Prepare an easy homemade dish of Cheesy Skillet Ravioli Bake, and watch the family fall in love with this delicious and quick weeknight meal!
Cheesy Skillet Ravioli Bake is the dish that has it all, with loads of cheese and comforting pasta, and it’s ready in just about 30 minutes! Grab the fresh or frozen ravioli, marinara, plenty of cheese, and spices for a weeknight meal that tastes like you spent hours on it.
Weeknight Favorite
There is nothing I love more than a quick dish that actually tastes amazing. Some nights are kind of hectic, so we used to settle for some less than great, like takeout. But I’ve learned that I can make Cheesy Skillet Ravioli Bake in less time than it takes to get the food, drive home, and get everyone settled to eat… plus it tastes 1000 times better! I’ve also learned to keep plenty of garlic bread in the freezer for this weeknight favorite.
We also love easy pasta dishes that make delicious leftovers, like cheesy Spaghetti Casserole and Cheesy Instant Pot Chicken Pasta.
Other Recipes to Serve with Cheesy Skillet Ravioli Bake
- No one can withstand the power of Cheesy Garlic Bread. So make enough for an army because no matter how much I make, even my small family devours every last piece!
- Ricotta Parmesan Garlic Bread is my absolute go-to bread for when friends and family come to dinner, and they never stop raving about it!
Ingredients
Ravioli: The great thing about this recipe is that you can use either fresh or frozen ravioli. Fresh ravioli is typically found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
Marinara: Pick up your favorite brand of marinara for this dish.
Dairy: To make the dish extra creamy, you will need heavy cream and lots of cheese. Make sure to get parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and mozzarella pearls or cherry-sized mozzarella.
Seasoning: For this recipe, you will need oregano, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Garnish: Garnish the top of the dish with fresh chopped parsley and shredded parmesan cheese.
How to Make Cheesy Skillet Ravioli Bake
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together the heavy cream, water, seasonings, parmesan, and ravioli.
STEP TWO: In an oven-safe skillet or casserole dish, add half of the ravioli mixture and top with half the shredded mozzarella. Top with the rest of the ravioli mix, and then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese balls and the rest of the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
STEP THREE: After 25 minutes, remove the foil and broil the dish for 2-4 minutes, until the top has browned slightly. Garnish with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese, and then dig in!
Tips for Success
- Any ravioli can be used in this dish – cheese, meat, and even seafood ravioli. If you like tortellini pasta, you could use that as well, so pick your favorite!
- When using fresh ravioli, reduce the baking time to 20 minutes.
- You can choose to either grate all of the cheese by hand or pick up pre-shredded cheese. Bagged shredded cheese works great in this dish and can be a real time saver. That being said, grating the cheese yourself makes for better melting, so go with whichever you have time for.
- Store this dish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can you bake ravioli instead of boiling it?
Ravioli can absolutely be baked instead of boiled, which is what makes this recipe so darn easy! There is no additional wait time or steps of boiling the water, cooking and draining the ravioli, and then assembling a dish. You can simply combine everything in one dish and bake! The extra water, along with the marinara sauce, provides enough liquid to thoroughly cook the ravioli and it comes out perfectly cooked, without splitting, every time.
How do you make ravioli better?
Ravioli, like most pasta, is pretty versatile, so if you feel like adding more to a ravioli dish, go for it! Ravioli pairs perfectly with various vegetables and herbs, such as tomatoes and basil, broccoli, peas, and more.
Just about any sauce you can dream of would work amazingly well with ravioli, as well as meat additions. Try browning ground beef, turkey, or Italian sausage to add to your ravioli dish. Chicken and alfredo sauce with ravioli would be a delicious choice as well, but mix and match until you find a new combo that you love!
Fill your busy week with more easy, delicious pasta meals!
- Creamy Ranch Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
- Enchilada Pasta
- One Pot Alfredo Pasta
- Easy Baked Tortellini and Meatballs
- Hamburger Casserole
Equipment
- Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 20 ounces cheese ravioli refrgierated or frozen
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (small balls)
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
- Grated parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the marinara, water, oregano, thyme, garlic, pepper, salt, parmesan, heavy cream, and ravioli.
- Pour half of the ravioli mixture into an oven-safe skillet or casserole dish. Layer half the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the ravioli. Pour the rest of the ravioli mixture over the cheese and spread it into an even layer.
- Top the pasta with fresh mozzarella balls and the rest of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover tightly with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the ravioli is cooked al dente and the sauce is bubbling. (see note)
- Remove the foil and broil for 2-4 minutes, until the cheese on top has golden brown bubbles.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with chopped parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving warm.
Notes
- For fresh ravioli, reduce the covered baking time to 20 minutes.
- You can substitute extra shredded mozzarella in for fresh mozzarella if desired.
- You can substitute any type of ravioli, or even tortellini, you prefer. Cheese if my family’s favorite, but chicken, mushroom, spinach, and other fillings all work great in this recipe.
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