Utilizing the convenience of frozen ravioli slashes time in this sinfully delicious Baked Ravioli (you don’t even have to thaw the ravioli!). It’s cheesy pasta goodness the whole family will love.
Easy Baked Ravioli Recipe
I love this recipe because it can be easily adapted to your personal taste and is so easy to whip up on a busy weeknight. Prepare a garden salad and crusty French bread while it’s baking for a complete meal.
What You’ll Need
- Ground Italian sausage – I use mild, but medium or hot can also be used.
- Frozen cheese ravioli – The ravioli is cooked from frozen (do not thaw).
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Mozzarella cheese – I use whole milk mozzarella because it melts so much better than part-skim mozzarella.
- Petite diced tomatoes – Very well drained.
- Pasta sauce – Use your favorite pasta sauce or marinara sauce.
Recipe Variations
- Swap out the cheese ravioli for any frozen ravioli of your choice (spinach, sausage, beef, etc.)
- Use ground beef or ground turkey in place of Italian sausage. I’d add a couple of teaspoons of Italian seasoning to the meat sauce if you’re not using Italian sausage.
How to Prepare
Following is a very brief overview of how to prepare. Please see the recipe card at the bottom for full detailed instructions.
- Cook the the ground sausage and onions in a large skillet until sausage is fully cooked and no longer pink. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Drain off fat.
- Add pasta sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine.
- Spread a thin layer (1 cup) of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Assemble the ingredients: Arrange half of the ravioli over the meat sauce, then spread half of the remaining meat sauce over the ravioli.
- Evenly sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over meat sauce.
- Repeat layers: Arrange the remaining half of the ravioli over cheese, spread the remaining meat sauce over ravioli, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until heated through and bubbling around edges.
Helpful Tips
- Whole milk mozzarella cheese is very soft – place it in your freezer for about 30 minutes before shredding to make it easier to shred.
- When covering your baking dish with aluminum foil, spray the foil with cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil when you remove it.
Enjoy!
More Cheesy Pasta
Baked Ravioli
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage mild, medium or hot
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 (24 ounce) jar pasta sauce your favorite
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes very well drained
- 1 (24 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli
- 16 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- While oven is preheating, cook sausage and onions in a large skillet over medium high heat, crumbling sausage with a wooden spoon while it is cooking. Cook until sausage is browned, no longer pink and fully cooked (about 6 minutes).
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), stirring constantly.
- Drain off excess fat.
- Add pasta sauce and drained diced tomatoes to sausage mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of prepared baking dish.
- Arrange half of the ravioli over the meat sauce, then spread half of the remaining meat sauce over the ravioli (about 2 ¼ cup meat sauce).
- Evenly sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over the meat sauce.
- Repeat layers: Arrange the remaining half of the ravioli over cheese, spread the remaining meat sauce over ravioli, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until heated through and bubbling around edges.
Notes
- To store:Â Allow to reach room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Ground beef or turkey can be substituted for ground sausage. Add 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning to meat sauce if not using Italian sausage.
- Your favorite frozen ravioli can be substituted for cheese ravioli (such as spinach, sausage or beef).
- Freezing the whole milk mozzarella for about 30 minutes before shredding makes it easier to shred.
- Spraying your aluminum foil with cooking spray helps to prevent the melted cheese from sticking to the foil when you remove it.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
I made this last night and my family loved it!
Thank you for this recipe! Looks delicious.
Have a great weekend.
Mona.
Thank you Mona, I hope you enjoy it if you make it. I hope you have a great weekend, also!