Ravioli Lasagna with Ricotta and Spinach

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! Serve the baked ravioli alongside garlic bread and a simple green salad for an easy weeknight dinner.

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. 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!

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.
• 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

This easy ravioli bake is essentially the perfect combination of ravioli, lasagna, 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!

1. Combine thawed, drained spinach with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil, salt, garlic powder and nutmeg.
2. Pour a thin layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
3. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in the pan.
4. Top with half of the spinach and ricotta mixture.
5. Spread with half of the remaining marinara sauce.
6. Repeat the layers once more.
7. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan on top.
8. Cover and bake in a 400° F oven for a total of 40-45 minutes, removing the cover about halfway through.
9. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

What to Serve with Baked Cheese Ravioli

Here are some easy sides that pair nicely with the ravioli bake with spinach:

• Garlic bread, homemade focaccia, breadsticks, or a crusty loaf of no-knead Dutch oven bread
• Green salad with red wine vinaigrette or a classic Caesar salad
• Roasted broccoli or asparagus
• Sauteed asparagus
• 2-ingredient Italian sugar snap peas
• Brown sugar glazed carrots
• Fennel salad with apples and creamy cider dressing

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

Leftover ravioli lasagna will keep 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!
• 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

5 from 3 votes

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 45 minutes

Resting Time 10 minutes

Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 537 kcal

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.

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 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!

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of the lasagnaCalories: 537kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 33gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 1501mgPotassium: 628mgFiber: 6gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 9183IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 509mgIron: 12mg

Keyword: baked ravioli, Ravioli Casserole, ravioli lasagna

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Author: Blair Lonergan

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