Pasta night is even better with this comforting and delicious cheesy ravioli lasagna bake, where two Italian favorites are combined to create the perfect blend of meat sauce, cheese and ravioli layers.
Today we’re making a cheesy ravioli lasagna bake. It’s a meat-based red sauce version of spinach and artichoke ravioli bake using Italian sausage and ground beef in a hearty marinara sauce.
There’s plenty of cheese to go around as I layered it with mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and creamy ricotta cheese. Think of it as a traditional lasagna without the hassle of fussing with lasagna sheets. Instead, you’ll find fluffy pillowy-shaped ravioli that’s fun to layer with.
It’s fancy-looking but easy-to-make comfort food. If you want more fancy-looking pasta, try out lasagna roll-ups or stuffed manicotti for that special date night. But back to these deliciously stacked layers of meat, pasta and cheese. Let’s start cooking!
Ingredients in Ravioli Lasagna Bake
RAVIOLI LASAGNA BAKE RECIPE TIPS
- Italian sausage – I used bulk ground mild Italian sausage for the recipe but you can use sweet or hot, depending on your preference.
- Meat sauce:– This is a very thick beef sauce so if you prefer a lower ratio of meat to marinara sauce, feel free to leave out either the ground beef or sausage. Or use 1/2 lb. of each for a total of 1 lb.
- Garlic/onion powder – You can use fresh minced garlic and onion instead of the powders. I would suggest 1/2 yellow onion and 4 garlic cloves.
- Ricotta cheese – I used to hate ricotta cheese until I switched from generic store brands to Galbani. The brand matters for ricotta because the taste and texture can vary wildly (not sponsored, I just personally like the brand).
Recipe Notes:
Take the ricotta cheese out of the package and mash it up a little so it’s easier to spread. I ended up spooning little mounds of ricotta onto each ravioli and spreading it from there.
- Ravioli – You can use fresh or frozen ravioli. You don’t have to thaw the ravioli to assemble the casserole, just make sure they aren’t frozen together. Since this recipe has a beefy sauce I went with three-cheese ravioli to balance it out. I ended up using about 30 ravioli but you might use more if you pack it tighter than my prep photos.
- Marinara sauce – I did some basic alterations to the marinara sauce to flesh it out a little and deepen the flavor. You can do even more by adding beef bouillon cubes, Worcestershire sauce, or by using this homemade marinara sauce recipe. For this recipe, I used Rao’s marinara sauce which is significantly less tart than the other brands. I also added some sugar to balance out the tartness even more. It’s the same trick I used with the red sauce in slow cooker beef and cheese pasta and easy vegetable pasta.
- Layering order – Since layering can get complicated really quickly and it’s hard to visualize by reading a stack of instructions, here is the simplified version of layering order (from the bottom of the casserole working its way upwards):
Meat sauce – ravioli – ricotta – meat sauce – mozzarella – Parmesan – ravioli – ricotta – meat sauce – mozzarella – Parmesan. - Toppings – Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or basil.
Customize It!
- Homemade marinara – Skip the store-bought marinara and make a better homemade marinara sauce.
What to Serve with Ravioli Lasagna Bake
A hearty ravioli lasagna casserole like this is a meal on its own but you can serve it with a few appetizers or sides like homemade garlic bread, cheesy garlic bread, garlic Parmesan knots, or a salad like Italian pasta salad.
And that’s about it. Enjoy your pasta night and let me know how you liked this, what substitutions you made or what you paired it with in the comments below!
MORE PASTA BAKE RECIPES TO TRY
- Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
- Pizza Pasta Casserole
- Meatball Pasta Bake
- Italian Sausage Pasta Bake
- Baked Ziti
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Ravioli Lasagna Bake
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Pasta night is even better with this comforting and delicious cheesy ravioli lasagna bake, where two Italian favorites are combined to create the perfect blend of meat sauce, cheese and ravioli layers.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 jar (32 oz.) marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 package (20-25 oz.) ravioli, fresh or frozen (about 30 ravioli)
- 15 oz. ricotta cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- Fresh Italian parsley / basil to garnish, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook and crumble the sausage and ground beef. Drain off any rendered fat.
- Add in the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder, red pepper flakes, sugar (optional) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Layer 1/3 of the meat sauce and completely cover the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Add ravioli in a single layer and spread 1/2 the ricotta cheese over the ravioli layer.
- Top with another 1/3 of the meat sauce. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese over the meat sauce.
- Add another layer of ravioli over the cheese layer. Spread the remaining half of the ricotta cheese in a single layer over ravioli.
- Add the last of the meat sauce over the ricotta layer and top with the other 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
- [Optional] Broil at 450°F for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has browned.
- Garnish with optional parsley or basil and dish and serve hot.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Layering cheat sheet: 1/3 meat sauce -> 1/2 ravioli -> 1/2 ricotta -> 1/3 meat sauce -> 1 cup mozzarella -> 1/4 cup Parmesan -> 1/2 ravioli -> 1/2 ricotta -> 1/3 meat sauce -> 1 cup mozzarella -> 1/4 cup Parmesan.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Comments & Reviews
It’s so good! Yummy!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Gonna try this
Have fun cooking and enjoy the food 🙂
Used 2 packages of ravioli,(1 cheese, 1 sausage) . , 2.5 jars of classico sauce(1 roasted garlic & 1 traditional) , I have always put the cheese mix together with 2 eggs, parsley(only because I had used the roasted garlic sauce) and the Parmigiano. Mozzarella is uses separately. I used an 11×17 glass dish and just kept checking the internal temperature of very center ravioli.
Your recipe using the frozen ravioli is genius! So much easier than boiling noodles ,
Thank you!
Glad these were a hit! Thanks for trying it out and sharing, Carol.