Spinach Ricotta Ravioli With Pesto
This spinach ricotta ravioli with pesto, parmesan, and, optionally, chili flakes makes for a quick and tasty weeknight dinner. The key to it is a great fresh pesto, which you can make at home in minutes.
And if you love pesto as I do, I’ve got more recipes for you to try, including this pesto pasta, this pesto chicken bagel sandwich, this burrata with pesto and tomatoes, and this roasted broccoli walnut pesto pasta.
What You Need for the Recipe
- Spinach ricotta ravioli – 1 lb (homemade or store-bought) spinach ricotta ravioli.
- Pesto – ¾ cup fresh basil pesto, homemade (ready in just 5 minutes). Alternatively, you could find fresh pesto (not the jarred kind) in many grocery stores.
- Lemon – 1 tbsp lemon juice (plus more to taste) and lemon zest.
- Parmesan – 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan.
- Flaky sea salt – a pinch of flaky sea salt (plus salt for the water to cook the ravioli in).
- Freshly ground black pepper – a pinch of ground black pepper.
- Chili flakes – 1/2 tsp (or to taste), optional.
How to Make It
Step 1. Cook the ravioli. If using store-bought ravioli, follow the package instructions to cook them. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Turn down the heat so the water only gently simmers, and then add the ravioli. The key is simmering the water (not boiling it hard) so they don’t break. For the fresh ravioli depicted below, it takes only 3 minutes of gentle simmering for them to be ready. Drain them, but reserve 1 tablespoon of the water.
Step 2. To a bowl or pot large enough to hold the ravioli, add the pesto, one tablespoon of the reserved pasta water, lemon zest, one tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Mix the pesto sauce, and then gently add the ravioli. Fold them gently into the sauce so they don’t break.
Step 3. Plate the ravioli and top with freshly grated parmesan and chili flakes/red pepper flakes (optional). It helps to use a silicone spatula to get all the sauce from the serving bowl into the individual bowls.
While the ravioli are great on their own, you could also serve them with this parmesan, basil, garlic baguette.
More Pasta Dishes to Try
- Lemon Parmesan Pasta with Fresh Basil
- Pasta with Smoked Pancetta & Marinated Artichoke Hearts
- Smoked Salmon Pasta
- Creamy Spanish Cured Chorizo Pasta
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 lb spinach ricotta ravioli homemade or store-bought
- ¾ cup fresh basil pesto homemade
- 1 tbsp lemon juice plus more to taste
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
- a pinch flaky sea salt plus salt for the water to cook the ravioli in.
- a pinch ground black pepper
- ½ tsp chili flakes or to taste, optional
Instructions
- Cook the ravioli. If using store-bought ravioli, follow the package instructions to cook them. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Turn down the heat so the water only gently simmers, and then add the ravioli. The key is simmering the water (not boiling it hard) so they don’t break. For the fresh ravioli depicted in this article, it takes only 3 minutes of gentle simmering for them to be ready. Drain them, but reserve 1 tablespoon of the water.
- To a bowl or pot large enough to hold the ravioli, add the pesto, one tablespoon of the reserved pasta water, lemon zest, one tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Mix the pesto sauce, and then gently add the ravioli. Fold them gently into the sauce so they don’t break.
- Plate the ravioli and top with freshly grated parmesan and chili flakes/red pepper flakes (optional). It helps to use a silicone spatula to get all the sauce from the serving bowl into the individual bowls.
