Baked Ravioli

Layers of cheesy ravioli, savory sauce, melted mozzarella, and nutty parmesan. This is like baked ziti, only easier and (if you ask me) WAY better. Plus, you need 5 ingredients and 30 minutes and dinner is served. We can all get behind a dish like that.

If you know me, you know this - I don't like to serve things the way most packages intend. I like to season, stack, assemble, and otherwise play with my food. But, that doesn't mean I spend any extra time creating dinner. In fact, in this case - dinner was streamlined because I used refrigerated ravioli, bottled sauce and shredded/grated cheese. The best part is, it looks like I worked really hard. Let's keep that our little secret...

I used cheese ravioli for this dish, but you can use beef ravioli, tortellini, or any stuffed pasta you like. I prefer refrigerated ravioli (versus the kind found in the dry pasta aisle) - it just seems fresher to me. Use whatever YOU prefer.

The same is true of the sauce. I've made plenty of homemade pasta sauces in my day. If I had to pick, I would say the Marinara Sauce from my Cheesy Chicken Roll Ups and the Bolognese Sauce from my Penne Bolognese are my favorites. If you want to make the sauce from scratch, go with one of those. If not, grab your favorite bottled variety.

About the serving dish (or dishes): I love making individual casseroles. I think they look amazing and nobody has to worry about the ONE main dish getting picked over, or heaven forbid, completely consumed before everyone had seconds. Plus, it's great for families that eat at different times; you can bake the individual casseroles as needed.

Since my boys run track for 2 different schools, their practices end at different times, and on different days. It seems like one is always starving while the other one is out. That's why I started creating dishes I could bake or heat individually. Nobody wants a reheated dish when there's a fresh option that's just as easy. Even when we all eat together, I love creating individual baked dishes.

Want to prep ahead? Good idea. Assemble the casserole(s) as directed and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Pull the casserole dishes from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking (you don't want to start with a very cold dish because it may bake unevenly). Remove the plastic and bake as directed below.

Baked Ravioli

Cooking spray
1 pound ravioli of choice, I prefer cheese ravioli from the refrigerated section
3 1/2-4 cups pasta sauce of choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish or four individual baking dishes with cooking spray.
Cook the ravioli according to the package directions. Drain and toss (gently) with the olive oil.
Spoon a small amount of the pasta sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan(s), just enough to glaze the bottom. Arrange half of the ravioli over top. Top with a generous amount of sauce. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers - ravioli, sauce and mozzarella. Top with the parmesan cheese. Cover with foil (if the foil will touch the cheese, coat it with cooking spray first).
Bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese melts.

Serves 4