Homemade Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

Buying fresh pasta at the store makes it quick and easy to make ravioli at home

I love keeping ravioli in my freezer for quick weeknight meals. There are some great store-bought options for ravioli at most supermarkets now, but it's easy and fun to make your own. We had some leftover spinach pasta sheets from a lasagna we cooked with our friends the other weekend and we repurposed them into this recipe for spinach and ricotta ravioli. Mixing the filling only takes a couple minutes and then it's all about assembling the ravioli. I like to make large raviolis because it looks dramatic and it takes less time than making a lot of small ones. This is a great project to do with another person, especially kids. Spend an afternoon and crank out a huge batch that you can freeze and keep on hands for multiple meals.

Note: If freezing your ravioli, set them out in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and freeze completely. Then transfer the frozen ravioli to a baking sheet. If you put the fresh raviolis in a bag in the freezer, they will completely stick together.


Related Recipes:
- Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Shells
- Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter
- Best Three-Ingredient Tomato Sauce


Homemade Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli:
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh pasta sheets, preferably spinach pasta
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c. steamed spinach (fresh or de-frosted)
- 1 c. ricotta cheese
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt
- black pepper

Recipe

• Wrap the spinach in a clean kitchen towel and wring out as much liquid as possible out of the spinach.
• Mix together the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, 1 egg, and a large pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl.
• In another small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg and a splash of water until combined.
• Lay out a sheet of pasta on a flat surface and drop tablespoons of the filling 3"-4" apart.
• Brush some of the beaten egg around each spoonful of filling, then carefully lay another sheet of pasta on top.
• Use your fingers to press the pasta around the filling to form a seal, then cut the raviolis into squares.
• Repeat the process to make the remaining ravioli.
• To cook, bring a large pot of water to a low boil and season with salt. Carefully add the ravioli and cook 2-3 minutes for fresh and 5-7 minutes for frozen.

Makes about twenty ravioli

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage & Brown Butter

This recipe uses store-bought ravioli for a quick and easy weeknight meal 

I've been traveling a lot for work, and the days that I am here, I've been so busy that it's tough to spend a lot of time making dinner when I get home. On those nights, I often take some store-bought help to whip up quick meals that require minimal clean up. One of my favorite semi-homemade meals is butternut squash ravioli with sage and brown butter sauce. I take frozen ravioli from the store and then whip up a quick sage brown butter to toss it with after it cooks. It only takes about 10 minutes to make but it tastes delicious. Add a nice side salad or roasted green veg and you have a well-balanced dinner that's faster and healthier than take-out.


Related Recipes:
- Butternut Squash Ravioli with Spinach & Pine Nuts
- Pumpkin & Pancetta Baked Pasta
- Tortellini Borbellini


Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage & Brown Butter Sauce:

• Bring a large pot of water just to a boil and add in 8 oz. fresh or frozen butternut squash ravioli.
• Cook according to package instructions.
• Meanwhile, meat 3 tbsp. salted butter in a skillet. Allow to foam, then brown and smell nutty.
• Add in 8 fresh sage leaves and let crisp for 1-2 minutes.
• Immediately add in the ravioli and 2-3 tbsp. pasta cooking water.
• Toss together for a minute until the ravioli is coated in the sauce.
• Divide onto plates and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Serves two

Squash Ravioli with Shrimp & Bay Scallops

Halloween was a pretty low-key event for me this year - my fiance and I dressed up as a 1920's bootlegger and flapper for our work party but came home in time for trick or treaters. We had a couple friends over for a casual dinner, and since I knew we'd be raiding the candy bowl, I wanted to make something light but still festive. I was hoping for pumpkin ravioli, but the butternut squash tastes great and pairs really well with the seafood and brown butter-sage sauce. The squash cubes can be roasted in advance so that putting the whole thing together is as simple as boiling water after guests arrive. It's a great, easy meal to enjoy on a chilly evening (at least until you get sick of pumpkin).

Squash Ravioli with Shrimp & Bay Scallops:

• Toss 1 c. diced butternut squash with 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Place in a 400F oven for 30 minutes, tossing once or twice with a spatula, until tender and caramelized in some places.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add in 1 lb. pumpkin ravioli.*
• While ravioli is cooking, melt 1/2 stick unsalted butter in a large skillet and add in 6 fresh sage leaves.
• Add in 1/2 lb. rock shrimp and 1/2 lb. bay scallops and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook seafood for 5 minutes, until just cooked through, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Turn up the heat on the butter and let it get lightly brown and nutty.
• Drain the ravioli and add it to the butter, along with the seafood and roasted squash.
• Toss to combine, then divide onto plates and serve.

Serves four

*Or butternut squash. Fresh or frozen is fine, but look to the package for accurate cooking time.

Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Corn Sauce

Just because I love to cook doesn’t mean that I don’t have a soft spot for certain pre-made or frozen foods from the grocery store. Trader Joe’s frozen items are some of my favorites and their potstickers and edamame are a household staple. To save time on weeknights, I like to incorporate some store bought items into my cooking and keep duplicates in my fridge so that an easy meal is always available. Here, pre-made ravioli gets a makeover with a quick and spicy sauce with fresh sweet corn. It’s a dish that takes just minutes to make but still feels gourmet and put together.

Cheese Ravioli with Corn, Parmesan, & Jalapeno:

• Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter in a large skillet.
• Add in 1/2 minced onion, 1 minced jalapeno,* and 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened but not brown.
• Add in the kernels from 2 ears of corn and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add in 1/4 c. heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook 1/2 lb. spinach and cheese ravioli** according to package instructions.
• Drain ravioli and immediately add to the corn sauce with a handful of grated Parmesan cheese.
• Toss ravioli for a minute or until it absorbs some of the sauce, then divide onto plates and serve.

Serves two

*Add more or less depending on how spicy you like it.

**Or any type of ravioli you like.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Spinach, Pine Nuts, & Brown Butter Sauce

Even though I've been out of school for a couple years, this time of year always reminds me of fall and new beginnings. So even though it's clearly still summer, I've already been thinking about colder-weather activities (like what awesome costume I'm going to be for Halloween) and of course, fall food. This butternut squash ravioli with  brown butter sauce is one of my favorite quick fall meals, and it's so delicious that there's no reason it shouldn't be enjoyed year-round. I take a lot of help from the store by purchasing fresh or frozen ravioli and the sauce only has a handful of ingredients, so the meal comes together in just minutes. Ravioli and brown butter sauce is great on its own, but I decided to jazz it up this time with some baby spinach and pine nuts I had in my fridge.


Butternut Squash Ravioli with Spinach, Pine Nuts, & Brown Butter Sauce:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook an 8 oz. package of butternut squash ravioli according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, melt 1/2 stick unsalted butter and 1 pinch red chili flakes in a large pan until the butter just starts to brown,* about 5 minutes.
• Add cooked ravioli to the pan, along with a little pasta cooking water, and toss to coat.
• Stir in 2 c. baby spinach until wilted. Season ravioli with salt.
• To serve, divide onto plates and top with toasted pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Serves two
*Be careful, butter goes from brown to burnt very quickly.

Mushroom Ravioli with Rock Shrimp & Bay Scallops

I had a version of this meal at a seafood restaurant a few months ago and wanted to re-create it at home. Mushrooms and shellfish aren't a common flavor pairing, but the lobster-esque flavor and texture of the rock shrimp, the sweetness of the scallops, and the earthiness of the porcini mushroom ravioli really work well together. The white wine butter sauce lightly coats the seafood and ravioli and ties the whole thing together. Since there's only a few ingredients, it's important to use fresh seafood and a high-quality, fresh ravioli.


Related Recipes:
- Butternut Squash Ravioli with Bay Scallops & Shrimp
- Seafood & Meyer Lemon Fettuccine
- Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Corn Sauce


Mushroom Ravioli with Rock Shrimp & Bay Scallops:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook one package of porcini mushroom ravioli* until two minutes before al dente. 
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 2 whole garlic cloves in a skillet.
• Add 1 c. white wine and let it reduce by half (about 4-5 minutes).
• Whisk in 1/2 stick cold butter and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
• Add 1/2 lb. rock shrimp and 1/2 lb. bay scallops. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the raviolis and 1/4 c. pasta cooking liquid to the skillet.
• Toss ravioli in the sauce for 1-2 minutes.
• Divide onto plates and serve with freshly torn basil leaves.

Serves two
*I got mine from the fresh pasta aisle at Whole Foods.

Tortellone Borbellini

Cheese tortellini and Italian sausage baked together in a creamy tomato sauce

At least once a month, I’ll crave the tortellone borbellini from Pasta Jay’s in Boulder, CO. So after years (has it really been that long since I graduated college?) of dreaming about it, I finally tried to make it at home. The concept is fairly simple: cheese tortellini with sautéed spinach and sausage baked in a tomato-cream sauce, but Pasta Jay’s execution is unmatched. I took some shortcuts - frozen cheese tortellini, store-bought marinara sauce - that I’m sure they’d frown upon but made the dish come together quickly. It's the kind of meal that is good for feeding an army of people, tastes even better the next day, and will satisfy all your cravings for comfort foo. Now if only I could re-create their salad with garlic dressing…

Related Recipes:
- Baked Penne with Sausage & Broccoli Rabe
- Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Shells
- Short Rib & Spinach Lasagna

Tortellini with Sausage & Spinach:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and cook two packages of cheese tortellini according to package instructions.
• Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add ¾ lb. hot Italian sausages, casings removed.
• Break up sausage in small pieces using a spatula and cook for 5-7 minutes, until sausage is browned.
• Drain excess fat from the pan and add 2 c. fresh baby spinach. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until spinach wilts.
• Add 2 c. tomato sauce and 1 tbsp. cream  to the pan and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
• Drain tortellini, pour into a shallow baking dish and top with sauce. Sprinkle the top with 1 handful grated mozzarella cheese.
• Place dish in the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until cheese is bubbling.
• Divide into pasta bowls. Serve.

Serves 4