This Baked Ravioli recipe uses storebought fresh or frozen ravioli (pick your favorite flavor) and your favorite store-bought marinara sauce, along with a few other ingredients to create an easy, short-cut dinner in under an hour, making it one of the easiest pasta recipes for dinner!
Do you love casserole recipes as much as I do? It’s basically a one pot meal but baked in the oven! It’s perfect for busy nights because you are simply layering ingredients and popping them in a hot oven to do their thing. This recipe is like a combination of a delicious pasta dish and a casserole.
This sausage pasta bake is similar in how it’s made but uses different flavors and types of pasta if you’d love to mix things up but still keep things simple at dinnertime.
Jump to:
Ingredients Needed
I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients below with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.
- Ravioli – Use any brand of fresh (refrigerated) or frozen. But do not use any dried options on the regular pasta shelf, as these won’t cook through.
- Marinara – Again, any brand or flavor will do!
- Cheese – I highly recommend shredding your own Parmesan or finding the little cup in the deli section. Shredding mozzarella is a bit tricky, but it will melt SO much better! But pre-shredded is fine here; just don’t use the green can of Parmesan!
- Herbs – A bit of chopped fresh parsley on top is a great finish touch.
Substitutions
- Ravioli – use any variety you’d like. Maybe you prefer sausage or spinach ravioli. You can even go gourmet with lobster ravioli!
- Sauce – use your favorite pasta sauce, whether it’s a nice basic red sauce or one that has lots of fresh seasonings added!
Variations
Some like to add cooked ground beef or Italian sausage to the sauce layers. This is an easy way to increase the bulk of the meal! You would only need a half pound to give flavor. Just make sure to cook the meat before adding it to the ravioli before baking.
Feel free to add some fresh spinach leaves in the layers as well!
How to Make Easy Baked Ravioli
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, F.
STEP 2. Start layers. Add a thin layer of sauce to a greased baking dish.
Tip: You don’t need a ton of sauce in each layer, it’s more important to ensure there is sauce on both top and bottom of all ravioli!
STEP 3. Pasta and cheese. Add an even layer of ravioli over the sauce. Next up, add more sauce and then a third of the mozzarella cheese.
STEP 4. Repeat. Repeat with sauce, ravioli, sauce, cheese – until you’ve used everything up and end with mozzarella.
STEP 5. Bake. Add a sprinkle of Parmesan over top, then cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake. Uncover for the final 5 minutes to brown the cheese.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Allow to fully cool. When saving leftovers, it’s always best to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge. This will allow it to chill quickly and also not get a lot of condensation.
- Fresh or frozen. All ravioli works here, whether it is in the refrigerated case or the freezer section of your store. Just check the package weights as they may differ between brands.
Recipe FAQs
Once cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for a quick lunch. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Great question! The ravioli should be already par-cooked, which is why it only takes a few quick minutes in boiling water. This means it is already soft enough to cook in the pasta sauce without any extra water so there’s no boiling involved! Simply assemble and bake.
🍽 What to Serve with Baked Ravioli
A house salad is the perfect veggie here as it’s nice and light compared to a heavy baked pasta dish. You can also drop some Texas toast in the air fryer.
More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Baked Ravioli (Fresh or Frozen!)
Ingredients
- 25 ounces marinara sauce
- 25 ounces frozen or fresh cheese ravioli
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese about 12 ounces
- 3 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- Fresh chopped parsley for topping optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grab a 9×13-inch baking dish. Lightly spray the dish with cooking spray.
- Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Line up ravioli in a single layer on the sauce.
- Next, layer 1 cup of sauce and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over the ravioli. Repeat the layers twice more until you've used up the ravioli.
- Add remaining marinara and mozzarella cheese as a final layer.
- Evenly sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top of the casserole.
- Using a sheet of foil, cover the dish tightly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. 25 for fresh ravioli, and 30 if they are frozen.
- Carefully remove the foil from the dish. Bake uncovered for 5-7 minutes longer, or until the cheese is bubbly and browning.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Add fresh parsley on top and serve.
Notes
- Try fresh basil on top in place of the parsley!
- Use whatever flavor of ravioli you like here. Spinach or sausage filled would add lots of flavor.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Comments
No Comments