Baked Ravioli with Basil Marinara

Last year before my mother passed, we made our last batch of home-made ravioli together.  One year later, I used her delicious ravioli in this Baked Ravioli in Basil Marinara Sauce.  

What we didn’t have for dinner on the day that these ravioli were lovingly made by hand, we froze to enjoy later.  That’s how my family rolls . . . no small servings . . . always huge amounts to freeze for later use.

Since then every time I’ve opened my freezer door and looked at those beautiful ravioli staring back at me, I think of my mother and I making them last February and how I will never be able to sit by my old wooden table filling and pressing these beauties while talking the afternoon away.  One part of me thought it would be almost sacrilegious to eat her final handmade stuffed pasta pillows . . . and the other part of me said, ‘If you don’t prepare these soon, they will be ruined by freezer burn.  And then Mom would not be very happy with me for having wasted all of the time and ingredients it took to make them.’  And she didn’t waste anything!

My second thought won the inner debate.

I wanted to try something new and so I prepared a layered Ravioli Bake in Basil Marinara Sauce.

Everything but the cheese was made by hand with my mother or by myself.  And it makes such a difference!

Now, yes, you can buy all of these ingredients.  And that’s OK.  But if you want to learn how to make homemade ravioli, here’s the link — How To Make Hand-Made Ravioli — and I’ve also posted it again below.  

This Baked Ravioli is really tasty and I hope you try it!

And in every bite, I remembered my Italian mother and everything that she taught me in her cucina.
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.Here is the post again for “How To Make Hand-Made Ravioli“

How to Make Home-Made Italian Ravioli

lay out the ravioli on wooden boards to dry

 

Print
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Baked Ravioli in Basil Marinara Sauce

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  • Author: Roz
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Additional Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
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Ingredients

Scale

  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 20 – 30 homemade ravioli OR a 20-oz. bag of frozen ravioli (homemade is much better)
  • 2 quarts of homemade marinara sauce OR 2 large jars of store-bought marinara sauce
  • 1 heaping teaspoon of dry Italian seasonings (oregano, sage, rosemary, basil blend)
  • 8 oz. container of ricotta cheese
  • 1 jumbo egg
  • 4 Tbsp. freshly grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese OR pecorino
  • 2 balls of soft mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 3 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

  1. Pour the olive oil in a large, heavy pot and warm it on a medium heat stovetop.
  2. Add garlic to the hot oil and cook for one minute; do not burn.
  3. Add the marinara sauce.
  4. Add the Italian seasonings.
  5. Mix well and heat thoroughly.

While the sauce is warming up, prepare the cheese filling

  1. Whisk together the ricotta cheese, egg, and parmigiana cheese.
  2. Whisk in the basil.
  3. Fill a tall pot of water about 2/3rds full and bring the water to a boil. Throw in about a teaspoon of salt.
  4. Add the ravioli. If it is frozen then cook for 5 minutes and no more; you want it to be al dente!
  5. If you are using freshly made ravioli, do not boil it all, but use directly into the baked ravioli.

Assemble the Baked Ravioli

  1. Layer some of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a baking pan.
  2. Gently place a layer of the ravioli on top of the sauce.
  3. Pour another layer of marinara sauce on top of the ravioli.
  4. Pour the ricotta/egg/cheese mixture over the marinara sauce.
  5. Gently place a second layer of the ravioli on top of the cheese mixture.
  6. Pour the last of the sauce on top of the ravioli.
  7. Place all of the mozzarella slices on top; use finely grated mozzarella cheese if you don’t have the soft balls.
  8. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 45 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven.
  9. Half-way through the baking, check to see if the cheese is getting too dark.
  10. If so place a baking sheet above the ravioli bake on the oven rack above OR lightly cover with aluminum foil; you don’t want the cheese to burn.

Notes

  • I made this with my family’s homemade ravioli and homemade marinara sauce. You can use store-bought jars of marinara sauce as well as pre-made ravioli if you are in a hurry and don’t have time to make either.

 

Here are a few recipes using ravioli that caught my eye on the Web:

Baked Ravioli from What’s Gaby Cooking

Baked-Ravioli-1

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Ravioli Bake with Spinach and Artichokes

baked ravioli

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Toasted Ravioli by Small Town Woman

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Enjoy this recipe for Baked Ravioli in Basil Marinara Sauce !

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