An easier and faster version of a favourite pasta dish, this ravioli lasagna is absolutely amazing. Quick to make and tastes like the real thing!
Lasagna is one of my all time favourite pasta dishes.
I don’t think I’m alone on that – everyone I know loves lasagna. What’s not to love about meaty, cheesy layers of pasta goodness?
My mom’s lasagna recipe is amazing, and hands down my favourite way to enjoy this tasty pasta. But….sometimes you just don’t have time to make lasagna from scratch. It’s not hard, but the multiple layers do seem to take awhile. I always think it’ll be a half hour of cooking and lasagna will be in the oven, but it always takes way longer then that.
So I needed to come up with a quicker version. Because obviously we need lasagna in our lives more often.
This ravioli lasagna is fast, easy, and tastes like the real thing. It can even be managed on a weeknight if you want. It is best if you let the meat sauce simmer for about a half hour, but I’ve thrown it together after just 15 minutes of simmering and tossed it in the oven and it was still fantastic.
You don’t have to boil any pasta, just use the uncooked ravioli as the pasta and cheese layers all in one (I used ricotta and spinach filled ravioli), and layer them with some homemade meat sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for a half hour and you have one fantastic meal.
Plus, this ravioli lasagna is almost better as leftovers then it is the first time. With my family of five, a 9×13 pan of lasagna is quite a lot (my 5 year old doesn’t eat much yet), and we can actually get two meals out of this. In my opinion, that makes it even better – all I have to do is reheat and make a salad for a second meal the week I make this!
I might have a hard time convincing myself to make regular lasagna again. This ravioli lasagna is just way too easy!
I’ve also shared this Ravioli Lasagna Recipe over on The Weary Chef.
Ravioli Lasagna
An easier and faster version of a favourite pasta dish, this ravioli lasagna is absolutely amazing. Quick to make and tastes like the real thing!
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450g) ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4-6 button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 can (27oz, 796mL) diced tomatoes
- 2 cans (5.5oz, 156mL) tomato paste
- 600g (21oz) package ravioli (I used spinach and ricotta ravioli)
- 1 pound (454g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, over medium heat, brown the ground beef.
- Drain the grease, then add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, basil, salt and pepper to the pan.
- Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables have started to soften.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to combine.
- Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a 9x13 inch baking dish, assemble the lasagna.
- Place one third of the meat sauce in the bottom of the dish and spread it around to give a thin layer of sauce on the bottom.
- Spread one third of the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce.
- Cover this with half of the uncooked ravioli.
- Repeat the layers with another third of the meat sauce, another third of the cheese, and the other half of the ravioli.
- Finish with the last third of the meat sauce and the last third of the cheese.
- Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes, or until the cheese has started to brown and the filling is hot and bubbling.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes to set up before cutting it into squares and serving.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 533Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 118mgSodium: 720mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 40g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
Lynn
Friday 27th of October 2017
Can one jar of pasta sauce be substituted?
stacey
Saturday 28th of October 2017
Hi Lynn - I haven't actually tried that, but I've seen plenty of ravioli lasagna recipes that do that. I think if you used a large jar of pasta sauce to replace the tomatoes, tomato paste and seasonings it would work well. I think I would still use the ground beef, mushrooms, onions and garlic in the sauce - but you could probably omit everything except the ground beef if you want it to be really simple. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Bree
Thursday 13th of April 2017
What would I change if I wanted to take out the beef? Could I leave everything else the same or would i need to add more tomato?
stacey
Friday 14th of April 2017
Hi Bree, I haven't tried it without the beef, but you should be able to leave everything else the same. I wouldn't add more tomatoes as it might get too runny then, the amount of liquid doesn't change by omitting the beef so it should work just fine without it.
Judith Davis
Wednesday 12th of April 2017
About how many will this serve?
stacey
Wednesday 12th of April 2017
It should serve 8 adults easily. When I make it for my family of 5, it gives us two full meals, if we have a salad with it. That's with 3 kids eating, but two of them eat as much as I do so it should be about right for 8 adult portions. It reheats very well if you're not cooking for that many people though. Hope you enjoy it!
Pam
Monday 10th of April 2017
This looks so yummy and the photos are grand!
There doesn't seem to be any liquid in this recipe. Won't the sauce be a solid?
stacey
Tuesday 11th of April 2017
Thanks Pam! The can of diced tomatoes and the tomato paste give enough liquid in the sauce. You use the entire can of diced tomatoes, don't drain the liquid from it, and it doesn't end up solid at all. Hope you give it a try - it's delicious! :)