Homemade Cheese Ravioli
This surprisingly easy ravioli recipe proves homemade is always best.
Serves6 to 8
Makes75 to 100 ravioli
Prep1 hour 30 minutes
Cook5 minutes
There is nothing quite like homemade ravioli. When it’s well-made, even a filling as simple as cheese can make the most satisfying meal. The great news is that you — yes, you! — can make excellent ravioli at home.
This recipe makes a lot of ravioli. The intention is that you’ll use some right away and freeze some to have on hand. If you’re going to put the time in to make them, it’s nice to make a big batch. But you can always halve the recipe if you don’t need this many. With a little effort and know-how, you’ll be amazed at how you can produce perfect little pillows of cheesy goodness at home.
Cheese Ravioli Filling
This recipe calls for four different cheeses — ricotta, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Pecorino Romano — to make the perfect filling. The combination creates the ideal balance of flavors and textures. Using a food processor gives the filling a really smooth texture, making it not only pleasant to eat, but also easier to pipe onto the sheets of pasta. If you don’t have a food processor, just take extra time and care to chop the fresh mozzarella very finely.
How to Assemble and Fill Ravioli
Being organized and creating a bit of an assembly line makes filling the ravioli a lot easier. You’ll lay down your pasta sheets, pipe a little filling in evenly spaced dollops, then cover with another layer of pasta.
There are many methods and shapes one could use to cut out ravioli. Here, it’s pared down to the basics. A pasta cutter or sharp knife is used to cut out square ravioli. Don’t get too concerned with them being perfect — the more homemade they look, the better!
What to Serve with Cheese Ravioli
The most classic pairing for cheese ravioli is tomato or marinara sauce with a generous sprinkling of Parmigiano cheese. But the sky’s the limit on sauce pairings. These hold up equally well to a hearty meat sauce as they would with a delicate coating of brown butter and sage.
Cheese Ravioli Recipe
This surprisingly easy ravioli recipe proves homemade is always best.
Prep time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook time 5 minutes
Makes 75 to 100 ravioli
Serves 6 to 8
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 4 cups
all-purpose or ‘00’ flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 4
large eggs
- 4
large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons
olive oil
Semolina flour, for dusting
For the cheese filling:
- 4 ounces
fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1 ounce
Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 ounce
Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 (15- to 16-ounce) container
whole-milk ricotta cheese (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
Make the pasta dough:
Place 4 cups all-purpose or ‘00’ flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. (If you’d like to make the dough by hand, follow the directions here.) Mix on low speed for a few seconds to combine.
Add 4 large eggs, 4 large egg yolks, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix on medium-low speed until the dough starts to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the dough from the dough hook once or twice, about 5 minutes. If after 1 to 2 minutes your dough still looks crumbly and dry, gradually add up to 4 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together.
Dust a work surface lightly with all-purpose or ‘00’ flour. Scrape the dough onto the flour and knead until the dough is smoother, less sticky, and more elastic, 5 minutes. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes and up to 24 hours. If the dough is very cold, let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before rolling it out.
Make the filling:
Drain and cut 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese into small cubes; add to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Grate 1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese and 1/2 ounce Parmesan cheese on the small holes of a box grater (1/4 cup each), and add to the food processor.
Add 1 container ricotta cheese, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg if desired. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, about 1 minute.
Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a wide, round tip. Alternatively, transfer the filling into a large resealable plastic bag and push into one bottom corner; cut the corner of the bag when you’re ready to fill the ravioli. Refrigerate the filling while you roll out the pasta dough.
Roll out the pasta dough:
Unwrap the dough and cut into 3 pieces (about 12 ounces each). Rewrap 2 pieces of the dough in the plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
Roll out each piece of dough: Set a pasta roller to the thickest setting. Flatten the piece of dough into a thick disk between your hands, dusting with semolina flour if it feels sticky. Feed it through the pasta roller. Repeat once or twice. Fold this piece of dough into thirds, like a letter, and press it between your hands again.
With the pasta roller still on the widest setting, feed the pasta crosswise (folded-side in first) between the rollers. Feed it through once or twice more, until smooth. If desired, repeat this folding step. This helps to strengthen the gluten in the flour, giving it a chewier texture when cooked.
Begin changing the settings on the roller to roll the pasta thinner and thinner. Roll the pasta 2 or 3 times at each setting (no need to fold anymore), and don't skip settings (the pasta tends to snag and warp if you do). If the pasta gets too long to be manageable, lay it on a cutting board and cut it in half crosswise before you continue rolling.
Roll the pasta as thin as you can get it, then sprinkle generously with semolina and lay flat on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with sheets of parchment in between each pasta sheet. Repeat until all the dough is rolled out.
Make the ravioli:
Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with semolina flour. Sprinkle a work surface with semolina flour and arrange a pasta sheet on top with a long side closer to you.
If the pasta sheet is at least 4 inches wide from top to bottom, pipe 1 -teaspoon portions of the filling onto the bottom half of the pasta sheet about 1-inch apart. Gently brush a little water on the top half of the pasta sheet, then gently fold the top half over the bottom half.
If the pasta sheet is less than 4 inches wide, pipe 1 -teaspoon portions of the filling down the center of the sheet about 1-inch apart. Gently brush a little water around the border of the sheet. Gently top with a second sheet of pasta.
Use your fingers to press out any air bubbles and seal the dough all the way around each portion of filling. Using a pasta cutter or sharp knife, cut around each portion of filling to form individual raviolo. Don’t worry if they are not perfect — they will still taste great.
Transfer the ravioli to the baking sheet and repeat filling all the pasta sheets. You can cut up any pasta scraps and cook them up for a snack. If you don’t plan to cook the ravioli right away, refrigerate uncovered for up to 4 hours. (See Recipe Notes for freezing instructions.)
Cook the ravioli:
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Working in batches of about 20 ravioli, add the ravioli and cook until the pasta is cooked through and al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the ravioli with a large slotted spoon or spider and toss with desired sauce.
Recipe Notes
Notes: If at any time during the rolling out process, your pasta sheet sticks to itself, you can fold it up and re-roll it. Just make sure to adjust the thickness setting on your pasta machine accordingly.
Freezing: Freeze the uncooked ravioli in a single layer until solid, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes cooking time.
Storage: Cooked ravioli can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.