Meal Plan

Speedy Skillet Ravioli Lasagna From Grace Parisi

by: Genius Recipes

September 10, 2019

4

23 Ratings

Photo by Rocky Luten

Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Serves 6 to 8

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Author Notes

Unlike your average weekend lasagna layering project, this recipe is all cooked in one pan—quick tomato sauce, pasta, and all. And it all happens very fast, thanks to frozen ravioli, the only pasta that has the layers of cheese tucked right inside. Note that every brand of ravioli is a little bit different, so it's a good idea to taste and season as you go.

In Lasagna: A Baked Pasta Cookbook, Taste senior editor Anna Hezel writes: "Thanks to a little help from a package of frozen ravioli, you can pull a skillet of toasty, bubbly lasagna from the oven in a little more than half an hour. In this ingenious one pan supper (shout-out to Grace Parisi, the brains behind the recipe!), you make a tomato sauce right in the same skillet you use to bake the whole thing, and the ravioli—layered with mozzarella and Parm—cooks and soaks up the tomato flavor at the same time the starch from the pasta thickens the sauce. Now, Grace, can you please work on an airfryer lasagna recipe for Lasagna, the sequel?" Recipe from Lasagna: A Baked Pasta Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, September 2019). —Genius Recipes

Test Kitchen-Approved

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 large fresh basil sprigs, plus torn leaves for garnish
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (preferably Diamond Crystal)
¹/₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ¹/₂ pounds frozen cheese ravioli
8 ounces mozzarella cheese (preferably fresh), shredded (2 cups)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Make the tomato sauce: Preheat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the center. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it darkens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, crushed tomatoes, basil sprigs, sugar, and 1 cup water. Season with the salt and black pepper and increase the heat slightly to bring to a boil.
Cook the ravioli: Gently separate any frozen ravioli stuck together without tearing. Any that resist will separate during cooking. Add the ravioli to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring gently, until the sauce is very thick and the ravioli are just tender, about 15 minutes.
Assemble the ravioli lasagna: Spoon half of the ravioli and sauce into a bowl. Arrange the ravioli in the skillet in an even layer and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Arrange the remaining ravioli on top and sprinkle with the Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.
Bake the ravioli lasagna: Bake until bubbling and the cheese is lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Scatter the basil leaves on top and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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32 Reviews

D August 8, 2023

What an easy quick weeknight meal. I used what I had on hand and altered a bit based on preferences . I added a small diced onion to the skillet to soften before adding the garlic, etc. I also used a 28 oz can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes & juice (hand crushed) instead of the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth instead of water and omitted the sugar. The sauce simmered stovetop until everyone was ready for dinner. I added the frozen ravioli and a good handful of mini frozen meatballs to simmer until tender and the cheeses and placed in the oven. Once the cheeses melted, I turned to the oven to broil to brown just a bit. While the dish was resting, I mixed softened butter, minced garlic, S&P, minced parsley, and a good pinch of red pepper flakes and slathered on a halved Italian loaf & tossed in the oven for 10 min. Simple & Delicious!

ZuZu March 12, 2021

I make frozen raviolis without cooking the ravioli in boiling water first: I place some sauce on the bottom of a high-sided glass baking dish layer a row of raviolis on top of the sauce, add another layer topping with sauce... finishing with plenty of sauce and grated parm. Cover the baking dish with a piece of parchment paper and add a piece of foil on top of the parchment. (I never let aluminum foil touch my food.) Place in a preheated oven, set at 425. Bake for 1 hour. You know it is ready when you see the sauce bubbling on the bottom sides of the see-thru glass baking dish. Easy-peasy! Easy clean-up too. :)

Marie B. March 2, 2021

Tasty, but...Not easy to prepare. Lots of dirty dishes by the time I got it in the oven. Final product too saucy. May try again putting my own spin on the prep work.

booglix October 19, 2020

This was tasty, but we felt it wasn't as good as real lasagna or ravioli cooked normally and then sauced. When boiling ravioli, one can cook them the exact amount of time that they need (I like them to be on the firm and chewy side—quite al dente). Here, even though we stopped cooking on the stovetop just as they became barely tender, the additional cooking time in the oven was determined by the time it took the cheese to melt and brown, and then the additional 10 minutes of sitting cooked them further, so they ended up being a bit soft and gummy even though still delicious. We just don't see the reason to make it this way again—one extra pot to boil the ravioli is not a big deal to clean. I didn't find this to be a genius technique.

cosmiccook October 19, 2020

I have to disagree, it is a genius technique when this dish takes about 30 minutes and far less ingredients and steps than a traditional lasagna--particularly if you make a béchamel for the lasagna.

cosmiccook September 19, 2020

Making this again tonight. Using rest of the confit cherry tomatoes (pureed) w some passata. A frozen 2 oz. cube of pure carrot juice, WINE, Passata, crumbled Italian sausage, mushrooms and TORTELLINI--not as much cheese in filling, so a good balance of cheese flavor. They also hold their shape better when cooking. Add some Trader Joes chili crunch & Mushroom umami along w the rest of spices and herbs.

icharmeat November 3, 2020

I think that if a person takes the time to consider what this recipe is meant to be, there shouldn't be any arguments about it. Is it as awesome as a well constructed lasagna? Certainly not, but it is a fab stand-in on a night when you just don't know what to make and you have the ingredients in your pantry and freezer. Due to Covid, my late-teenage kids are notoff to college so wifey and I have imposed a cooking night upon them and this is a dish that has made it into fairly regular rotation. My daughter is vegetarian so she uses mushroom ravioli. My son will eat all things and in quantity so when his sister is working, he has prepared this with meat ravioli. Both are good. The sauce part of the recipe is never followed- everyone here knows how to put together a tomato sauce that we all like.

Here is a little plug for Safeway/Signature select ravioli: The portobello mushroom ravs and their meat ravs are very good for this recipe (we have never made this with cheese ravioli). I don't like the shopping experience at safeway but these ravioli will get me in the store early in the day before the rank and file arrive to spoil the experience.

kristinsmitha@gmail.com June 21, 2020

Just in case anyone is wondering I used two packets of ravioli from Trader Joe’s. I wasn’t sure how much was 1 1/2 pounds but what I used was perfect as it was what I had on hand. I also added arugula and a zucchini as well.

Susan May 11, 2020

I made this for supper last night, it's a keeper. It's an easy recipe. I will make it again.

Michael T. February 4, 2020

I'm going to try it with Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce. https://food52.com/recipes/13722-marcella-hazan-s-tomato-sauce-with-onion-butter

Michael T. February 4, 2020

oh, and a couple of the meatballs, which I made earlier this week, crumbled into the sauce. https://food52.com/recipes/22467-rao-s-meatballs

If successful, have I been the first to combine THREE genius recipes into one???? :)

Michael T. February 5, 2020

As expected .... tomato/butter sauce + couple of crumbled Rao meatballs + Ravioli Lasagne = delicious and speedy comfort food.

kmchiu November 6, 2019

Any thoughts on using frozen cheese tortellini instead of ravioli? My boyfriend swears he couldn't find frozen ravioli at Costco and came home with this instead...

cosmiccook September 19, 2020

I actually like the tortellini BETTER than ravioli-its what I'm using tonight.

cosmiccook March 2, 2021

I actually like the tortellini better

LSP October 10, 2019

Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes, four extra garlic cloves (that's a household preference), organic spinach/cheese raviolli....fresh mozzarella is a must! All else remained the same. This was easy, quick....absolutely killer recipe!

Lizzie_CA September 23, 2019

We made this for dinner and added grated carrots and onions to the sauce. I think cooking the ravioli in sauce is genius and it was simple to do but we will not be adding this to our regular rotation. I think ravioli is better with a simple sauce in this case.

Diane G. September 15, 2019

Where has this idea been all my life?I didn’t follow this to the letter but the heart was there. I used a jar of my favorite organic marinara sauce (gasp) and found spinach ricotta ravioli. Put it together following the directions and my family was very happy at dinner. I can’t wait to do your version. My favorite thing was cooking the ravioli in the sauce! Genius.

daisybrain September 15, 2019

This looks like a project I can easily give my 17 year old to do on a weeknight when he is home before his ever loving, hard working parents, but can’t you just cook the ravioli in the sauce without boiling a pot of water? I haven’t made this but am thinking I’ll try that.

cosmiccook September 19, 2020

YES that's what the instructions call for. And I don't bother w taking out 1/2 and layering. I just sprinkle the cheeses on top. Will make it easier to cook.

Jenn K. September 15, 2019

I made this with a few minor tweaks - no additional sugar or salt, and added a good handful of chopped lacinato kale in the last few minutes of simmering the ravioli. Oh, and I used tiny raviolini because my kids are obsessed with them. I was skeptical/worried it would be Chef Boyardee-esque but it was good! The kids devoured it (they're 1 and 3) and with some extra chili flakes and a salad on the side I liked it too. Obviously it's not lasagna but it's surprisingly evocative of it and perfectly good for a weeknight dinner.

kim September 13, 2019

This was a great easy-peasy weeknight meal, 30 minutes or so from start to finish. I’ve worked long hours this week, but prefer home-cooked over carryout if I can muster the energy. This filled the bill, and bonus points for being really pretty darn good! (I had a little bit of slow-roasted San Marzano tomatoes that already had garlic and fresh basil in it, so I threw that into the mix and saved a couple of steps). Thanks for sharing this Grace and Food 52! I have to say to the petty reviewers: this dish is not Sandra Lee, and even if it is old to you, it’s new to me (and probably others). Plus any 15 year old should be able to handle this simple recipe. “People....they’re the worst.”

Eva C. September 12, 2019

I hesitate to add another negative review, but... a well-written recipe should include all the specific information needed for the most inexperienced cook to produce the dish correctly.
In step 3, is assembling the lasagna done on the stovetop? Is the heat turned off? Half the ravioli and sauce is spooned out of the skillet into a bowl. When the ravioli from the bowl is returned to the skillet there is no mention of any sauce remaining in the bowl. Is it presumed that all of the sauce adheres to the ravioli? If not, what should be done with any remaining sauce?
Step 5, no step 5? How should leftovers be stored? For how long?
These may seem like questions with obvious answers. I've been cooking for many years and I'd know what to do. What about the 15-year-old beginning cook who wants to make supper for the family? Unclear. Too much guesswork.

YellowTulips September 13, 2019

Eva C. - I don't agree. The questions you're asking require only "common sense" thinking. This is an easy-peasy quick weeknight meal NOT a complex French recipe from "Larousse Gastronomique".

Lighten up!

icharmeat May 5, 2020

2tattered,
while i agree with you almost entirely, but i do understand Eva C.'s questions. I have seen recipes here that have omitted crucial steps that have only been corrected after someone has asked the question. This isn't one of those cases, necessarily but with only a modicum of kitchen know-how, one does have to make some educated guesses. A new cook looking for an easy recipe as this has been billed might not know what to do.

For me, a kitchen veteran, there is a missing bit of information- how big a skillet. A large skillet for me might be enormous for someone else or vise versa. I think the first time i prepared this, i used a 12" and it seemed a bit too roomy (thin casserole) after the final bake. I'm helping my kids prepare it tonight and my 19 year old son selected the 10". The 10" will be perfect for the final dish but it is challenging for a novice to properly cook the ravioli in the sauce in a 10" skillet because it is nearly brimful (i just cleaned the rangetop over the weekend so I did the addition of ravs and the turning yet i still made some mess- grrr). Why not do the initial preparation in a larger, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet and then build the final dish in a preheated, lightly oiled 10" pan? You end up with the same number of dirty dishes but the recipe is simpler to prepare without making a mess of your stovetop. If anyone reads this, I hope they find it helpful.

cosmiccook September 19, 2020

The recipe is telling you to take HALF of the pasta out, layer 1/2 of the cheese PUT BACK the other HALF that's in the BOWL and put the remainder of the cheese on top and then put in the oven to brown the cheese on top. Not difficult to figure out.

Gonzalo September 12, 2019

Really, F52 staff? I'm sorry but this recipe sounds straight out of Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade.

Gonzalo September 16, 2019

I'm not trying to be a food snob here but we're in a cooking site. Why do we come here if not to learn new techniques, new recipes, etc? Tossing some pre-made ravioli with cheese, sauce in a skillet in the oven seems redundant at best.

icharmeat October 8, 2020

You ask why? Because sometimes a person just needs a little inspiration to get a decent meal on the table in a reasonable amount of time. I've only been on Food52 for four years but I see all kinds of time savers and weeknight-friendly recipes and I have made some of them (and I have been grateful for the inspiration and general guidance). I like to cook and have been doing some level of cookery since I was six or seven years old (we had a footstool in the kitchen for us kids). I am not a food recipe developer so I rely on others to provide some guidance- a recipe to work from.

Every person needs to eat but not every person has a need prepare a gourmet meal every night. I guess my point is that this site is for all people that are preparing meals, not just the experienced cook.

Zo H. September 12, 2019

I’ve made a similar recipe in a pan from Real Simple magazine. It didn’t require cooking the ravioli first. To me that’s way easier.

Zo H. September 16, 2019

Thanks for the fact check. Hope that felt good.

Eva C. September 19, 2019

All hail the Grace Parisi fan club! 2tattered appears to be president of the local chapter.