This easy baked ravioli casserole takes about 20 minutes from start to finish and requires just 5 minutes of prep time because you don’t need to boil the ravioli first! Store-bought refrigerated cheese ravioli makes this simple weeknight dinner a reality even on the busiest of nights! It can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen!
You Will Love This
- It's quick and easy! No fancy kitchen gadgets, tedious ingredient prep, or cooking skills required! This is a dump, stir, and bake dish - which is why it’s one of my favorite weeknight dinners! It’s got all the flavors of baked lasagna, but takes just a fraction of the time! If you’re looking for other delicious easy pasta dishes be sure to check out my Creamy Tuscan Pasta, 15 Minute Greek Pasta, and Easy Garlic Tomato Penne.
- Did you see that ingredient list?!?! It’s short, sweet, and loaded with real foods! This baked ravioli comes together with a handful of common ingredients that you might have in your kitchen right now! I like to keep a package of cheese ravioli in the freezer for nights when the craving strikes.
- Only 5 minutes of prep time!? Yep, you read that right! Get the oven preheated while you're adding the ingredients to your baking dish and stirring them together. Top with cheese and then bake - you can have this dinner cooking in just 5 minutes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fresh Spinach - I love to use fresh spinach in this ravioli bake because it’s a great way to sneak in some veggies. You could omit the spinach or even use another dark leafy green like chopped kale.
- Spaghetti Sauce - You can use your favorite spaghetti sauce for this recipe or check out my quick and easy homemade spaghetti sauce! Marinara sauce will work as well.
- Dried Herbs- I like to add dried oregano and dried thyme to this ravioli dish for a little extra flavor but you could also add Italian seasoning or some dried rosemary or dried sage in their place.
- Garlic Powder - To save prep time for this recipe, I chose to use garlic powder instead of fresh cloves of garlic. Feel free to omit if you don’t have any on hand or add a clove of freshly minced garlic. The bold garlic flavor will mellow as the pasta bakes in the oven.
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese - You could also use Asiago or Romano in place of the Parmesan in this recipe. You could even just add some shredded mozzarella in its place. I like the salty, nutty flavor that Parmesan adds though.
- Heavy Cream - A little splash of heavy cream takes this dish to the next level and gives it a creamier texture but you can omit it if you don’t have any on hand. Or use whole milk or half and half instead.
- Refrigerated Cheese Ravioli - This is one of our family’s favorite brands of refrigerated cheese ravioli. Any type of refrigerated ravioli will work for this recipe.
- Fresh Mozzarella - You could also just add more shredded mozzarella if that’s all you’ve got on hand, but I am OBSESSED with fresh mozzarella and especially love to eat it with pasta every chance I get.
- Shredded Mozzarella - I prefer to use a whole milk shredded mozzarella as it has more flavor than a part-skim mozzarella, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Instructions
Add spinach, pasta sauce, water, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, Parmesan, heavy cream, ravioli, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper to a large skillet casserole dish.
Stir until everything is well combined.
Sprinkle the ravioli mixture with shredded mozzarella and fresh mozzarella cheeses.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a couple minutes. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan and enjoy!
Tips
- Make sure the ravioli is completely covered by the sauce. This will ensure that the pasta cooks evenly and all the way through. The moisture from the water that you add is going to help thin out the sauce so it can easily coat every ravioli.
- You don't necessarily have to use uncooked pasta for this recipe. If you have leftover spaghetti, tortellini, penne, or any other noodle, you can still use it in this dish! Just decrease the baking time by about half so that the pasta doesn't overcook. Repurposing leftover pasta into a baked pasta dish is one of my favorites ways to transform leftovers!
- Feel free to add cooked ground beef to this baked ravioli if you want to add some protein. Just mix it right in with the spaghetti sauce. You could also add Italian sausage or ground turkey.
Types of Ravioli
- The bake time will be different based on the brand of ravioli you use. The ravioli we like to use boils in 4 minutes so it cooks very quickly in the oven. Other brands that have longer cook time will take longer to make as well. Take this into account as you will need to increase your bake time a bit if your ravioli takes longer to cook.
- You can use any type of stuffed pasta for this dish! Mushroom ravioli, lobster ravioli, and sausage ravioli are some of our family’s favorites. Use whatever your family enjoys!
- You can also use frozen ravioli for this casserole! If you’re using frozen ravioli, plan to add some additional bake time so that the frozen ravioli can cook all the way through.
- You'll know the ravioli is done when it is tender and al dente. The best way to know if the ravioli is done is to give one a taste - but be careful, they will be hot straight from the oven!
Make Ahead Instructions
- This ravioli casserole can be made up to 3 days in advance. Feel free to throw it together, cover it tightly and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking.
- Alternately, you could also freeze it for up to 3 months! Just be sure to cover it tightly and ideally store it in a freezer-safe bag.
- If you’re cooking the ravioli bake straight from the fridge or freezer, you can follow the same recipe instructions but plan to add some additional cooking time. If the ravioli bake has been refrigerated, plan to add at least 10-20 minutes additional cooking time. If you’re cooking it right from frozen, you’ll probably need to add an additional 30 minutes or more.
FAQ
Yes! This baked ravioli recipe shares with you exactly how you can bake ravioli instead of boiling it! Because refrigerated ravioli takes just minutes to cook, it's an excellent candidate for baking because it cooks through easily. The moisture from the sauce, water, and spinach cooks the ravioli perfectly al dente with no boiling required!
Every brand of ravioli has a slightly different cooking time, but most ravioli need between 3-5 minutes of boiling. Once the ravioli is cooked, it typically floats to the top of the boiling water so you know it's done. In the case of this ravioli casserole, you'll know the ravioli is done when it's al dente - cooked through, but still has a toothsome bite!
Nope! You can cook it right from frozen - just add a bit of extra cooking time to ensure that it's cooked all the way through. In this no boil ravioli bake, you can also use frozen ravioli - just plan to bake it for a bit longer so that the ravioli has a chance to cook all the way through.
Serve Baked Ravioli With
- Quick and Easy Weeknight Garlic Bread
- Simple Green Salad with Beets and Feta
- Caprese Garlic Cheese Bread
- Easy Cheesy Olive Bread
- Garlic and Herb Olive Oil Dip
Family Favorite Pastas
Questions? Leave a comment below!
Liked the recipe? Leave a comment below!
Made this dish? Leave a comment and star rating below!
Baked Ravioli
This easy baked ravioli casserole takes about 20 minutes from start to finish and requires just 5 minutes of prep time because you don’t need to boil the ravioli first!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove top & oven
- Cuisine: Italian/American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 24 oz. jar your favorite spaghetti sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 20 oz. package refrigerated cheese ravioli, uncooked
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese
- 4 oz. shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
- grated Parmesan, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add spinach, spaghetti sauce, water, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, Parmesan, heavy cream, ravioli, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper to a large baking dish.
- Stir until everything is well combined.
- Top with fresh mozzarella and shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with a lid or a tight-fitting piece of tin foil.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until ravioli is cooked al dente and the sauce is bubbly.
- Remove lid/foil and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese on top starts to turn dark golden brown.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!
Notes
Make sure the ravioli is completely covered by the sauce. This will ensure that the pasta cooks evenly and all the way through. The moisture from the water that you add is going to help thin out the sauce so it can easily coat every ravioli.
You don't necessarily have to use uncooked pasta for this recipe. If you have leftover spaghetti, tortellini, penne, or any other noodle, you can still use it in this dish! Just decrease the baking time by about half so that the pasta doesn't overcook. Repurposing leftover pasta into a baked pasta dish is one of my favorites ways to transform leftovers!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 708.3 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.1 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 14.7 g
- Cholesterol: 45.7 mg
Keywords: baked pasta, baked ravioli, cheese ravioli, baked ziti, ravioli bake, cheesy pasta bake
This baked ravioli was originally published in January of 2019. It was updated in March of 2021 to include process shots, step-by-step instructions, and tips for making the perfect ravioli casserole every single time!
Amanda Mason
I love that you added red wine to this!! Seriously - such an amazing recipe! I love that this is a quick dinner meal and easy to prepare. And the other quick meal suggestions you listed - I'm so making those!!! Great and very helpful post!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Thanks Amanda!
Eva
I will totally have to try your recipe! I am a sucker for pasta bakes so I know I'm gonna love this one!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Thanks Eva!
Chef and Steward
This looks like it would add a lot of flavour to prepackaged ravioli for a quick simple meal.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Thanks!
Sharon
This baked ravioli looks so delicious. The perfect pasta comfort food dish that's easy to make too.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Thanks Sharon! 🙂
Tammy
Ooh my goodness! What a sight for the eyes! I'm in food heaven right now imagining how good this must taste 😀 I wish I could reach in for a helping!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am currently throwing this together and refrigerating it for a quick and easy dinner tonight. Such a simple, tasty recipe! Thanks Tammy!
Veena Azmanov
Love every flavor added to it. Perfect picture too. Looks delicious and nutritious and a must make option for family Dinner.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Thanks so much Veena! Your family will love this one!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This ravioli dish looks delicious! I think I just heard my tummy growl. lol! Must print the recipe.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
This one will definitely make your tummy happy!
Midwest Foodie
A quick and easy weeknight dinner that your family will love!
★★★★★
Luke
Mama mia!!! Awesome!!
★★★★★
Midwest Foodie
Merci!:)
Lynnsey Berg
Can't wait to make this Friday for "pasta feed" for our kiddos before a big weekend of basketball games.
★★★★★
Midwest Foodie
Great idea! It definitely feeds an army!
Sarah Vowels
30 minute meal!? Love it! Working full time and going to a school full time is my biggest obstacle to getting food on the table for dinner BUT I love to meal prep and thankfully have a partner who loves to cook as well ?
★★★★★
Midwest Foodie
Isn't it SO helpful to have a good support system (and more importantly a good cook) in your life?! Kudos to you on working hard to achieve your dreams. Hopefully my 30 minute meals will make it a little easier for you (or your fantastic partner!) to get dinner on the table with your busy schedule!! 🙂
Min K
My biggest challenge is finding vegetarian recipes (for me) that meat-loving hubby will like.
★★★★
Midwest Foodie
I am in the same boat!! While I'm not vegetarian, I make a lot of plant based and veggie heavy meals and my husband's favorite critique about any dish is, "This would be great with chicken in it..." I've found that my husband likes when I add smoked cheeses to vegetarian dishes to give it that meaty flavor!!
Sarah Card
Looking forward to trying the ravioli this week!
The biggest obstacle we face at dinner time is preparing meals that accommodate everyone getting home from/leaving for work, practices, activities, etc. at different times. It’s not practical to ‘cook’ three times so the food is hot and ready for each person.
Midwest Foodie
Great! Please let me know what you think 🙂 I can only imagine how difficult it is to get dinner ready for family who is going all different directions and different times! My hope in asking this question was to try to help my readers with their obstacles - maybe I'll have to look at making more crock pot recipes that can be left on the "warm" setting after they've cooked so that your fam can come and go as they please and you don't have to worry about a thing! Thanks for the inspiration Sarah!
Kati Meyer
My biggest obstacle to getting a meal on the table is our families incredibly busy schedule. After school practices for multiple kids in multiple events get the beat of us.
Midwest Foodie
Yes! That seems to be a running theme here!! 🙂 Thank you for sharing - I'm hoping to find ways to help you overcome these obstacles and I wonder if more crock pot meals (that are family friendly) might be the answer. Thank you for the inspiration!
Neha
Love the addition of red wine in the sauce, ravioli looks so creamy and yum! Can't wait to try it out.
Kylie Lato
Thanks!
Melissa Cardin
This looks delicious! We loved ravioli/tortellini. My biggest challenge is keeping my daughters occupied while I cook! After being in daycare and away from me all day, they don’t like to let me cook solo! And they’re not big enough to be helpful.
Midwest Foodie
I have SOOO been there, except only with one kiddo - can't imagine how you do it with two!! The best way I keep my daughter occupied is to give her a little bit of whatever I'm working with (like a ball of dough if I'm making pizza) and let her "help" by dusting it with flour or rolling out. Although I must admit, there is often a giant mess to clean up after she's "helped" so it's really not always a practical solution. But as she's getting older she has become really helpful and will actually ask me, "momma, can we cook?" which melts my heart!! Those girls will grow so fast - they'll be making dinner for YOU soon! 🙂
Katie
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I left out the sausage because I’m vegetarian, and used spinach and ricotta tortellini, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. I love how rich the red wine makes the sauce taste even though it cooks for such a short time. This was the perfect fancy-ish meal to cook for my husband and I after we wrestled our two small kids to bed. Quick, easy, and delicious, so it’s win-win-win!
★★★★★
Midwest Foodie
Best. Review. Ever. SO glad you enjoyed it Katie!! There's nothing better than enjoying a quiet, homemade meal with the hubby 🙂