I'm not sure when ravioli wiggled its way into my weeknight meal repertoire, but a package now lives permanently my freezer. Ravioli and its stuffed-pasta kin are a boon on late nights when I need a meal on the table STAT. Do you ever use frozen ravioli for quick meals?
I typically buy my ravioli and tortellini pre-made from either the farmers market, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's. I keep one or two packets in the freezer at a time, rotating the fillings so I don't get bored.
1. Simple Pasta Dish - Of course, the most straight-forward and obvious use for ravioli is in a simple pasta dish. Toss the warm pasta with a few chopped tomatoes, some wilted greens, or a favorite sauce, and dinner is served.
2. Big Dinner Salad - This is also one of my favorite make-ahead lunches. I usually quick-caramelize onions and toss them with the cooked ravioli, salad greens, a handful of nuts, and whatever fresh veggies I have around.
3. Ravioli Soup - You can cook the frozen ravioli right in the simmering broth for a super quick soup. Other veggies are a bonus.
4. Ravioli Stir-Fry - This is nothing fancy, but it gives some variety to the same old plate of pasta. I stir-fry some vegetables and add the cooked ravioli at the end. The edges of the ravioli crisp up in the hot pan and get nicely crunchy.
5. Ravioli Bake - Layer ravioli in a baking dish with some tomato sauce and a variety of chopped veggies to make a quick free-form casserole. Bake at 350°F until bubbly. It takes a little more time than the other dishes, but nice for a simple dump-and-cook meal.
What are your favorite quick meals with ravioli?
Related: Quick Weeknight Meal: 5 Pizzas for Late Summer
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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Started studying part-time last fall and frozen pasta became an important part of my weeknight cooking routine. Getting home from evening classes at 9pm means that meals need to quasi-instant. My go-to recipe is to throw some frozen green beans into the boiling ravioli and top with browned butter (garlic in with that) and parmesan.
i usually just drizzle extra virgin olive oil and grate some parmesan or reggiano over top. simple. easy. wonderful.
I too have recently started keeping ravioli in the freezer for those times when I need a quick/easy dinner. I usually go with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parm and seasoned breadcrumbs, but that salad sounds so brilliant! I'm totally going to give that a go.
I think Trader Joe's mushroom ravioli is restaurant quality. I make a quick alfredo sauce to add to a couple packages for a hearty cool/cold weather meal.
We "bread" them by dipping in a mixture of plain yogurt and milk then in bread crumbs mixed with grated parm. Bake at 425 for 15 and serve with marinara or ranch.
The costco near me carries some that are surprisingly good, and I like having them in the freezer for busy evenings. They do make a decent meal very quickly.
TJ's has incredible frozen artichoke tortellini (haven't tried the ravioli). That used to be my favorite "bachelor" meal, with lots of (frozen) spinach, olive oil, s+p, sometimes a frozen pre-cooked sausage thrown into the pasta cooking water.
Thanks for all the ideas!
My sister in law's recipe: brown 1 lb of ground beef, add a can of diced tomatoes, fresh spinach to wilt, and a package of feta cheese to the cooked ravioli. Yum.
These are genius ideas! I'm going to need them for when I start grad school in the fall. Thank you!
I love the butternut squash ravioli from TJs. It's excellent with a cream sauce.
There's usually one or two packages of those in my fridge for those nights I just don't want to cook.
I've never had a frozen pasta that I would buy again, including most of the ones mentioned here. But I do like Popkoff Russian style dumplings. No junk in them and really high quality tasting.
http://www.popkoffs-frozenfoods.com/
What's next? Easy pantry dinners with frozen pizzas, where we discuss how to "personalize" the pizzas with an extra grating of Parmesan or a bit of salt and pepper? I maintain that it's not cooking when you start with store-bought raviloli.
@bottomup, it sure must be nice to have ALL the time in the world to cook from scratch every single night of your life.