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Ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling, in tomato cream sauce - meatless, Italian style pasta dish, with everything made completely from scratch! Learn how to make ravioli dough from scratch, how to shape ravioli, what filling to use and what sauce to make. Detailed instructions and step-by-step photos to show you how to make the ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling at home!
I was originally planning to post a light-hearted and easy recipe about how to make a yummy plum drink, but I changed my mind and instead I took an endeavor of making fresh pasta ravioli from scratch. So I made super delicious spinach ravioli with ricotta cheese filling in a creamy tomato sauce. Here is my recipe featured on SeriousEats Weekend Cook and Tell: Fresh Pasta. Very exciting!
Even though the below recipe on how to make ravioli has many steps, making fresh pasta ravioli is actually pretty easy, especially because you have a very detailed tutorial that I created below. I have created and tested the below recipe, to make sure I have the exact proportions for the ravioli dough (pastry), so if you follow my steps precisely, you will create a wonderful ravioli dish that will impress your family and/or guests.
The most important part here is to roll your ravioli dough very thinly - that's the secret to great tasting ravioli! To roll it thinly, the dough should have just the right proportion of water to flour, which I denoted in my ingredients section below. It is important to let ravioli dough sit for an hour, covered in plastic wrap, so that the gluten does its job, and the resulting dough is nice and elastic enough for you to work with.
And, finally, I think it's great to learn how to make your own ravioli, because then you can endlessly experiment with fillings instead of just buying what grocery stores offer you. I am personally never impressed with the selection of pre-made ravioli in stores, so that's primary reason why I learned to make my own.
Below are some step-by-step photos illustrating major steps on how to make ravioli from scratch. The actual recipe is below the photos. Make sure to scroll down all the way for the complete recipe.
Ravioli Dough Ingredients
1 ¼ cups flour
1 egg
¼ cup hot water
¼ teaspoon salt
How to make ravioli dough from scratch
First, make the ravioli dough according to the recipe instructions below and let it sit for 1 hour.
- Mix flour with salt.
- Stir water with egg until well mixed.
- In a bowl, combine flour and egg-water mixture together and mix until well incorporated. Knead the ravioli dough until well-textured and firm. The dough should not be too wet or too sticky. It should only stick to itself, but not to your hands. However, it should not be too dry, either.
- Make the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap. Let the ravioli dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using. This allows gluten to work.
How to make spinach and ricotta cheese filling
- Heat olive oil on medium heat, add spinach and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until spinach wilted, about 15 minutes.
- Cook for 5 or 10 more minutes uncovered until all liquid evaporates.
- Chop cooked spinach finely and move to a bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese, salt to taste and mix well. Add more salt if necessary.
How to make ravioli from scratch
- Divide the ravioli dough (instructions on how to make ravioli dough from scratch are above) into 2 equal halves and roll each half into a very thin sheet with a rolling pin.
- Make sure to have flour on hand and dust the working surface or rolling pan when necessary, because the dough will be sticky. It's important that the ravioli dough be rolled very thinly (paper-thin), otherwise ravioli will be too solid when cooked, because dough expands during cooking. Also it will be really hard to use the ravioli mold if the dough is not thin enough.
- Once you rolled sheets of dough, shape individual raviolis. To shape ravioli, I use a very handy device, Ravioli mould/tray, which works great! I purchased it at William-Sonoma, you can see the picture of it below:
How to shape ravioli using the mold
- Dust the working mold tray with flour
- Lay a thin layer of ravioli dough on the tray
- Press the ravioli dough in the holes of the mold
- Fill the holes of ravioli dough with the spinach ricotta cheese filling, without overfilling
- Cover with another layer of ravioli dough, which should lay flat all the way across the mould
- Using the rolling pins or your fingers, press the upper layer of ravioli dough against the lower layer, close and cut the ravioli
- Overturn the mold tray to let the ravioli fall out
Below photos illustrate these steps:
You can take the scraps of the dough and add them to your covered dough for future rolling.
When you are done shaping ravioli, bring a big pot of water to boil, add ravioli and cook for 5 minutes, then drain. Or, alternatively, freeze ravioli until you're ready to cook them.
How to make tomato cream sauce
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Chop tomatoes and garlic and add to the pan. Cook covered for about 10 minutes until tomatoes soften.
- Add white wine and chopped thyme. Bring to boil and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes until half of liquid evaporates. Remove from heat, let it cool for a bit.
Then transfer to blender and puree the tomato mixture. Transfer the puree back to the pan, reheat to medium heat and add heavy cream. Stir until well incorporated.
Cut each grape tomato in half and add all of them to the pan with the tomato cream sauce. Salt to taste and and more chopped thyme if needed. Cook for 5 more minutes.
To serve, add cooked ravioli to the sauce at the last minute. Allow both ravioli and the sauce achieve same temperature. When serving on plates, garnish with thyme.
More ravioli recipes
[catlist name=Ravioli numberposts=-1 excludeposts=this]
Spinach Ravioli with Ricotta Cheese Filling, in Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
How to make ravioli dough from scratch:
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup hot water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 oz spinach
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Tomato cream sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups grape tomatoes yellow and red
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make ravioli dough from scratch:
- Mix flour with salt.
- Stir water with egg until well mixed.
- In a bowl, combine flour and egg-water mixture together and mix until well incorporated. Knead the dough until well-textured and firm. The dough should not be too wet or too sticky. It should only stick to itself, but not to your hands. However, it should not be too dry, either. Make the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using. This allows gluten to work.
How to make ravioli cheese filling:
- Heat olive oil on medium heat, add spinach and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until spinach wilted, about 15 minutes.
- Cook for 5 or 10 more minutes uncovered until all liquid evaporates.
- Chop cooked spinach finely and move to a bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese, salt to taste and mix well. Add more salt if necessary.
How to assemble ravioli using ravioli mold:
- After the ravioli dough has been resting at room temperature for 1 hour, divide the ravioli dough (instructions on how to make ravioli dough from scratch are above) into 2 equal halves and roll each half into a very thin sheet with a rolling pin. Make sure to have flour on hand and dust the working surface or rolling pan when necessary, because the dough will be sticky. It’s important that the ravioli dough be rolled very thinly (paper-thin), otherwise ravioli will be too solid when cooked, because dough expands during cooking. Also it will be really hard to use the ravioli mold if the dough is not thin enough.
- Once you rolled sheets of dough, shape individual raviolis. To shape ravioli, I use a very handy device, ravioli mould/tray, which works great! Step-by-step photos are above the recipe box.
- Here is how to use Ravioli mould:1) dust the working tray with flour2) lay a thin layer of pastry on the tray3) press in the holes4) fill the holes with the filling, without overfilling5) cover with another layer of ravioli dough, which should lay flat all the way across the mould6) using the rolling pins or your fingers, press, close and cut the ravioli7) overturn the tray to let the ravioli come out
- When you are done shaping ravioli, bring a big pot of water to boil, add ravioli and cook for 5 minutes, then drain. Or, alternatively, freeze ravioli until you’re ready to cook them.
How to make tomato cream sauce:
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Chop 2 tomatoes and garlic and add to the pan. Cook covered for about 10 minutes until tomatoes soften.
- Add white wine and chopped thyme. Bring to boil and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes until half of liquid evaporates. Remove from heat, let it cool for a bit.
- Then transfer to blender and puree the tomato mixture. Transfer the puree back to the pan, reheat to medium heat and add heavy cream. Stir until well incorporated.
- Cut each grape tomato in half and add all of them to the pan with the tomato cream sauce. Salt to taste and and more chopped thyme if needed. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- To serve, add cooked ravioli to the sauce at the last minute. Allow both ravioli and the sauce achieve same temperature. When serving on plates, garnish with thyme.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
What kind of spinach do you use? Fresh spinach or the frozen kind? Thanks. I’m going to make this today.
I used fresh spinach.
Hi Julia! I was planning on making this recipe for a birthday dinner in about a week, and was wondering whether or not you need to use a ravioli mold to shape your ravioli - also, is it possible to freeze your ravioli for up to a week? Thank you so much!
I used a ravioli mold to shape my ravioli but you can definitely use whatever tool you have for making ravioli. You can definitely freeze the ravioli - I've done it many times!
Hey Julia, great recipe! Can I use a substitute for Ricotta Cheese like Cream Cheese? Thanks x
Wow, fabulous recipes Julia..
Just checking that the dough recipe is for 12 and the filling and sauce is for 24, an I correct? I am trying to use the whole container of ricotta to make a large batch, then freeze for easy weeknight meals. Thanks so much for posting this recipe, it's exactly what I was looking for! Also if using a manual pasta machine to roll out dough, what thickness would you recommend? 1/8"? 🙂
Yes, that is correct. The dough recipe is for 12 ravioli because that's how many the ravioli mold holds. To make the 24 ravioli, just double the ingredients for this step only (ingredients for the ravioli dough only). I wrote it like that to make it convenient to have enough ingredients just for the 12 ravioli in the mold. And, yes, the rest of the recipe is for 24 ravioli. So, double the dough ingredients in the first step! Yes, the thinner the dough the better, 1/8" sounds right!
Hello, Julia! Today is National Pasta Day and I look forward to trying this recipe. My question is: What (if anything) can I use to substitute the white wine? I don't drink alcohol. Thank you!
Hi Julia-
I've made a lot of ravioli before, and while the method is good, the flavor is a little bland. The filling needs some spice or herbs. Maybe adding thyme to the filling and extra salt. And adding red pepper flake to the sauce helps spice it up as well. Just a couple of suggestions.
Great suggestions, thank you!
Hi Julia,
I have just bought this exact mold! I would love to make your recipe! It sounds perfect! Do you know what the measurements would be in grams or ounces? I'm from the UK and I'm not too sure on cups...
Thanks so much!
Harriet
I made this last night and it was one of the best things I have ever eaten! The sauce was so quick and easy. Thanks!
Hi there. I plan on making this for supper tomorrow night however because I am Muslim I do not drink wine. What can I use as a substitute for the white wine in the tomato cream sauce?
On the flour for ravioli, is that a cup and a 1/4 or is that eleven/4?
Thanks
Nina
That's 1 and 1/4 cups - I corrected the wording so that it's 100% clear now. 🙂
Can you make the raviolis a day or two ahead of time? How long will they keep without needing to freeze?
Thanks!
Natalie, I've never kept uncooked ravioli refrigerated - I don't think they will keep well that way. You can do 2 things:
1) Cook ravioli and then refrigerate cooked ravioli - they keep well for 4-5 days!
2) Freeze uncooked ravioli right after you make them. This way you can store them for up to 2 months (to preserve freshness), and to cook them - you just throw them in the pot with boiling water. I used to make fresh ravioli and freeze it right away, only to cook it the next day. Works beautifully!
I have yet to make the ravioli's. There really just hasn't been enough time in my days, BUT... the sauce... OMG!!! I absolutely adore it. I wanted something different and found myself buying spinach ravioli and was lost for what sauce to serve it with. I looked and looked for a recipe and found this one. It was so incredibly easy, amazingly delicious, and won over my family. This sauce makes a regular appearance in this house. THANK YOU!!! And one day, I will attempt the ravioli. 🙂
Kathy, thank you for your sweet comment! I am so glad you and your family enjoyed the sauce! I am very flattered to hear that this sauce "makes a regular appearance" in your house. 🙂
I was looking for a good filling recipe for ravioli and found this one on Pinterest to go with my marinara sauce I keep making because of my garden bounty of tomatoes. I love my sauce but am looking forward to trying yours another day. I do have the mold and love it. I found it at Marshall's for around $17. It makes a great gift in a basket with canned sauce, recipes and a fresh loaf of homemade bread! I also bought a SMALL stainless scoop because ravioli is so easy to overfill and takes all the joy out of it trying not to explode your pasta! One last thing if I may, if you have a kitchenaid, the pasta roller and cutter set is well worth the investment. It rolls your dough for making sheets for lasagna, ravioli, bowties, etc. and the cutters are fabulous for noodles and spaghetti!
Tami, I am glad you came over to my site, and I hope you tried this recipe! I am jealous because you have your own garden! I want my own garden so badly but I don't have space, neither do I have time. I love the ravioli mold too (it makes things so easy), and I've been wanting to get ravioli cutters as well, just never got around to it. I have big plans about making my own pasta (using European flour no less! 🙂 ) so soon I might be getting that pasta roller and cutter set you're talking about. Thank you for the tips! 🙂 You're right - it's so important not to overfill ravioli - through practice, I've learned to place just enough ravioli filling so that it's leveled with the flat side of the ravioli mold, and the mold actually gives you a good idea on just how much filling is needed.
will unbleached flour work?
Yes, it would, the ravioli might look a little darker, but it shouldn't be even that noticeable.
I made this last night for friends and it was FANTASTIC!! I'm still daydreaming about how good it was. A couple notes......I doubled the ravioli filling because I have my own dough recipe that I knew would make 48 raviolis and I planned to freeze half. I did not, however, double the spinach and it was perfect. I did everything else exactly like instructed and MAN....I even impressed myself! My go-to recipe for company from now on. We are trying your Asian Salmon and Noodles tomorrow and I'll be using fresh-made pasta that I froze last week. I am new to pasta making (like literally just started last week) and am amazed how easy it really is. And so worth the effort for how much better it tastes.
Diane, thank you for such a sweet comment! I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe! I was surprised how easy it was to make pasta dough for ravioli (but I have not made pasta noodles from scratch yet, and it always REALLY impresses me when other people can make actual pasta noodles from scratch).