Recipe: A Last-Minute Ravioli Casserole

If you like light, lemony pastas as much as I do, this easy casserole — and I mean so easy it all come together in one baking dish — is going to be your jam. Ravioli straight from the freezer goes into a trusty baking dish with a sauce of white wine, broth, garlic, and thyme. It magically thickens up during baking with the help of cornstarch. Topped with thinly sliced lemons, it all bakes together into a luscious casserole that requires zero stove time and can be assembled in the time it takes the oven to heat up. Scatter some peas from the freezer on top and you now have a pasta casserole that took very little effort, but yields some amazing results.

The thin slices of lemon are my favorite component in this dish. Not only do they perfume the whole dish, but they also add a welcome touch of acidity to cut through the savoriness of the broth. Make sure to remove the seeds from the lemon slices first. I don’t end up eating the lemon slices, but they make the casserole beautiful and actually provide a layer of insulation so that the top layer of ravioli doesn’t dry out during baking.

The freezer is one of our favorite secret weapons for getting weeknight dinners on the table stat. This week, we’re sharing the best staples to keep in the freezer and, more importantly, how to turn them into tasty meals that require minimal effort or planning. It’s time to embrace our friend the freezer!