Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce

Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce is so quick to make with a few healthy ingredients including fresh mushrooms and asparagus. Serve this easy 30-minute dinner recipe with fresh bread and dinner is done! This family favorite is picky eater approved!

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Why this is the best ravioli with alfredo sauce

It's easy. Roast the asparagus, boil the ravioli, saute the mushrooms, pour it all together with the sauce. That's it.

It's quick. You're going to use a jar of pre-made Alfredo sauce which makes this recipe come together in under 30 minutes.

It uses common ingredients. Your local grocery store undoubtedly has everything you need to make ravioli alfredo.

It's creamy comfort food. Cheese, alfredo, and pasta - what could be better?

There are lots of veggies in it. You can feel good about feeding alfredo ravioli to your kids because it's loaded with fresh veggies!

It tastes great! You will have to try different alfredo sauce brands until you find one that you love, but once you get the right one, this might just become your new favorite meal. It's not one of those "4-ingredient dinners" - but I think that's a good thing because the flavors are rich and complex.

It's versatile. You can add chicken or ham to the sauce for a heartier meal. You can add extra or different veggies to change the flavors. You can add different spices to the sauce. You could even switch out the alfredo sauce with marinara or another type of sauce.

What you'll need to make cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce

EQUIPMENT

• Baking sheet - This is to roast the asparagus. I suppose you could cook it a different way, but I think roasted asparagus tastes better than any other preparation.
• 12-inch skillet - You'll need a large skillet. Cast iron would be fine or whatever you have.

INGREDIENTS

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

• Fresh asparagus spears - You're going to cut these into bite-sized pieces and roast them. If you've never used asparagus before, you'll need to trim off the woody stems. Using a sharp knife, try to cut the stem about two to three inches from the bottom. If the stalk seems tough, move up a little and try again. If it seems really tender, move down a little. Your goal is to find the spot where the woody stem ends and the tender spear begins, and cut off just the woody part. You don't have to do that for every spear though. Once you've figured out where to cut them, you can line them all up and cut them at the same spot.
• Olive oil
• Butter - Salted or unsalted does not matter. Salted butter has less than one teaspoon of salt per pound, and you probably will not notice whether you use one or the other.
• Spring onions - These are also called green onions or scallions. You'll want to slice or snip them. (Snipping the green part with kitchen shears makes it go really quick, but you'll have to cut the white part with a knife.) Use both the green and white parts.
• Mushrooms - You can buy these whole and slice them or buy sliced. I buy sliced. The only problem with that is that pre-sliced mushrooms spoil much more quickly than whole mushrooms, so just be aware of that.
• White wine - Any white wine will be fine. I don't like to drink wine, but I've heard a lot of people say that you should just use whatever wine you like to drink instead of buying "cooking wine" which is typically very salty and not tasty at all. When I make this recipe, I go to the liquor store and buy the smallest bottle of whatever white wine they have. It's usually 16 ounces, I think.
• Prepared Alfredo sauce - A jar of Alfredo sauce is the shortcut in this recipe. You could make your own Alfredo sauce from scratch, but using a jar makes this recipe come together in minutes. It already has all the spices in it, including garlic, salt, and pepper, but feel free to add if you want to. Make sure you taste it before you add anything. There are several different brands and varieties available in the grocery store, so experiment and find one that you really like.
• Cheese ravioli - I use frozen.
• Parmesan cheese - This is the grated cheese from the dairy case, not the powdery shelf-stable stuff. Grated Parmesan looks like little slivers of cheese because that's what it is. You can buy a block and grate your own if you feel so moved but I just buy it in a bag or a tub and call it good enough.

How to make alfredo ravioli

1. Prepare asparagus by cutting it into 2-inch pieces and discarding any segments that are tough or woody. Arrange in a single layer in a sheet pan. Drizzle with with olive oil and toss to coat.
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2. Roast asparagus at 400ºF for 15 minutes or until crisp-tender.
3. Boil the cheese ravioli in a large pot of water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
4. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Add mushrooms and green onions and saute over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
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6. When the mushrooms have started to darken, add the white wine.
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7. Heat until most of the wine has evaporated, then pour in the jar of alfredo sauce and simmer until the ravioli is done. (The ravioli isn't in the alfredo sauce yet; you're waiting until it's done boiling in water.)
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8. When the ravioli is done, gently stir it into the sauce mixture.
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9. Add the roasted asparagus to the skillet.
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10. To serve, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
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How to cook ravioli properly

Whether you're using frozen or fresh ravioli, you need to know how to cook it properly so that the filling doesn't end up in the boiling water!

The actual cooking times will vary depending on whether the ravioli is fresh or frozen and how thick the filling is. Watch it carefully and remove it from the water as soon as it floats to prevent the filling from leaking out.

These instructions work for all kinds of filled pasta, including all varieties of ravioli and tortellini.

How to cook frozen ravioli

1. Add one tablespoon of salt to a large pot of water and then bring it to a boil over high heat.
2. When it is boiling and the bubbles can't be stirred away, gently add the pasta to the water. Be careful as the pasta can splash water and burn you.
3. Stir the ravioli periodically to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. Wait for the water to start bubbling again, but at a simmer this time rather than a full boil. A simmer means that small bubbles are forming and breaking but not large ones. Reduce the heat to medium.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring periodically.
6. As soon as the ravioli rise to the top of the water, scoop them out or pour the pot into a large colander. If you want to double-check that they're done, you can cut one in half to make sure the pasta is al dente, and the filling is hot.

How to cook fresh ravioli

1. Add one tablespoon of salt to a large pot of water and then bring it to a simmer over high heat. This means that there are a lot of small bubbles but it's not a full boil.
2. Gently add the ravioli to the pot, being careful not to splash hot water on yourself.
3. Cook for one to two minutes or until the ravioli floats.
4. As soon as the ravioli rise to the top of the water, scoop them out or pour the pot into a large colander. If you want to double-check that they're done, you can cut one in half to make sure the pasta is al dente, and the filling is hot.

Variations

It wouldn't be ravioli with alfredo sauce anymore, but you could use a jar of marinara sauce in this recipe, and that would be tasty. You could also use a jar of pink sauce (what's that called? I don't know.) - you know, the sauce that's like half alfredo and half marinara, mixed together?

AFTER you have tasted the alfredo sauce, you could add some spices like red pepper flakes or fresh basil.

You could add other veggies to the sauce, like fresh spinach, broccoli, or cauliflower. You could also add a jar of Italian diced tomatoes. Drain the jar before adding it or else your alfredo sauce will be watery.

You could add more cheese to the sauce, such as additional Parmesan or shredded mozzarella cheese. Start with a handful and stir it in, let it melt, then taste it and see how you like it.

Or, you can top the ravioli and veggies with shredded cheese and then throw it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to melt and toast the cheese.

You could make this a heartier meal by adding cooked chicken breast. Shredded rotisserie chicken would be really quick and easy. So would a can of shredded chicken. You could also add some cubed ham.

Bacon makes everything better, am I right? Toss some crumbled bacon in with the asparagus or just sprinkle some over the top when you serve.

You can use any variety of ravioli. I use plain cheese most of the time, but mushroom or chicken are also great in this recipe.

Storing leftover ravioli alfredo

This pasta dish is just as good the second day! Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. If you keep it too long, the asparagus will get mushy and weird. Don't eat it if the asparagus has gotten mushy.

To reheat, place a single serving in the microwave or dump all the leftovers back into a large skillet and heat on the stove over medium heat.

You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer the fully cooled pasta and veggies to a plastic freezer bag or freezer container and store in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat in a large skillet over medium heat.

In either case, you may want to add a splash of milk when you reheat, as the pasta may soak up some of the liquid. Stir the milk in and reheat as desired.

Try these other quick dinner recipes:

• Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms
• Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts
• Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry
• Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken
• Indonesian Peanut Chicken
• Chicken and Veggies with Peanut Stir Fry Sauce
• Mini Chicken Pot Pies
• Pittsburgh-Style BBQ Ham Sandwiches
• Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry
• BBQ Beef Biscuit Cups

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