Baked Ravioli

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You know that feeling you get when you have had a long day, and you just don’t feel like cooking? This is the perfect recipe for those busy days. You’ve been working, running errands, seeing about the kids (and/or pets), and whatever else all day. You are so exhausted, that you are thinking about just running through the drive-thru to pick up fast food for dinner, yet again.

This easy recipe takes less than 10 minutes to throw together with only a few ingredients, and you just toss it (not literally, please don’t actually toss it, or you will have a disaster in the kitchen) in the oven to bake. Even better, you don’t even have to worry about thawing anything out. Am I the only one who dislikes thawing meat out? Sometimes I forget to take it out of the freezer, and then I am even less motivated to defrost it and cook it.

While the ravioli is baking, you can see about the laundry, the kids, take a shower, or just kick your feet up and relax for a bit. This is such a versatile, forgiving recipe, so even if you don’t consider yourself a “good cook”, I promise that it will still come out okay. It’s really hard to mess this one up!

I don’t even measure anything when I make this, but because it’s such a great recipe, I decided to actually measure ingredients and write up a recipe for it to share with you all. Please keep in mind, you can make this your own! You do not have to follow this recipe exactly. Want to use a different cheese? Go for it. Don’t like the seasonings I use? Don’t use them at all, or substitute different seasonings for them. Don’t like marina sauce? Substitute your favorite spaghetti sauce to add more flavor and take it up a notch! The possibilities are endless. My point is, I’ve made this different ways, and they have all come out tasting delicious! I literally have made this only using the frozen ravioli, sauce, and mozzarella cheese before. It was good! This just happens to be our favorite way so far, so I’m sticking to it. The seasonings and parmesan cheese just give it a little something extra.

So say goodbye to the canned stuff! I haven’t eaten canned ravioli in years. I loved it as a kid, and now, I try not to even think about it. Dustin will eat it every now and then with cheese on top in the microwave, and I cringe every time. Trust me, this version is way better, and it’s actually one of our favorite meals here lately.

All you need is: Frozen Ravioli (beef, cheese, or a variation of the two–like I said, possibilities are endless), marinara sauce (or sauce of choice), Shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese (I used fresh parmesan and shredded my own), garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.

I buy the 25oz bag of meat ravioli, which usually contains about 45 ravioli. I counted as I made this, and the 9×13 casserole dish I used allowed me to fit 30 ravioli total with the two layers I did (15 ravioli per layer). You can do a layer of meat ravioli, and then alternate with the cheese-filled ravioli, or you can use all of the same kind. This is really just preference. I used all meat, because I layer cheese in between and put on the top. You can also cook meat and add it to your sauce if you want. Because I do this on busy nights, I don’t do that. I get a little lazy if I’m being honest, and since I use the meat filled ravioli, it doesn’t make a huge difference to us.

First, you’ll want to add a little sauce (about 1/2 cup) to the bottom of your baking dish.

Then you will layer your ravioli (about 15 total) in one single layer over the sauce.

Easy so far, right? Sprinkle about a 1/4 tsp of your Italian seasoning, half of the garlic powder, and about 1/4 cup of your shredded parmesan over the ravioli. Remember, we are going to layer more cheese as we go, but if you would like to add more cheese than shown here, go for it! I would never crush a cheese lovers dreams!

Spread half of the marinara sauce that is left over your seasoned ravioli.

Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese over the sauce.

Add another layer of ravioli (about 15 total) over the cheese.

Hold tight, we’re almost done! It’s going to be so good!

Sprinkle ravioli with another 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning, the rest of the garlic powder, and another 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.

Now add the rest of your sauce. I have found that using a basting brush is the easiest way to spread the sauce when making this.

Add the last cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese, the last 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, and the last 1/4 tsp of your Italian seasoning.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. Remove the foil.

Doesn’t it look so good already?! It’s not finished yet, though! Pop it back in the oven to finish baking uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Just be sure to watch it the last 5 minutes so you don’t overcook the cheese. With my oven, it’s usually done after the 10 minutes.

Okay, NOW it’s done!!! YUM!! Let it cool for a few minutes and then serve it up with some garlic bread or a side salad….or both!

If you give this a try, I would love to know how you liked it! Also, if you try it with different ravioli, sauces, cheeses, and/or seasonings, I would love to hear about it! I’m always up for new ideas.

Can I freeze baked ravioli? Yes! In fact, the first time I ever had this, it was frozen. I was pregnant at the time and trying to think of different meals that were freezer friendly so that I could stock up the freezer. I made a few of these up (with just the beef ravioli, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese) in aluminum foil pans. Then I just covered them in aluminum foil, wrote the baking instructions on top, and popped them in the freezer. When we were ready for one, I would just pull one out and put it in the oven to bake. So easy, and another way to save time on those busy weeknights. After I had Austin, it was a total life saver.

Can I make baked ravioli ahead of time? Yes! I have made this earlier in the day, covered it, and put it in the fridge until time to bake later that evening. We had company coming over later that day to eat with us and I didn’t want to be in the kitchen the whole time after they arrived. I even went ahead and prepped the salad toppings too, so all I had to do was toss the ravioli in the oven, and grab the lettuce and toppings out when it was time to eat. Such an easy meal to throw together. Everyone loved it! I haven’t personally done this, but I would think even putting it together the day before and keeping it refrigerated until time to bake would be fine too.

Hope you enjoy this easy and delicious Baked Ravioli dish!!!

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