Baked Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce

Summer came and went. And apparently so did fall. We skipped ahead to winter. And I needed some stick-to-my-ribs belly-warming grub. This baked cheese ravioli with meat sauce dish hit the spot. And it was crazy easy to make too. Don’t let the simplicity of this dish fool you. It tastes great. It fills you up. And it’s fairly budget-conscious too!

Baked Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce

Change Things Up

The base recipe for these baked cheese ravioli with meat sauce is great just as it is. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make a few changes. I like a few good pinches of red pepper flake in my meat sauce. A little kick. Spicy Italian sausage will do that for you too. And don’t hesitate to use something other than cheese ravioli. Mushroom ravioli are great too!

Good Cheese Makes A Great Dish Better

I love shredding my own cheese. Do I save a bunch of money doing that? Probably not. Is it better? You bet! That stuff you buy in the store that’s already shredded has ‘stuff’ on it. Stuff to keep it from sticking together. Well that stuff also makes it melt different. And taste different. So shred your own. It’s easy. I use this shredder. It’s crazy fast and easy to clean up. And it shreds perfectly!

Also try my slow cooker ravioli lasagna.

Baked Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Baked Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce

The perfect cold weather comfort food.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword cheese, ravioli
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 5030kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 medium sweet onion chopped
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 25 ounces cheese ravioli frozen
  • 2 cups mozzarella shredded
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped, for garnish

Instructions

  • Crumble the sausage into a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned.
  • Add the onion and cook until it is soft.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Stir. Let the sauce come to a slow simmer.
  • Meanwhile, cook the ravioli per the package instructions. Drain well.
  • Preheat your oven to 350 F.
  • Spray a 9 x 11 baking dish with non-stick spray.
  • Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce over the bottom of the dish and spread out evenly. It'll be thin but try to get it everywhere.
  • Add the cooked ravioli, distributing it evenly around the pan. Do not overlap the pasta.
  • Add half of the cheese then another cup of sauce.
  • Add the last of the ravioli and sauce, followed by the remaining cheese.
  • Cover the dish in foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the foil. Turn your broiler on and place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes (keeping an eye on it the entire time) until you get a little browning on top.
  • Serve garnished with the chopped parsley.

Notes

Use spicy sausage for… a spicy dish!

Nutrition

Calories: 5030kcal | Carbohydrates: 399g | Protein: 237g | Fat: 279g | Saturated Fat: 109g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Monounsaturated Fat: 80g | Cholesterol: 904mg | Sodium: 10688mg | Potassium: 4787mg | Fiber: 43g | Sugar: 76g | Vitamin A: 4645IU | Vitamin C: 118mg | Calcium: 1800mg | Iron: 96mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Creamy Cajun Sausage Ravioli

These creamy Cajun sausage ravioli are dangerous and I definitely cannot be trusted to control myself around them. Not even the least bit. I knew I was going to love them because I love absolutely anything with andouille sausage. These ravioli are packed with andouille, then topped with a simple Cajun-spice sauce. It takes a while to assemble and cook these little morsels, but once you get a system and assembly line down, you’ll be turning them out left and right.

Creamy Cajun Sausage Ravioli

Got Leftovers?

On the off chance that you have some leftover creamy Cajun sausage ravioli, store them in the fridge on wax paper and make sure they do not touch each other. They like to stick together, and not just a bit either. We’re talking seriously stuck together here. Trust me. I speak with experience.

Also try my grilled creamy shrimp and mushroom pasta and my mushroom ravioli.

Creamy Cajun Sausage Ravioli
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Creamy Cajun Sausage Ravioli

These creamy Cajun sausage ravioli are dangerous and I definitely cannot be trusted to control myself around them. Not even the least bit. 
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword Cajun, creamy, ravioli, sausage
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 28 raviolis
Calories 45kcal

Ingredients

For the ravioli

For the sauce

Instructions

For the ravioli

  • Place the sausage into a food processor and pulse until it is minced.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add the meat and garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  • Working in batches, lay out the wonton wrappers and place one tablespoon of the meat into the middle.
  • Dip your finger in warm water and run it along the edges of the wrapper.
  • Take one corner of the wrapper and fold the filling, forming a triangle.
  • Push down on the meat filling to get as much air out as possible, then pinch the edges to seal.
  • Lower 5-6 ravioli at a time into the boiling water and boil for 1 minute. I found that using a spider (or large slotted spoon) helped make sure that the ravioli don’t fall apart.
  • Remove cooked ravioli to a plate but do not stack them or they will stick together.
  • Continue working in batches until all of the ravioli are cooked.
  • Serve with the sauce.

For the sauce

  • Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
  • Whisk in the flour and continue cooking for 1 minute.
  • Slowly add the milk while whisking.
  • Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue whisking until the sauce is as thick as you like.
  • Add Cajun seasoning, stir, and serve.

Notes

You can substitute smoked sausage if you cannot find andouille.

Nutrition

Calories: 45kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 39mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 141IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna

As much as I prefer cooking outdoors, I still love cooking dishes inside in a slow cooker, specially on days when the weather is a bit questionable. Preparation is almost always simple, even though the final results can be quite fantastic. I went into making this slow cooker ravioli lasagna thinking it’d be ‘ok’. I came out thinking ‘wow, that was excellent’.

Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna

The Easiest Lasagna Recipe Ever

All the flavors of a great lasagna, but done so easily with very little effort. The sauce was nice and tasty, the ravioli cooked up perfectly, and of course, there was ooey-gooey cheese.

You can substitute frozen raviolis if you like. Nothing beats the taste of fresh ravioli in this slow cooker ravioli lasagna. Even though this is a quick not-much-from-scratch dish, there’s no reason to not add some fresh ingredients. Fresh ravioli can be found in a tiny fridge in the pasta aisle in our local grocery store.

It’s possible that I added a few pinches of red pepper flake to this lasagna because, well, I like a little kick in everything I make. I left it out of the recipe below.

Also try my slow cooker spaghetti and meatballs and also my slow cooker pizza casserole. They’re yummy too!

Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna

All the flavors of a great lasagna, but done so easily with very little effort. The sauce was nice and tasty, the ravioli cooked up perfectly, and of course, there was ooey-gooey cheese.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword crockpot, lasagna, ravioli, slow cooker
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 285kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Crumble in the sausage and cook until almost done.
  • Add the garlic, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cook another minute.
  • Add in the pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, basil and oregano.
  • Add a layer of the meat mixture to a slow cooker.
  • Top with some of the ravioli.
  • Add another layer of meat followed by more ravioli. Continue until all of the meat and ravioli are used.
  • Cook for 4 hours on low.
  • Top with cheese and cook 1 more hour until the cheese is melted.

Notes

You can use frozen ravioli. Just cook first package instructions and drain well.

Nutrition

Calories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 884mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 201IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Grilled Ravioli

Well, I’ll be darned if these grilled ravioli weren’t just yummy! They are the perfect party snacks. Just put the ravioli on a hot grill (I used my Weber) for a few minutes. Warm your favorite sauce or sauces. Marinara and pizza sauces are our favorites. But you can use something like an alfredo sauce too. For a party, serve them with several different sauces and watch them disappear!

Grilled Ravioli

Great Crunch. Great Flavor.

The ravioli get a nice crunch on the edges, giving you a great ‘handle’ for holding on to. Like I mentioned, they’re great for a party or that big Superbowl get-together. But, beware. It’s easy to burn them. So keep an eye on them on after you put them on the grill. If it’s your first time making them I suggest you start by grilling just one or two. You can then get a feel for how long they take to cook on your grill. After that you can tackle cooking a bigger batch all at once. Just don’t walk away and leave them un-attended for very long.

Also try my deep-fried ravioli.

Grilled Ravioli
Print Pin
4 from 1 vote

Grilled Ravioli

Well, I’ll be darned if these grilled ravioli weren’t just yummy! They are the perfect party snacks. Just put the ravioli on a hot grill for a few minutes and serve with a warmed dipping sauce, such as marinara.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Author Mike

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat your grill.
  • Place ravioli into a resealable baggie.
  • Add just enough oil to coat the pasta and salt and pepper.
  • Seal the bag and toss to coat.
  • Place ravioli onto the grill and grill 5-8 minutes flipping once. If this is your first time grilling ravioli, don’t be afraid to do a test piece first. I did. And I ate it.
  • Serve with a warmed dipping sauce.

Notes

We used a roasted tomato sauce that was perfect for dipping these ravioli. Ranch is great too!

Nutritional values are approximate.