Ravioli Casserole

This easy ravioli casserole with frozen ravioli and ground beef meatballs is a family favorite dinner baked in the oven in 1 hour. NO defrosting necessary, just layer with cheese and cook together!

Are you ever in need of a quick meal at the end of a long day but you want it to be hearty and filling enough for teenage boys?? I have just the ticket, everyone asks for seconds on this one and it only takes 15 minutes to prep, NO thawing necessary.

Once I went to the store and they were clearancing out all of their bags of frozen ravioli so I had to grab a cart full and get to experimenting. I mean of course you know How to Cook Frozen Ravioli the boring way, boiling them and tossing with sauce for dinner but that is just ehh.

Instead….if you combine it with similar ingredients to spaghetti except using these cheese or ground beef filled noodles you give that old fashioned dish so much more flavor!!

Now we used a lot of the same things here that we did with our Crockpot lasagna soup with frozen ravioli, except this one is even easier. Using frozen ravioli filled with cheese or meat it has more protein with the meatballs layer too which we love.

Ingredient Notes

I pick up a bag of frozen ravioli, or two depending on how large you want to make this. You can find store brands or name brands which I will say there is not a big difference between the two in my opinion.

Do you have to cook ravioli?

NO, that is the great part about this frozen ravioli casserole. When it bakes the pasta will defrost and emit a bit more liquid into the pan allowing it to become tender and cook the middle all the way thru as they bake.

You are going to start off with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Use any brand or flavor you love, I generally just buy whichever is on sale and I do prefer chunky style if I have a choice.

I like adding cheese, and lots of it. Using a combination of shredded mozzarella and parmesan is our favorite but whatever you like can go in there friends.

Can you add meat?

I am adding a layer of frozen meatballs here but honestly you could precook a pound of ground beef or spicy ground sausage, drain, and use that instead but that takes longer. I chose to thaw in the microwave so that they would get really tender and absorb more of the sauce flavors. There is enough time though where you could layer them frozen and it would be fine, just not as tender and flavorful.

Variations

There are two general choices for the insides, filled with ground beef or cheese. Sometimes you can find a vegetarian option with spinach inside or squash. Use whatever one you choose, the directions won’t change as far as that is concerned.

How Long to Bake Ravioli Casserole

There are two steps to this. You want to steam for the majority of it so everything gets super tender for 40 minutes but the top should get browned as well. The second step when foil is removed takes 20 minutes so 1 hour is typically perfect with a few minutes to rest before serving so everything can solidify a bit more.

What Temperature to Bake Frozen Ravioli

You do want a bit lower to give it time to essentially steam under the foil to thaw and then cook to tender so I prefer 375 degrees F to get this done. Since the top is covered in the first step you could increase to 400 to get it done a bit faster but I recommend what is stated in the recipe card below for best results.

Can you make ravioli casserole with meat ahead of time?

Actually you could. I mean it will cool down and it is better warm of course but if you baked it you could keep warm in a slow cooker by transferring it from the dish into there. This will work for a few hours, or bake in an aluminum pan and set in a chafing dish if you are having a party and want to make about an hour before guests come.

Did you buy in bulk and want other ideas too? You can make our frozen ravioli in air fryer too which gives you a crispy texture which kids love to snack on…..or you can bread the outside and make air fryer ravioli bites for dinner.