops by its side!

And these pork chops have been glazed and topped with honey and garlic, if you serve these two dishes together as one meal, there won’t be a flavor pocket left to fill on your palette of the day!

These pork chops can be caramelized on the edges to further improve their texture and taste, which we didn’t think was even possible. And there’s no marinating required.

Marinated Flank Steak

The beauty of marinated steak is that you really cannot go wrong with it. You could choose any seasonings and herbs to marinate it, and it will turn out perfectly to pair with Ratatouille!

Make sure to grill it until it’s charred to perfection on the top and serve up as a side with the ratatouille for an amazing evening dinner with your friends or partner.

This recipe does require for the steak to be grilled, however, if you don’t have a grill handy to work with, try a large cast-iron frying pan or skillet! It doesn’t get any more French than that either.

Lamb

When it comes down to it, which meat really does go better with ratatouille?

While steak is juicy and tender enough to pair with the assortment of vegetables, and pork adds that beautiful glazed honey flavor, lamb does something entirely different.

This recipe marinates the lamb in thyme olive oil, rosemary, lemon, garlic, and salt and provides an intense flavor. Basically, this combination goes great with the subtleties of Ratatouille!

Veal

The great thing about ratatouille is that it’s amazingly moist and tender to taste, however, sometimes this requires a side dish that is on the drier side to fight back against the overwhelming flavors in the ratatouille.

That’s how a lot of cooking and baking works, you need one flavor to contrast another and so on until you create a dish that surprises even your experienced tastebuds!

If you want to take on the challenge of creating the perfect meal for ratatouille, you’ll need veal top round cuts, salt and pepper, all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, olive oil, dry white wine, chicken stock, 1 lemon, fresh lemon juice, and parsley leaves.

Chicken

There’s nothing better than a classic to incorporate into this evening meal, chicken is universal for complementing a plethora of dishes and bakes because it’s so versatile to cook, and is ideal for getting your hands on the last minute if you have to.

Also, everyone loves chicken, so for the fussiest of eaters, you won’t win this time pal!

Homemade Italian Sausage

Don’t be swayed or scared by the homemade addition to this side dish recipe because these homemade Italian sausages are easier than pie and you won’t regret trying them out in your kitchen!

Also, we recommend making double or even triple of the recipe so you have leftover cuisine to freeze and use again the next time you serve up ratatouille.

We love a convenient way of cooking, and it doesn’t get any more convenient and easy than that.

Rice

Ratatouille itself is so rich and moist in flavors and textures, so you may not need the addition of meat to improve the set-up!

Also if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, for obvious reasons meat options arent a choice that you would enjoy, so why not try the fluffiest white rice recipe we’ve ever come across?

I don’t know about you, but for some reason every 6 months or so, I’ll go through a white rice phase.

And not just any white rice, but fluffy white rice. I just can’t get enough of it sometimes and I’d happily eat it on its own, let alone with a fantastic dish like ratatouille!

Quinoa

We have another light and a hearty side dish to accompany your divine ratatouille, and quinoa may be the best food to handle the job at hand.

It can be ready in under 30 minutes and is a super-easy way to maintain a healthy amount of nutrition in your diet, along with the ratatouille itself.

You can’t go wrong when rice, grains, and vegetables are involved and quinoa is super easy to make. There really isn’t a reason to not try your hand at making it today.

Pasta

This may seem like an obvious choice to pair with ratatouille, because what European doesn’t practically worship pasta?

But it has its subtleties that along with ratatouille vegetables, make a pretty spectacular evening meal all in all!

Both dishes contain herbs and spices we all enjoy and because ratatouille is such a wonderful meal in itself because of these herbs and vegetables, it makes sense to pair it with the same type of side dish to keep the flavors as one.

Risotto

If you’re going to go all French, you may as well do it right! Risotto is one of those side dishes that fine cuisine lovers just can’t get enough of and if you’re French yourself, you’ll understand exactly what we’re talking about.

Even if you deny it. The best risotto is creamy, flavorsome, and has heaps of mushrooms in to change up the textures.

And when you’ve discovered the perfect recipe for risotto, you’ll know it the moment you feast your eyes upon it.

Omelet

Do you fancy an omelet? Try saying that in your best Welsh accent, it’s fun!

Omelets are great because they are extremely diverse in flavors and tastes, they’re suitable as a breakfast dish, lunchtime, or an evening meal dish, so why wouldn’t you try it with ratatouille?

Omelets may also be the easiest meal to conjure up quickly and you can add so many different ingredients to spice the recipe up. Try ham and cheese for this side dish!

Creamy Polenta

Polenta is famous for being perfect to serve alongside different meats and roasted vegetables, and what is ratatouille? Exactly!

Ratatouille is great served with it because of the diverse range of vegetables and herbs within the dish.

Polenta is actually a porridge of sorts that is popular in Northern Italy, it’s often made with grains cornmeal, rice, buckwheat, and chestnut flour.

In America, we use ground cornmeal to make ours, however, there’s no reason you can’t try a different ingredient to experiment with the potential creamy polenta has to your ratatouille dish.

Bread

There isn’t a recipe in the world that can go wrong when bread is involved, and ratatouille is no exception to this fact.

Why not amp up the French cuisine in this meal and use crusty French baguettes for your side dish? And the best thing about this recipe is that it only uses 4 ingredients to get you from the main meal alone to the most satisfying side dish you’ve ever tried.

It’s incredibly chewy, yeasty, and just all around tastes amazing on its own so you know it will pair well with ratatouille as well.

Also, wouldn’t it be great to say to your guests that you can make the best French baguette from scratch? Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Rice Pilaf

This is the type of side dish that turns out perfect every time no matter what you do and you’ll find so much enjoyment out of making it.

Also, imagine being able to say you’ve officially mastered making rice from scratch to your family and loved ones, we can’t think of a reason for you to not make this recipe to go with your ratatouille meal.

It’s fresh, flavorful, and so fluffy! No mushy rice here thanks very much.

It’s the type of rice you end up making a few times a month because it’s so easy for it to become a staple, and your family will love it all the more made by you.

Fried Eggs

The best way to make the perfect fried eggs every time, and the secret, is to use a hot skillet! Fried eggs always come out best on the hottest surface available and skillet pans just do it as nothing else does.

Ratatouille has a very distinct aroma, and it’s very different from eggs.

However, ironically, the flavors you get from eggs somehow work well with roasted vegetables, maybe it’s because they’re so vastly different, so of course, they’re going to provide a meal full of diverse flavors and aromas.

Also, they’re refreshing compared to roasted vegetables, so why not try out a fried egg on the side with your ratatouille?

Red Wine

Our last side dish for you isn’t exactly a dish, however, compliments ratatouille so well!

Red wine is rich in flavors and washing down your delicious ratatouille has never been more of a delightful experience when a touch of wine is involved.

It’s often used in stews and soups to bring out other dishes’ flavors, so what makes ratatouille any different?

Red wine is guaranteed to bring out the best in ratatouille, so you can enjoy a heartwarming meal and feel warm to the bone when you pair it with your favorite red wine.

Also, its flavors bring out the tomato and savory flavors in the dish better than any side dish ever will.

Final Thoughts

There really are countless possibilities when it comes down to choosing a side dish for ratatouille! Our personal favorite side dish to pair with ratatouille was a simple one, but a strong contender to the list! Fluffy white rice.

When you have so many complex flavors involved in ratatouille, you want something on the side that doesn’t overpower the dish, that’s where white rice just comes in handy and does its job.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is The Origin Of The Word Ratatouille?

Well, the word actually translates roughly to ‘stir fry’ when you find out its origin name, which is Occitan Ratatolha, it was first made in we think the 18th century and was a common dish for peasants of years ago.

What Is The Best Low-Carb Ratatouille Recipe?

Ratatouille itself is a rather low carb dish because of the mounds of vegetables included in the dish, however, if you’re still looking to cut some of the carbs in your evening meal, we recommend Eggplant rollatini!

It involved grilling eggplant rolls and baking on a bed of tomato and garlic sauce.

What Do I Do With Ratatouille?

Ratatouille can actually be served as a light lunchtime meal if you don’t fancy it for your evening meal.

Simply plate up as much as you desire and it even pairs well with other lunchtime favorites like jacket potatoes, bread, and rice.

What to Serve With Ratatouille (16 Satisfying Side Dishes)

Did you know there are dozens of side dishes to serve with ratatouille? Neither did we, so here are our favorite ratatouille side dishes.

Ingredients

Directions

Pick a recipe from the list above
Click the recipe name and visit the website
Collect the ingredients and cook the food
Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review

Jess Smith

Hi, my name is Jess Smith, and I love cooking in my spare time. Around three years ago, I decided to give up my day job as a teacher to pursue my passion for food. While I have enjoyed sharing tips and tricks on Social Media, I have decided to expand my horizons through this blog.

Through this blog I hope to help others learn the basics and more intricate details of cooking. I know from personal experience how frustrating it can be to cook a meal, only to realize you are missing one ingredient from your list. This is why I love to write articles chatting readers through some great substitutes that can be used in an emergency.

I hope you will find this blog useful, and that it will help you to develop your culinary skills, to help you cook up a storm!