Homemade ravioli is a delicious Italian pasta that is stuffed with your favorite veggies or cheese. This melt in your mouth recipe will make you fall in love with making your own pasta. Our recipe requires no special tools. Plus, it’s beginner friendly so you can make it even if you have no experience making pasta.

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My Homemade Ravioli Video Recipe

What is Ravioli?

Ravioli is a traditional Italian pasta that is stuffed with cheese, meat or vegetables. You can serve ravioli with different sauces, like our homemade pesto, alfredo, or your favorite red sauce, ours is marinara.

Ravioli is popular in many parts of the world. It’s been a family favorite since our trip to Italy, where we tasted a variety of different ravioli filled with different cheeses and vegetables.

What's the difference between homemade and store bought frozen ravioli?

During one of our trips to Italy, we fell in love with freshly made pasta for it's texture and flavors. Ever since our Italian night rituals, always call for freshly made pasta at home.

Nothing beats homemade pasta. If you have never made homemade pasta, you don’t know what you are missing.
Unlike store bought pasta and noodles, homemade pasta is so tender and it simply just melts in your mouth.
And they are easier to make than you might think! This recipe requires making a simple eggless dough to make the pasta.
It’s also a great family activity. You can get your kids involved in stuffing the past and rolling it out.
You can either make this pasta using a pasta rolling machine or roll it out with a simple rolling pin. Even with no experience making pasta at home, you can easily make this recipe.
This ravioli recipe is also very budget friendly. You likely have all or most of the ingredients you need at home right now.

Homemade Ravioli Ingredients

You will need to assemble ingredients for the pasta and for the ricotta filling. When you are ready to make this, you’ll need to get the following ingredients.

To make the pasta dough

Our delicious ravioli uses homemade noodles. For the noodles, you’ll need:

All purpose flour, spelt flour, or gluten free flour
Semolina flour
Salt
Water
Olive oil

To make the spinach ricotta filling

The ricotta filling tastes delicious nestled between fresh pasta. Here’s what you’ll need:

Spinach - We prefer fresh spinach for this.
Ricotta cheese
Seasonings - You’ll need basil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

For Garnish

Finally, you’ll need a couple of ingredients as a garnish or sauce for the ravioli. They include:

Olive oil
Our Homemade Pesto

How to make homemade ravioli?

I highly recommend you watch the video recipe too, so you can nail your homemade ravioli at home in the first time itself. It involves three simple steps.

Kneading the dough
Making the filling
Rolling the dough
Fill the stuffing
Seal the edges
Cook the ravioli

How to make homemade ravioli dough

First, add all the ingredients for the pasta dough into the bowl and knead it into a soft dough. Next, use your hands or stand mixer to knead the dough together.
Once it is ready, shape the dough into a ball, wrap it with a cling wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 mins until the dough stiffens a little.

Best filling for this homemade ravioli recipe?

As vegetarians, our all time favorite is spinach ricotta filling. It's easy to source the ingredients and never disappoints you when it comes to flavors. Here is how to make your filling.

As the dough rests, wash & sauté the spinach for 3 to 5 minutes or until it’s wilted.
Once wilted, allow the spinach to cool and press it to drain all the water. Then wrap it in a clean tea towel to remove any excess liquid. Before adding the spinach to the ricotta, make sure it is as dry as possible.
Next, chop the spinach finely and transfer it into a bowl. Finally, add the ricotta, salt, and pepper to the filling and mix it well.

Rolling the dough

Once the dough has rested, divide it into 8 equal portions.
Working with one portion at time, lightly dust it with flour.
Next, flatten it with a rolling pin or a pasta rolling machine(both options are shown in the video) into an oval or rectangular shape. As you roll it, try to make it as even and thin as possible.

Filling the pasta

You can either use a ravioli mold (shown in the video) to filling your pasta or just fill it on the counter top directly.

If using a ravioli mold

Line the ravioli mold with a layer of rolled pasta
Using your fingers sink the pasta gently into the cavities.
Add a teaspoon of filling into the cavities.
Dip your index finger in water and moisten between the raviolis.
Cover with the second sheet of pasta and roll out the sheet gently to seal the raviolis.
Flip the tray out and then cut the raviolis using a pizza cutter or a pastry / ravioli wheel.

If not using a mold

Once the pasta sheet is rolled flat, scoop a teaspoon of the spinach ricotta filling and place it on the lower half of dough. Keep scooping small amounts of the spinach ricotta and place them in a line on the lower half of the dough. As you place them, make sure they are about 1-½ inch apart.
Next, seal the edges. Dip your finger in water and run it around the edges of the dough. The extra moisture helps seal the dough.
When you’ve added the water, fold the upper half of the dough on top of the filling. Use your fingers to gently seal the edges around each pocket of filling.
Next, use a pizza cutter or a pastry / ravioli wheel to cut out the squares of filling. Finally, use a fork to seal the edges by pressing it down on all sides.

Cooking the ravioli

Cooking the ravioli is super easy! To start, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Or, you can bring salted water to a boil using the Instant Pot’s saute function.
Carefully slide the ravioli in the pot and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until they start floating.
Finally, drain the pasta and gently toss or drizzle with olive oil and pesto sauce.

How to serve Homemade Ravioli

Ravioli makes a perfect main dish. The combination of noodles, cheese, and spinach is comforting and filling.
We love serving this recipe with olive oil and pesto or marinara sauce on top. But if you like, you can use your favorite red sauce, alfredo sauce, Marinara sauce, or Pesto sauce.
No pasta dish is complete without a side of Italian bread or other dinner rolls. They are perfect for soaking up any leftover sauce.
You can also roast up extra veggies. Some of our favorites include asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Pro tips and tricks

Making pasta for the first time can be intimidating. Here are some pro tips and tricks to get you started.

Make sure to leave about 1-½ inches between each portion of filling so they do not become overly stuffed.
Don’t forget to wet down the edges of the pasta and press them firmly together before cutting them into individual squares.
Don’t over cook the pasta! It only needs about 3 to 4 minutes or until they float to the top.

What flour do I need to make ravioli?

You need to use all purpose flour and semolina flour for the noodles. They provide the best texture and taste for the ravioli.

What sauce pairs well with this homemade ravioli recipe?

We love to pair this ravioli with our pesto and our homemade Marinara sauce.

Is this recipe vegan?

The base recipe is not vegan. But you can make it vegan if you use only spinach as a stuffing. Or you could use a vegan cheese and spinach instead of regular ricotta.

The pasta itself is naturally vegan because it does not contain any egg. Also, the recipe is vegetarian.

How to store this homemade ravioli recipe:

Ideally, you will make enough pasta to eat in the same sitting. The pasta can store, but it is much tastier when eaten while it is still fresh.

If you need to store leftovers, you can place them in a pyrex container or other airtight container. As you store them, make sure to line the layers with parchment paper in between.

Can I freeze this homemade ravioli?

Yes, you can freeze cool ravioli. To freeze, allow it to come to room temperature and then place in a freezer safe container. Make sure to layer them with parchment paper.

To reheat, place the frozen ravioli in the fridge overnight to thaw. You can then gently warm them for a few minutes in boiling water or place in the microwave.

Can this homemade ravioli recipe be made ahead of time?

You can make the dough ahead of time if you need to. Once it is made, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for about 1 to 2 days. When you are ready to make the dough, remove it from the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature. Finally, follow the rest of the recipe as written.

Why did my ravioli stick to each other?

Salt in the boiling water can help prevent sticking. Also, try to place the ravioli in individually so they are not cramped together.

The edges of my ravioli opened when boiling

If the ravioli edges start to open during cooking, one or two things likely happened. The first is they may be overstuffed. If they are overfilled, they can split when cooking. The second reason is that you may not have pressed the edges together firmly enough.

Other pasta recipes you’ll love

If you love pasta as much as we do, then you need to check out these other great recipe ideas:

Black bean pasta
Aglio olio
Penne pomodoro
Haluski
Cacio e Pepe Recipe

Let us know what you think

If you make this delicious recipe, let us know how it went! When you make this, be sure to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @dbellyrulesdmind or Facebook @thebellyrulesthemind!