This easy baked ratatouille recipe is one of my favorite things to make for my family for 3 simple reasons: It’s oooey gooey delicious, it’s loaded with healthy tender veggies, it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser. When the temps outside start to drop and the air cools off, this hot bubbling healthy ground beef casserole makes a nice cozy bite and warms up the bones.
This dish is inspired by a recipe I came across on victoriamcginley.com and it was instant love at first sight. You can check out her amazing post here which inspired this recipe.
I modified the baked ratatouille recipe by adding a rich meaty layer with ground beef which I prepared in a separate pan and then combined with the onion and tomato paste mixture. I made the casserole many times before with just the vegetables but one night my husband looked up and said, “this would be even more amazing with MEAT in it!”
So I added a layer of ground beef to the bottom and served it over a bed of fresh pasta… it is soooooo satisfying and delicious.
Here’s how to put this simple, colorful, and healthy ground beef casserole together:
Related: Tasty Ground Turkey With Broccoli
Prep And Slice Vegetables FOr Baked Ratatouille REcipe
This colorful and cheesy baked ground beef casserole comes together easily with a little prep. You’ll want to put together some vine-ripe tomatoes, zucchini, Japanese eggplant (if not available use regular eggplant), and yellow summer squash. My biggest tip here: try to slice them evenly and of uniform thickness (about 1/4 inch thick).
The first few times I made this recipe I didn’t pay close attention and mistakenly sliced everything too thick and it wouldn’t bake! I had to leave it in the oven 20 or 30 minutes longer than the recommended time (hard to do when hungry tummies are waiting).
Sauté Onions & Brown Beef To add to our Healthy Ground Beef Casserole
- Firstly, get some quick prep out of the way by slicing up your onion, tomato, eggplant, zucchini, and yellow summer squash. Put them in bowls and set aside so you can layer them in later.
- Head over to the stove and start by cooking sliced onions over medium heat in your skillet with a little drizzle of olive oil. Season a bit with salt and pepper and drop in a little minced garlic. Cook until onions caramelize a bit and just begin to turn translucent.
- Spoon in a small can of tomato paste and stir into the onions along with another little drizzle of olive oil. When the tomato paste has melted into onions and coated them, remove from the heat. (About 5 to 8 minutes).
Layer Ground Beef & Onions In YOur CASSEROLE DISH
Spoon onion, garlic, and tomato paste mixture directly into bottom of your casserole dish.
Now, returning to the same pan, add your ground beef (you could use ground turkey too). (Skip this if you just want to do a meatless version.)
Once I add the meat to the skillet, I’ll season it with coarse salt, ground pepper, a dash of paprika, and (optional if you like) a splash of red wine for flavor. I’ll cook it for about 15 to 20 minutes or until just browned and cooked through.
Next, we can spoon the meat into the casserole dish directly over the onion layer. Now you have a mouthwatering meaty layer for the bottom of your healthy ground beef casserole! (I used an oval 9×13 dish).
Layer Sliced Ratatouille Vegetables
Once this is done, layer on your veggies in a colorful pattern to your liking! This is the fun part where my oldest son likes to come over and help out.
Once the veggies are arranged over the bottom layer, sprinkle them with a little more minced garlic, salt/pepper, and drizzle them generously with olive oil.
I’ll tuck some herbs into the center (optional) for an added pop of flavor and cover the whole thing tightly with foil.
Bake The ratatouille Ground Beef casserole
Bake this in a 400 degree oven until bubbling, completely tender, and cooked through, about one hour. The vegetables should be soft to the touch when pierced with a fork.
Top Ground Beef Casserole With Melty Cheese
After an hour or so, remove your healthy ground beef casserole from oven. Remove foil from casserole along with any whole herbs added.
Top with your favorite melty cheese. I usually just use whichever cheese I have on hand. Here I used Italian blend shredded cheese, but shredded mozzarella is a big melty favorite… I’ll also give the top of the cheese a light little sprinkle of ground parmesan cheese or Italian bread crumbs to bump up the cheese layer a bit.
Serve With Your Favorite Pasta, If Desired
Once you sprinkle on that top cheesy layer, head back over to the stove and turn your broiler on high and put the casserole back into the oven. You’ll want to make sure you leave the foil off this time so the cheese can bubble and brown beautifully. Soon as you put in the casserole don’t walk away from the stove! The broiler setting on high usually works to brown the cheese within minutes.
You’ll want to hang tight and keep a close eye on it. Pull the casserole out when it’s just perfectly golden brown and bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. If your oven is fast, check sooner.
Serve as a Keto Ground Beef Casserole By Itself or Serve over a bed of Pasta
You can easily serve this as a healthy keto ground beef casserole since it is made simply with spices, meat, vegetables, and cheese.
Otherwise, you could serve this baked ratatouille ground beef casserole over a scoop of your favorite short pasta as I have shown here, and, (last but not least) dig in!
Serve this dish as a healthy ground beef casserole for the whole family to warm up the bones on cold winter days when you crave hot comfort food. Don’t forget to give this simple leftover spaghetti casserole a try too!
Baked Ratatouille Recipe with Melty Cheese | Healthy Ground Beef Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 cloves Garlic - minced
- 1 medium Onion - Sliced
- 3 to 4 vine ripe Tomatoes - red, orange, purple, varying colors
- 1 can Tomato Paste
- 2 Zucchini - sliced rounds
- 2 Yellow Squash
- 2 Japanese Eggplant
- 1 lb Ground Beef - (skip if making meatless)
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Coarse Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Paprika - optional
- 8 oz Shredded Melty Cheese - You favorite kind – or more if desired
- 2 or 3 tbsp Ground Parmesan/Italian Style Bread Crumbs (Optional) - for spinkling over shredded cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Mince garlic and slice onion. Slice tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and yellow squash into about a 1/4 of an inch thick rounds and set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, drizzle olive oil in a pan and toss in sliced onions and season with salt and pepper. Toss in half of the minced garlic and cook onions until carmelized/translucent. Reserve the rest of the garlic for later. Add in a small can of tamato paste to the mixture and stir through until everything is fragrant and the tomato paste coats the onions. Transfer this mixture to the bottom of your casserole dish and spread in an even layer.
- (Skip the beef step if making meatless) Returning to the same skillet over medium heat, add a little more olive oil and brown ground beef and season with a pinch of salt, pepper, paprika and a splash of red wine. Cook through for 15 to 20 minutes or so or until meat is browned and cooked through. Spoon the meat into your casserole dish directly over your onion layer and spread into an even layer.
- Now begin to arrange the sliced vegetables you prepared earlier in a colorful pattern over the onion/meat mixture. Sprinkle the vegetables with the rest of the minced garlic plus generous pinches of salt and pepper. Drizzle generously with olive oil and cover tightly with foil.
- Bake the covered casserole veggies in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Vegetables should be roasted through and soft to the touch when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and remove foil.
- Turn your broiler on high. Sprinkle casserole with shredded melty cheese of your liking. (I used shredded Italian blend). Optional: Over the layer of shredded cheese, sprinkle on a little ground parmesan or a little italian bread crumbs (or both!)
- Put casserole back into the oven under the broiler with the foil removed and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is melty and lightly browned. (Don't walk away from the oven, the cheese browns super fast!) Remove from oven and serve over a bed of your favorite pasta.
Nutrition
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