Baked Ravioli

Do you ever get excited about a recipe, scroll down to the list of ingredients, and immediately say “Nope!” and close the tab? I promise that won’t happen with this baked ravioli. You only need FIVE ingredients to make this simple casserole, keeping your shopping list short and your grocery budget in check. 

You can think of baked ravioli as a no-fuss version of lasagna. It has a lot of the same flavors and all those ooey-gooey cheesy comfort food vibes, but fewer ingredients and much less effort. Simply layer your favorite ravioli—whether cheese-filled or meat-filled—with a hearty meat sauce, add the cheese, and bake to melty perfection. (For another fun way to do ravioli, try this toasted cheese ravioli recipe!)

Easy Cheesy Baked Ravioli Recipe

Comfort food goodness. If Italian food scratches that comfort food itch for you, you’ll love this recipe! Between the hearty sauce, ravioli, and all that cheese, it has lots of cozy appeal and similar vibes to manicotti and stuffed shells with meat.

Easy to prepare. This recipe uses everyday ingredients and the steps are a cinch, making it ideal for busy families. You can even prep it earlier in the day and bake it when you’re ready.

Customizable. It’s easy to adapt baked ravioli to your family’s tastes, diet, and the ingredients you have on hand. I share some of my favorite ways to switch things up later in this post.

Ingredient Notes

• Ground beef, turkey, or Italian sausage: Choose your own adventure! If you use sausage, you can add a little heat to this recipe by going with hot Italian sausage, or keep it mild with sweet Italian sausage. If you happen to have a pound of thawed ground beef that you need to use, that’s perfect, too!
• Cheese or meat ravioli: You can use frozen or refrigerated ravioli. I like to keep a bag in the freezer for those days when I’m looking for a quick dinner idea. You don’t need to thaw frozen ravioli; you’ll just cook the baked ravioli a little bit longer.
• Marinara sauce: Jarred or homemade both work well. Use your favorite brand or homemade spaghetti sauce.
• Shredded mozzarella cheese: You can easily switch it up by using an Italian blend, if you’d like.
• Fresh basil or parsley: If you want to fancy your baked ravioli up a little bit, add a garnish of fresh herbs for a little freshness and color.

How to Make Baked Ravioli

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 375°F and lightly grease a large baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil.

Make the sauce. Brown the meat in a skillet set over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Once the meat is fully cooked, with no pink remaining, remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the marinara sauce.

Assemble. Pour a cup of the meat mixture into the prepared pan and spread it around so it coats the entire bottom. Add a layer of ravioli (half of the ravioli), followed by more sauce and a cup of mozzarella. Repeat this layering process again, starting with the rest of the ravioli, adding the remaining sauce, and ending with the cheese.

Bake. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes if you’re using refrigerated ravioli, or 45 minutes for frozen. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more to melt the cheese. (If you’d like, you can broil it for a minute or two after this to brown the cheese in spots.)

Serve. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes, then garnish with fresh herbs (if you’re using them) and serve.

Recipe Variations

• Increase the yield. You can easily make a double batch of baked ravioli. Just double all the ingredients and either divvy them up between two baking dishes, or use one large baking dish (it may take a bit longer to bake if you’re using one dish).
• Make it meatless. Use cheese ravioli and marinara without the meat, or swap in your favorite meat substitute or sautéed mushrooms in the sauce.
• Streamline the process. You can simply stir the ravioli and sauce together in the baking dish and top it with a cup of cheese. Another idea to cut down the time needed for this recipe is to use store-bought meat sauce and skip the browning.
• Veg it up. Add a layer of sautéed vegetables, such as spinach, mushrooms, or zucchini, to work extra veggies into your dinner.

Serving Suggestions

Salad. A crisp salad with Italian dressing pairs well with this dish. Try my panzanella salad recipe too.

Garlic bread. Soak up any leftover sauce on your plate with Texas toast garlic bread.

Vegetable sides. Round out your dinner with a simple vegetable side dish like roasted Parmesan broccoli or air fryer green beans.

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate: Cover the baked ravioli in the baking dish if you have a lot of leftovers or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. 

Freeze: Transfer leftovers to a freezer-safe container or wrap the entire dish tightly in foil or plastic wrap. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. You can also freeze before baking; this will last up to 3 months as well. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then follow the original baking instructions in the recipe card.

Reheat: Place the pasta in an oven-safe dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350ºF until heated through (the amount of time needed will depend on the amount you’re reheating). Alternatively, you can simply microwave individual portions.