This easy meatball and ravioli casserole is a must-have for any family on their dinner menu. It’s quick and easy to make, so you can enjoy it without feeling too rushed in the kitchen. The comforting meatballs, cheesy ravioli, are covered in a rich tomato sauce with melty mozzarella cheese.
Just Dump and Bake the Ingredients Right from the Freezer
If you have ten minutes of prep time, this delicious meal can be baking in the oven for your whole family to enjoy in just over an hour. The best part is that I take all the ingredients straight from the freezer to the baking dish and into the hot oven. A super easy dinner recipe.
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Simplify your Busy Weeknight with Easy Dump and Go Meals
Family Favorites like this recipe are some of our preferred meals. We love Italian food too.
Tonight, we have choir in two hours. I am tired from working all day and would love to have a bit of down time before we leave. What did I make?
The Meatball and Ravioli Casserole of course. There is no need to boil the pasta or cook the meat. I went to the freezer, took out the frozen shredded mozzarella cheese, frozen cheese ravioli, and frozen meatballs. I grabbed a large jar of spaghetti sauce from the pantry, and I was ready to layer everything in the 9 X 13 baking pan.
It does not take much time at all to make. Less than 10 minutes to get everything into the dish, then into the oven while I relaxed just over an hour. We had 20 minutes to eat, and we were off.
My husband came home from work just as we were leaving, and he was happy to have a delicious hot and tasty meal waiting for him when he walked in.
The best part, since this is a one-pot meal, there is very little to clean up.
How to Make This Dump and Bake Casserole
This simple recipe is so easy. The hardest part is making sure that everything is in your freezer for those busy days when you need something healthy and stress-free.
Save time by preheating the oven 425 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time that you get everything into the casserole dish, the oven will be preheated and ready.
I sprayed the 9 X 13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray to keep things from sticking and it helps with clean up later.
Add the whole bag of frozen ravioli.
Next spoon about ¾ of the container of spaghetti sauce over the top of the ravioli.
Then I added the entire bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs.
Since the ravioli will soak up a bit extra liquid, I mixed 1 cup of water with the remaining spaghetti sauce in the jar and poured it over the meatballs.
Then add the frozen shredded cheese. Sometimes I need to pound on the bag a bit to break up the cheese before I can sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of the meatballs.
Pro-Tip. Spray the tin foil lightly with the nonstick cooking spray too so the cheese does not stick and cover the pan with the foil.
Bake for 1 hour with the foil on. Then remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes.
That’s all there is to it. Just sit back and relax and let the oven to the work. Bake meatball ravioli casserole for busy weeknights.
Easy Family Meal Recipe
When you’re craving a delicious and easy meal, just raid your freezer. The ravioli soaks up all the amazing sauce flavors and the meatballs help make this a hearty and satisfying meal.
Ravioli Meatball Casserole Recipe
The smell of freshly cooked ravioli and meat balls fills your home on a cold night after working all day. What better way to end the hard work week than with something satisfying, cheesy pasta? The recipe is ridiculously easy to make, which means that this meal will be ready in no time at all! Keep some frozen raviolis or other leftovers from dinner for next time you need an instant hit like lasagna but don’t want anything heavy either; just enough taste without weighing down your stomach too much during those busy days when cooking never seems appealing.
How to Cook Frozen Ravioli?
There are two main methods that I have used to cook ravioli from a frozen state. Frozen ravioli can be boiled or baked. However, more recently, there has been a third method introduced by social media. Frying the pasta so it is a little crispy on the outside. This third method required a breading and hot oil.
How to Bake Frozen Ravioli?
Ravioli can be baked right in the sauce until al dente with no boiling required. Just add a bit of extra cooking time to ensure that it’s cooked all the way through. Bake at 400 F for 40 – 50 minutes and you’re done
How Long to Boil Frozen Ravioli?
The best way to tell if your ravioli is cooked through and has a toothsome bite? It’s ready when it floats. If you put some into boiling water, they should be done in 3-5 minutes (most types). Once cooked al dente, drain off any excess liquid before adding the sauce of choice.
Can you Cook Frozen Ravioli in Sauce?
Baked ravioli is a much easier way to cook this pasta dish then making the dough and cooking it all separately. Simply layer your frozen homemade or store-bought shells in an ovenproof dish with sauce, bake at 400 F for 40 – 50 minutes and you’re done!
Recipe Tips and Variations
Use any kind of frozen ravioli. While I used plain cheese ravioli today, you can add one that is filled with meat and cheese, mushroom and cheese, or spinach and cheese. This recipe is very forgiving, so use the kind that you enjoy eating.
Just make sure that the frozen meatballs are the pre-cooked kind. Beyond that, you can choose the kind that you prefer, all beef, a mixture of proteins, Italian style, or frozen homemade meatballs. I think this would also work with Italian sausage too if that is what you happen to have on hand.
Today, I used mozzarella cheese; however, any other melting cheese works great with this recipe. I often have a wide variety of shredded cheeses in my freezer.
There are always jars of spaghetti sauce in my pantry. I especially like the chunky vegetable kind. However, this is another area where you can use what you happen to have on hand. Any marinara sauce you like will work. No worries, it will work with this recipe.
Take this pasta bake to the next level by adding a bit of fresh basil or fresh parsley chopped on top when serving.
Make this Pasta Bake in a Slow Cooker
This is a great recipe to make in the slow cooker. Since there is minimal prep time, just dump in the layers and let the slow cooker to do the work. Cook on high 3 hours or low 5 hours. We love our easy one-pot meals.
How Long will This Meatball and Ravioli Bake Last?
If you do happen to have leftovers, they will last in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Just store in an airtight container.
What to Serve with Ravioli?
The only part this comfort food meal is missing is a salad and fresh garlic bread. This cilantro lime slaw is crisp, crunchy, and tangy with a light, yet zesty vinaigrette salad dressing.
This roasted beet salad with beet greens and Feta uses all of the nutritious goodness of beets.
Garlic Bread and a casserole with marinara, cheese, and pasta is always a winner.
You can find Victoria crocheting, quilting, and creating recipes. She has cooked in restaurants for over 20 years, including many larger parties. She learned to crochet when she was just 11 years old and has been crocheting ever since; over 50 years now. Over 40 years ago, she loved her first class in sewing and continues to hone her skills in quilting. Many have enjoyed the handmade gifts over the years. In her professional career, she has worked in management in a wide variety of businesses including higher education as a dean of a division. All the while attending college part-time to achieve her doctorate in higher education with an emphasis in e-learning.