Ravioli Sauce
Ravioli’s Perfect Partner
This rich and savory Ravioli Sauce is designed to be the perfect complement to ravioli, providing each bite with layers of bold Italian flavors. Crumbled Italian sausage is browned to bring out its rich, spiced flavor, then simmered with sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese for a slightly sweet and tangy contrast.
I have made this sauce with homemade ravioli as well as store bought and it’s always a hit. There’s no easier meal than a package of supermarket ravioli with this delicious, creamy sauce.
Perfect for a special Sunday dinner or tasty weeknight delight.
Big Fan Of The Rav
I am a huge ravioli lover. A long time ago, I used to help Mister Tipsy’s cousin Joann make homemade ravioli.
It was a great day when she made them as the whole family would come over and feast on her labor of love. That being said, I do not have the patience for making it homemade.
Luckily there are a lot of great brands out there. My current favorite is the Rana Pasta kind that is sold in the dairy section of the grocery store.
I even find this brand at Aldi.
I started to make this sauce years ago for a quick and easy pasta night. This Ravioli sauce cooks up fairly quickly and requires only ONE step where you are cutting anything.
When I think about it, you can even eliminate the cutting step that you will see on the recipe card below.
This sauce is simple enough for a weeknight and special enough for a Sunday dinner. Pair it with a big salad like my Pizza Salad, for a wonderful Italian meal. Come to think of it, my Caesar Salad would also complement this really well!
One Extra Step
This sauce is pretty straightforward as you will see on the recipe card. The extra step I recommend is creaming the cream cheese in a separate bowl before adding it to the sauce.
You do this by cubing the cream cheese and adding some of the water you are boiling for the ravioli. This helps make the cream cheese nice and creamy before adding it to the sauce.
I recommend putting the bowl in the sink to whisk the cream cheese cause it will slosh around a little bit. You will see that this helps add a velvety texture to the finished sauce.
Easy and Cheesy
I add the shredded cheese a little at a time so that the sauce doesn’t thicken up too much too fast. I usually shred my own cheese, but lately I am enjoying the thicker shreds they sell in the pre packaged section of the cheese department.
This recipe uses a mix of Parmesan and a Mozzarella/Provolone mix. It makes the sauce smooth and creamy.
Feel free to add as much cheese as your heart desires.
Ravioli Sauce
Browned, crumbled Italian sausage with tangy sun-dried tomatoes and creamy cheese all blend together to make the perfect ravioli bite.
Ingredients
- 1 lb of spicy or mild Italian sausage, removed from the casings
- 1 heaping tablespoon of savory onion or beef Better Than Bouillon *pictured in post
- 1 to 2 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 to 2 cups of shredded mozzarella and or provolone cheese
- 3 1/2 cups of water *approximately
- 8 ounce package of cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste *can sub tomato powder
- 1 tablespoon of dried parsley *or to taste
- 6 ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes *drained but save the oil for other recipes
- 1 to 2 packages of fresh or frozen ravioli
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Instructions
- Remove the sausage from the casings, add the butter to a deep sided skillet, melt the butter and add the sausage. Cook until fully cooked and golden brown, use your spatula or a ground meat chopper to break up the sausage into a smaller crumble.
- Add the tomato paste and the Better than Bouillon and sauté for about 5 minutes, you want the tomato paste to caramelize a little but not burn.
- Fill a pot with water to boil for the pasta, have this boiling as you will use a little of the boiling water for a step in the sauce preparation.
- Add three cups of water to the skillet with the sausage and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about fifteen minutes on a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally.
- Cut your cream cheese into cubes and add to a larger bowl, when the pasta water starts to boil, add about 1/2 cup of the boiling water to the cream cheese and whisk until it is smooth and creamy. You may have to add a little more boiling water to the cream cheese, whisk until smooth and then add to the simmering sausage mix.
- Continue to simmer the sausage with the cream cheese for about 15 minutes, whisk it occasionally. I like the color to be a reddish pink, so if you want to eyeball adding more tomato paste to the sauce you can add a 1/2 tablespoon at a time. There is no right or wrong.
- Add your ravioli to the boiling water to boil according to the package directions.
- When your sausage sauce has reduced, drain your sun dried tomatoes from the oil. I save the oil in the fridge for another recipe. Chop up the tomatoes and add to the sausage mix, simmer for 10 minutes. The liquid should have reduced in the pot a bit, so it should have a liquid soup/stew texture. If for some reason it simmered out, add a little of the pasta water a little at a time.
- Add your Parmesan and Mozzarella/Provolone cheese a 1/2 cup each at a time and whisk in until the sauce thickens to your liking. Keep the heat very low during this step. Add as much cheese as you like until the sauce is as thick as you like. IF for some reason you make it too thick, again, thin it out with some of the pasta water. Add your dried parsley, simmer for a minute or two.
- Serve over your ravioli OR you can add your ravioli right to the sauce.