Do you use your slow cooker a lot over the summer? I have big plans to use my slow cooker at least once a week this summer. As I have mentioned before, our house (especially the kitchen!) heats up pretty good during the day in warm weather and since we don’t have air-conditioning on that floor, turning on the oven only exacerbates the situation and raises the temperature significantly.
This Slow Cooker Sausage and Vegetable Ratatouille is ridiculously easy, loaded with vegetables, dairy free, paleo and can be served alongside a simple side salad, over cauliflower rice, regular rice or even some zucchini noodles!
This is the fourth time I’ve made it and I’ve tried a couple of different combinations of vegetables (this is my favorite by far!) and types of sausage. If you wind up with leftovers, this freezes great and make a perfect at-work lunch!
NOTES:
- You can use any jarred pasta sauce (or homemade) that you like, just look for one that doesn’t have additives, preservatives or added sugar.
- I have made this with mild sausage, spicy sausage and even chicken sausage. The spicy pork sausage was by far the best and my families favorite. If you don’t eat pork and want to use either chicken or turkey sausage, I highly recommend you use a spicy sausage. The end result of this dish will not be super spicy since the vegetables are so water-rich and the spices in the sausage really help add another layer of flavor to the dish.
- I used a 6.5 Quart Slow Cooker.
- In regards to the cooking time, I have found this is best cooked on high for 4 hours. I have tried it on low and you can cook set the slow cooker for 8 hours while at work or out but you will need to put it on high for at least 1 to 1.5 hours before serving it.
- If you are making this while on a Whole30, be sure to use a Sugar-Free sauce!
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Slow Cooker Sausage and Vegetable Ratatouille. Paleo and Dairy Free.
- 1 pound uncooked crumbled spicy Italian sausage (not in casings) (see NOTES)
- 1 large red bell pepper ribs removed and cut into 1" squares
- 1 large eggplant cut into 1" cubes
- 1 pound zucchini trimmed and cut into 1/4" half moons
- 1 large yellow onion quartered and thinly sliced
- 3 to 4 medium cloves garlic crushed or finely chopped
- 25 ounce jar pasta sauce see NOTES
- pinch kosher salt
- fresh basil or parsley for serving
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Slice bell pepper in half and remove ribs and seeds. Cut into 1" squares.
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Trim ends off of eggplant and cut into 1" cubes (leave skin on).
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Trim ends off of zucchini and cut into 1/4" half moons (leave skin on).
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Peel onion, quarter and thinly slice.
- Finally, use a garlic press to crush the garlic or finely chop.
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Crumble sausage into slow cooker, taking care to break up any large pieces. Toss in bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic, pasta sauce and pinch of salt. Toss until well combined.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. See NOTES above for alternate cooking instructions.
- Serve topped with fresh chopped basil (or parsley) and Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Why could / should you not use sausage in casings? Just curious since I have lots of chicken sausage (in casings) on hand.
Hi Tina,
You can but I like this dish a lot better with crumbled sausage as the veggies and meat meld together much better!
I use spicy Italian sausage in casings. But take it out of the casings and lightly saute’ it, breaking it up into chunks as I saute’. Then I add it to the crock pot at last hour of cooking time of all other ingredients…works great…flavors all ingredients just fine!
Great idea Mary!
Is it freezable? Cook and then freeze?
Yep! I have frozen this once cooked 🙂
Any nutritional info available (other than the “10 points plus” note?
Hey JB – you can use a free site like My Fitness Pal to calculate the nutrition facts on any recipe.
I dont have a slow cooker!!!Can I cook it in the oven instead??????
Cheers
That should work! I would use a covered dutch oven or even a casserole dish covered with tinfoil.
Made this it was awesome! For my toddlers I pureed it and thinned it out with a little unsweetened almond milk and put it on some whole wheat pasta and they LOVED it! The sauce almost had like a Vodka Sauce taste, it was really quite good.
I’m new to your site and all the recipes we’ve tried have been awesome!
Thank you so much Jorene! Nothing like making wholesome food and your kids loving it – that is the BEST!
So it turns out I don’t like eggplant (never had it before this and obviously not the recipe’s fault) but after picking around it I am still in love with this recipe. I will be making it again but probably using summer squash instead of the eggplant and keeping the recipe the same. I used half Rao’s Arrabbiata sauce and the other half the Rao’s Tomato Basil to keep the heat in check as hubby isn’t a big fan but this was seriously nummy!
Eggplant is totally one of those vegetables. I think this will be excellent with summer squash!
See I hated eggplant as a kid and have not touched it in 20 years… this is recipie I chose to revisit the topic lol
Just want to tell you I have made this weekly since you posted. It’s definitely a staple in my household now. Thank you!
I love the fresh, seasonal approach you took with this slow cooker dish. It’s perfect for when I want a healthy meal, but need to be in the office for a long day. This was a huge hit with my family, especially my 11 year-old son, who is working on becoming a veggie fan. He asked me to make it again this week. Thanks so much for your work and for sharing this recipe!
Nothing better than when your kids love a new dish (especially loaded with veggies!). Thanks for taking the time to let me know Juanita – have a great night! 🙂
This is a fabulous recipe, Alyssa! I made it early this morning, put it in the fridge and then reheated some of it for dinner. I had it over some leftover green beans.It makes a ton but it’s so good I’m reluctant to freeze any of it – perfect for lunches at work. I don’t like spicy things so used organic chicken sausages and a tomato basil sauce. It’s so flavorful and unbelievably easy and quick to assemble. This is the second recipe of yours I’ve made (the other one was the salmon cakes) and you are an amazing cook. Thanks for sharing these recipes.
Ok…Thanks! This looks great. Do I need to brown the sausage first? Or does it cook in the crock pot? I am looking forward to making this!
Sure! I just updated the recipe to say “uncooked, crumbled sausage”. Sorry about that. Yes, use raw sausage and it will cook along with the veggies and give off some yummy flavor. Enjoy!
I don’t see any “NOTES” as referenced in the recipe. Do you cook the sausage first? Thank you!
Hi Meredith,
The NOTES section is in the post right above the recipe. Hope you love it!
As soon as I saw this I wanted to make it. I made it today and it is one of the tastiest dishes I’ve tried. The combination of vegetables with the spicy sausage and the Aribiata sauce was delicious. I was able to fill two quart sized containers to share with my sister and to enjoy for the next few days. Thanks for sharing your recipe:)
That is so great Robyn! So glad you liked it and thank you for taking the time to let me know!! 🙂
Hi Alyssa! Personally, when I was following WW, I would have a smaller portion and bulk up my 0 PP veggies OR use some of the weekly points if it was really worth it. Good Luck!
I forget about my slow cooker way too much during the summer, which is such a shame because there are so many fresh flavored and veggie-filled meals like this that can be made with it!
You probably have AC being in NYC (I hope so!) but we don’t so I think it’s a must this year!
I don’t use my slow cooker nearly often enough, winter or summer! But it’s particularly nice to use in the summer. That heat in the kitchen thing, you know. Anyway, this looks wonderful. Love all the flavor you’ve packed into this dish! Thanks so much.
Our kitchen gets really hot so I am committed to using it a lot this summer!
The recipe looks fantastic & I can’t wait to try it tomorrow night!
Thanks!
Hope you love it Melissa! 🙂
I got it!! Thanks so much! I love your recipes, Alyssa!
Great! Hope you love it Dianne! 🙂
Hey– I’m looking for the same thing..
can’t see the weight watcher PP or the nutritional info. Hmmmmmm, maybe i’ll check back for the update a little later Thanks!
This looks delicious. Do you post the nutritional information for your recipes? Or the WW points plus values? I’d love to know the nutritional info for this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Melinda,
I have been having trouble displaying some of the PP values but I think it is now (finally!) fixed. I just updated this recipe. 🙂