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This easy ravioli lasagna with ricotta and spinach goes straight from the freezer to the oven in just minutes! There’s no need to boil the ravioli first — just layer the stuffed pasta with cheese, veggies, and marinara sauce, then bake it until bubbly. The hearty and satisfying vegetarian casserole tastes like lasagna!
Table of Contents
Baked Ravioli
This baked ravioli with ricotta is just a glammed-up version of our favorite 4-ingredient ravioli casserole. That dish proved that you can successfully bake frozen ravioli without thawing or boiling the pasta first, making it a total game-changer for busy weeknights! The ravioli takes the place of traditional lasagna noodles, and is baked with spaghetti sauce and ricotta cheese layers. Think of it as your “lazy lasagna,” which kids love!
In this particular recipe, I took inspiration from our wildly popular spinach stuffed shells, adding even more flavor with extra cheese, fresh herbs, and plenty of leafy greens. Layer everything together and you have a comforting ravioli lasagna with very little effort! Serve it alongside garlic bread and a simple green salad for an easy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients for Baked Frozen Ravioli
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for the baked ravioli lasagna. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Frozen chopped spinach: thawed and squeezed dry.
- Ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses: for a creamy baked ravioli with tons of cheesy flavor!
- Egg: an important component in the ricotta mixture because it helps the cheese layer “set” so that it doesn’t ooze out when you slice into the casserole. That said, if you have an egg allergy, you can omit this ingredient — the finished texture just won’t be quite the same.
- Basil: use fresh herbs when possible, or substitute with dried basil in a pinch.
- Salt, garlic powder and ground nutmeg: add even more flavor to the casserole.
- Marinara sauce: use a high-quality store-bought brand (such as Rao’s) for a great weeknight shortcut. Really, just about any variety of pasta sauces (store-bought or homemade) will work.
- Frozen ravioli: I use cheese ravioli for a vegetarian dish, but meat-filled ravioli will also work well. I’m not particular about the brand and just use what’s available at my local grocery store (typically the Food Lion store brand or Celentano brand).
How to Make Ravioli Lasagna with Ricotta
This easy ravioli bake is essentially the perfect combination of cheese ravioli, an easy lasagna recipe, and stuffed shells — in one convenient dish! Best of all, it tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen…even though the prep work is minimal. Thanks to the convenience of baked frozen ravioli, you can enjoy cozy, Italian-inspired comfort food any night of the week!
I’ve included detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick overview:
- Stir together the spinach mixture.
- Pour a thin layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
- Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in the pan.
- Top with half of the spinach and ricotta mixture.
- Spread with half of the remaining marinara sauce.
- Repeat the layers once more.
- Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan on top.
- Cover and bake.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
What to Serve with Baked Cheese Ravioli
Here are some easy sides that pair nicely with the easy ravioli lasagna recipe:
- Garlic Bread, Breadsticks, or No-Knead Focaccia Bread
- Crusty French Baguette, No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread, or Cranberry Walnut Dutch Oven Bread
- One-Hour, No-Knead, Dinner Rolls, Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls, or Crescent Rolls
- Cranberry Bread or One-Bowl Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Easy One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread, 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins, Classic Bakery-Style Pumpkin Muffins, or Pumpkin Cornbread
- Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Cathead Biscuits, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, 4-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits, 7UP Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Pumpkin Spice Biscuits, Cheddar Biscuits with Bacon and Chives, Angel Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
- Cast Iron Cornbread, Sour Cream Cornbread, Fluffy Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Southern Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Sweet Cornbread, Pumpkin Cornbread, Cake Mix Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Corn Sticks, or Honey Butter Cornbread
- Cheddar Chive Beer Bread or Honey Beer Bread
- Green Side Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, Wedge Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, Caesar Salad, or our favorite House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Fennel Salad with Apples and Creamy Cider Dressing
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead Freezer Instructions: You can prep this dinner in advance and keep it stashed in the freezer until you’re ready to bake it! To do so, simply assemble the casserole but do not bake. Cover tightly with foil and freeze the unbaked casserole for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve it, pull it out of the freezer and bake as instructed. You will need to add a few more minutes to the cooking time, but just keep your eye on it and make sure that it’s heated through before serving.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- How to Reheat Ravioli Lasagna: Cover the dish loosely with foil. Warm in a 350°F oven just until heated through, about 30 minutes. You can also reheat individual servings of ravioli in the microwave until warm, about 1 minute.
Baked Ravioli Casserole Recipe Variations
- If you’d like to make the baked ravioli with meat sauce, simply add ½ pound of cooked ground beef or ground Italian sausage to the marinara sauce.
- Substitute meat-filled ravioli for the cheese ravioli. Any variety of frozen ravioli will work!
- For a heartier casserole, add layers of browned ground beef, ground turkey, or ground Italian sausage.
- Frozen spinach is great because it’s an inexpensive way to get a lot of spinach, and you don’t have to cook it before adding it to the dish. That said, you can substitute with fresh spinach if desired. If you prefer to substitute with fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach, you’ll need a total of about 3 cups of cooked spinach. Start with about 3 lbs. of fresh spinach, sauté the spinach in butter and/or olive oil until it wilts, squeeze out the excess moisture, and use in the recipe as instructed.
- If you’re serving a smaller family (or cooking just for 2), cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in an 8-inch square pan. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same, although you may be able to shorten the total baking time by a few minutes.
- Prepare two smaller casseroles in 8-inch square pans. Bake one now, and freeze the second for a later meal!
Tips for the Best Ravioli Lasagna Recipe
- Squeeze the spinach very dry before adding it to the filling. I like to put it in a dish towel and wring it out over the sink. This will prevent the spinach from watering-down the creamy, cheesy filling.
- Use whole milk ricotta cheese for the richest, creamiest, smoothest texture.
- Start with frozen ravioli that’s not thawed or boiled before baking. Fresh ravioli would probably work, but you will need to decrease the total baking time.
- Let the dish rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. This will help the cheese set so that it slices cleanly and doesn’t ooze out.
- Garnish with plenty of fresh parsley or basil just before serving for a bright addition to the baked casserole.
More Ravioli Recipes to Try
- Ravioli Casserole
- Shrimp with Ravioli
- Baked Ravioli Alfredo with Chicken
- Slow Cooker Ravioli Casserole
Ravioli Lasagna with Ricotta and Spinach
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
There's no need to boil the ravioli first! This easy ravioli lasagna with ricotta and spinach goes straight from the freezer to the oven in just minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (24 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- Squeeze all of the liquid out of the spinach. I like to use a dish towel for this, and just keep squeezing until you wring out as much water as possible. Place spinach in a large bowl. Add ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, egg, basil, salt and garlic powder to the bowl with the spinach and stir really well with a fork to combine. Add a pinch of optional nutmeg, if desired.
- Pour a very thin layer of marinara sauce into the prepared baking dish to cover bottom (about ½ cup). Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over the sauce. Spread or dollop half of the ricotta mixture over the ravioli. Top with half of the remaining marinara.
- Repeat layers once more, adding remaining ravioli, then remaining ricotta mixture, and finally remaining marinara. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan on top.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake, uncovered, for 20-25 more minutes or until bubbly and hot in center. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Squeeze the spinach very dry before adding it to the filling. I like to put it in a dish towel and wring it out over the sink. This will prevent the spinach from watering-down the creamy, cheesy filling.
- Use whole milk ricotta cheese for the richest, creamiest, smoothest texture.
- Start with frozen ravioli that’s not thawed or boiled before baking. Fresh ravioli would probably work, but you will need to decrease the total baking time.
- Let the dish rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. This will help the cheese set so that it slices cleanly and doesn’t ooze out.
- Garnish with plenty of fresh parsley or basil just before serving for a bright addition to the baked casserole.
- If you’d like to make the baked ravioli with meat sauce, simply add ½ pound of cooked ground beef or ground Italian sausage to the marinara sauce.
- Substitute meat-filled ravioli for the cheese ravioli. Any variety of frozen ravioli will work!
- Frozen spinach is great because it’s an inexpensive way to get a lot of spinach, and you don’t have to cook it before adding it to the dish. That said, you can substitute with fresh spinach if desired. If you prefer to substitute with fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach, you’ll need a total of about 3 cups of cooked spinach. Start with about 3 lbs. of fresh spinach, sauté the spinach in butter and/or olive oil until it wilts, squeeze out the excess moisture, and use in the recipe as instructed.
- If you’re serving a smaller family (or cooking just for 2), cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in an 8-inch square pan. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same, although you may be able to shorten the total baking time by a few minutes.
- Prepare two smaller casseroles in 8-inch square pans. Bake one now, and freeze the second for a later meal!
I used fresh spinach and fresh ravioli – how long do you think I should cook it for? I was thinking maybe 350 for the same time.
Also… I didn’t see the note about cooking the fresh spinach until after assembly, so I’ll let you know how it turn out. I only used about 10 oz.
Hey, Sarah! I’m sure the fresh spinach will be fine — especially in that amount. 🙂
I would think the fresh ravioli will need slightly less time at 400, but not a huge difference. If you lower the temp to 350, then yes — about the same amount of time. Let me know how it works!
I did 20 min at 350 with foil, and 15 min at 400 without – it was delicious! The spinach was fine and did not water down the dish at all – in fact with the fresh basil I also used it was a really nice addition. I used 2 packs of Trader Joe’s truffle/mushroom ravioli (8.8 oz each). My 2 year old liked it! Two thumbs up. I’m usually still hungry after a ravioli dinner night, but this really satisfied and made it much more filling.
Excellent! Thank you for the update, Sarah! Glad that it was a hit and that your little one enjoyed it, too. 🙂
Hello Blair,
I’m single ,not a parent, and learning to cook. So, I love this simple recipe. I used meat filled ravioli and added ground turkey to the sauce and baked in a 8×8 dish. I love the taste and texture. This one will saved as a favorite.
Excellent! I’m so glad to hear that it worked well for you, Tim. Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave me a note! 🙂
Easy and delicious. I used meat ravioli and small curds cottage cheese. Thank you for sharing!
Sounds perfect! Thank you, Kristi!
can you make this with 3 layers
of ravioli?
Hi, Janine! Yes, that should work fine. You might need to add a few extra minutes to the total baking time, but otherwise it should work fine. If you’re not using a smaller dish, you’ll also need to increase the rest of the ingredients to accommodate that extra layer. Hope you enjoy!
Can I use fresh spinach?
Hi, Nora! Yes, ma’am! Here’s what I wrote:
Frozen spinach is great because it’s an inexpensive way to get a lot of spinach, and you don’t have to cook it before adding it to the dish. That said, you can substitute with fresh spinach if desired. If you prefer to substitute with fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach, you’ll need a total of about 3 cups of cooked spinach. Start with about 3 lbs. of fresh spinach, sauté the spinach in butter and/or olive oil until it wilts, squeeze out the excess moisture, and use in the recipe as instructed.