Easy Cheesy Baked Ravioli (Four Ingredients!)
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Super cheesy baked ravioli made into a casserole dish of cozy comfort food everyone will cheer for. Made in thirty minutes, this is a perfect fast and easy weeknight dinner.
Table of Contents
Why We Love Baked Ravioli
- Dump and go style recipe! This recipe comes together so fast.
- Cozy family pleaser– The whole family will love this easy italian bake
- Make it ahead– You can make this dish ahead so it’s super easy to make when it’s dinner time.
- Only A Few Ingredients– The base recipe only needs a few basic ingredients to be delicious!
Some people call this recipe lazy lasagna because it has a lot of the same flavors as lasagna, but I think of it more as a busy day meal. Don’t we all have busy days where we just need to get dinner on the table? Bonus because this baked ravioli recipe is delicious!
Ingredients For Your Shopping List
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- frozen cheese ravioli – You need about 24- 30 ounces of ravioli total. See the notes in the recipe card for tips for swapping in refridgerated fresh ravioli.
- marinara sauce
- mozzarella cheese
- parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley – optional
How To Make Baked Ravioli
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with a light coating of cooking spray or oil. Place a single layer of ravioli on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Spread 1 cup of the marinara over the noodles and top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat the layer of noodles, marinara, and mozzarella again. Sprinkle the top with parmesan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is cooked through. If the top is getting dark, you can top with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Variation Ideas And Swaps
This dish does not have to be super exact to still be delicious. The base of this recipe is super easy, but there are so many easy swaps you can do too depending on what you have on hand. Watch the time closely, depending on how much extra you add, the recipe may need to bake a little longer in the oven.
Add ground meat– Make a meaty style pasta with ground beef,eef turkey or pork. Brown a pound of ground meat of your choice then add an extra half cup of marinara sauce to the meat. Layer half the meat after adding the ravioli and marinara to the pan but before adding the mozzarella cheese. Repeat this layering with the top layer. Or you could add some of my homemade italian meatballs in on any busy weeknight. I freeze italian meatballs ahead of time for easy dinners.
Layer cooked chicken– Layer in extra cooked chicken into this dish just as you would th eground meat. Rotisserie chicken works great for adding quickly.
Make it spinach and ricotta– Defrost a cup of frozen spinach in the microwave, patting it dry with paper towels to remove extra water. If using fresh spinach cook a cup and a half of spinach in a pan with a spray of cooking oil until it melts. Mix the wilted spinach into a cup of ricotta cheese with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Add this mixture on top of the ravioli and marinara, then continue layering mozzarella cheese, more ravioli, sauce and the rest of the mozzarella cheese. Sometimes I reduce the mozzarella by half and only add it to the top of the casserole when I add this layer. You can also mix the wilted or defrosted and dried spinach straight into the marinara sauce.
Try adding other extra veggies– Diced bell peppers, onions, shredded zucchini (pat dry with paper towel), shredded carrots or even broccoli cut small is an easy way to add a little extra color to your dish. Layer diced vegetables in the middle layer and on top of the casserole. under the mozzarella cheese.
Add pesto– A couple swirls of basil pesto into the marinara give this dish a lot of flavor.
Try different flavors of ravioli– You can use just about any flavor of frozen or fresh ravioli in this dish that pairs with marinara sauce, or go wild and use tortellini!
The only ravioli I do not recommend using is dried ravioli, which I’ve seen before at Trader Joe’s and occasionally from other Italian brands. They need a lot more liquid to fully cook and won’t work in this dish without boiling them in water first.
How To Make This Baked Ravioli Dish Part Of Meal Prep Easily
Make this dish in two 8×8 pans
You can split this recipe in half and bake it in two 8×8 pans. This can be great for making one for now and one for later. I have also split this dish in half when I need to bring dinner to someone. Expect an 8×8 pan to serve about two to three people unless you add extras as listed in the variation section.
Freeze baked ravioli ahead
Though the prep on this dish is pretty fast you can make this dish ahead of time and freeze it for meal prep. Follow the instructions as listed in the recipe. Then instead of baking it, cover the entire dish is tight-fitting heavy-duty plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil.
Bake the pan from frozen when you are ready to eat after removing the plastic wrap. Expect to cover the pan with aluminum foil while it bakes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes or so to help the cheese brown and any excess liquid to bubble and bake.
When baking this dish from completely frozen expect it will take 30-40 minutes to bake all the way through until hot and bubbly.
Other Recipes You Will Love
Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
Easy Meatless Baked Ziti Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup
One Pot Ground Turkey Spaghetti
One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Baked Ravioli
Ingredients
- 24 ounces frozen cheese ravioli see notes
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley – optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with a light coating of cooking spray or oil.
- Place a single layer of ravioli on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Spread 1 cup of the marinara over the noodles and top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat the layer of noodles, marinara and mozzarella again. Sprinkle the top with parmesan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is cooked through. If the top is getting dark, you can top with aluminum foil.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Notes
- I used two 12 ounce packages of frozen cheese ravioli. Packages come in different sizes, you’ll need about 24 – 30 ounces of ravioli total.
- You can use fresh ravioli but it will cook much faster. (I haven’t tested this method but it will work) Start checking the casserole when the cheese starts to bubble, likely after 10-15 minutes. You want to pull the ravioli out before it overcooks and becomes gummy, but it should be hot all the way through.
- A generous sprinkle of dried oregano and parsley over the top of the cheese is also delicious.
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
What about using refrigerated ravioli?
I have tips in the notes section about refrigerated ravioli. I think I called it fresh ravioli, but refrigerated ravioli is fresh. It’s not the same quality as buying it from a market, but it’s delicious.