Pesto Ravioli combines perfectly caramelized roasted veggies with tender cheese-filled ravioli and loads of fresh basil pesto. Top each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and another spoonful of pesto for an unforgettable pasta dish!
Try some other easy ravioli recipes next, like this Baked Ravioli Lasagna or this easy Ravioli Salad!
Pesto Ravioli
We love this simple Pesto Ravioli! Sometimes ravioli can feel like a big, heavy meal, but the veggies and pesto add freshness, vibrancy, and lightness, making this such a refreshing meal!
It’s made with just two pans– one extra large sheet pan and a pot for boiling the pasta in.
It’s also such an easy recipe to adapt to whatever you have on hand.
Grab whatever veggies you like best, have lurking in your fridge, or growing in your garden — there are endless possibilities here since ravioli and pesto pair so well with so many different things.
Let’s Talk Pesto
Since the pesto is the star of Pesto Ravioli, make sure you use a delicious one. You can of course make your own, but if you’re looking to save some time (this dish is supposed to be super-quick and simple after all!), I’d recommend getting a refrigerated, freshly-made basil pesto, which you can find near refrigerated fresh pasta and gourmet cheeses. Rana’s® Basil Pesto is my personal favorite store-bought pesto sauce. Buitoni’s® Basil Pesto is another favorite. (Neither brands sponsor this post.)
Freshly made pesto can certainly be spendy, but it lasts a good amount of time and a little goes a long way to add loads of flavor to so many dishes.
After making Pesto Ravioli, consider adding some leftover pesto to some of our favorite dishes like:
- Creamy Pesto Orzo made in one pot in 30 minutes or less!
- Pesto Pizza made on naan (super quick!)
- Pesto and Sausage meal made in foil packets
- Creamy Pesto Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes
- Pesto Chicken Tortellini easy 30-minute meal
- Pesto Chicken with corn and bean salsa
Let’s Chat Ravioli
Fresh ravioli. Beyond the pesto, the other main flavor ingredient in this recipe is the ravioli. I recommend getting a type of ravioli you love.
Our favorite is pictured above — Rana’s® 4-Cheese Ravioli (the 10-ounce size). It has four kinds of cheese — ricotta, Romano, mozzarella, and gorgonzola. Another favorite is Buitoni’s® 4-Cheese Ravioli. It has four cheeses as well — ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano.
Be sure to get a bag about 9-10 ounces in size — this is the perfect amount of pasta-to-veggie ratio for Pesto Ravioli!
Pesto Ravioli Veggies
For the roasted veggies, we combine three different peppers, a yellow onion, and cherry tomatoes. Below are some tips for this recipe:
- When cutting the peppers, aim for equal 1-inch pieces to promote even roasting.
- For the onion, we want it very thinly sliced. And the cherry tomatoes don’t require any prep — yeah!
- Freshly mince the garlic. Although the point of this recipe is to be quick and easy, pre-minced garlic tends to burn on the sheet pan, so I do recommend chopping your own. If you’d rather not, add jarred garlic in the last few minutes of roasting or add some additional garlic powder to taste.
- Use a very large sheet pan: The more space the peppers, onion, and tomatoes have (the less crowded they are) the better they roast and the better they’ll taste in this dish. When vegetables are overlapping on a sheet pan, they end up steaming instead of roasting. This definitely affects the end taste and texture. (See “quick tip” box below)
Quick Tip
We’re obsessed with this 15×21-inch sheet pan – which gives the veggies ample room to get nice and evenly roasted. Also, note that cooking time changes quite a bit (it’s much longer) when the veggies are overlapping or don’t have enough space.
Ravioli With Pesto Toppings
Pesto Ravioli is incredible right out of the oven, but the finishing touches make it! Serve plates right from the pan and add the following:
- A drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.
- Another large spoonful (or a few small spoonfuls) of additional pesto.
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (we love grating it over plates with a microplane — this fine texture melts into the dish beautifully!).
- Optional: some finely chopped fresh basil or parsley!
How To Make Pesto Ravioli
- Prepare Pesto: Blend fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil until smooth. Keep some texture in the pesto; don’t over-blend.
- Cook Ravioli: Boil ravioli in salted water until al dente, then drain. Salt the water generously to flavor the pasta.
- Combine: Toss the cooked ravioli with the pesto sauce gently. Add pesto in stages to evenly coat the ravioli without overwhelming them.
- Serve: Plate the pesto ravioli and garnish with extra Parmesan cheese or fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately while hot to enjoy the best texture and flavor.
More simple pasta recipes
- Zucchini Pasta Sauce with thin spaghetti noodles
- Chicken Pot Pie Pasta made in one pot!
- Creamy Pesto Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes
- Italian Pasta Salad with an Italian-inspired vinaigrette
- Pasta Soup with veggies and sausage
Pesto Ravioli and Veggies
Equipment
- large sheet pan, 15 x 21-inch recommended
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers I use 1 red, 1 orange, 1 green
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (10-ounce) package fresh 4-cheese Ravioli see note 1
- 1/3 cup fresh basil pesto see note 2
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese optional, see note 3
- Fresh basil or parsley, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers and chop peppers into even, 1-inch cubes. Thinly slice the onion.
- Add chopped bell peppers, sliced onion, olive oil, salt and pepper (or to preference), garlic powder, and dried basil to a very large sheet pan (15x21-inch) or 2 smaller ones. Toss with your hands until ingredients are well combined. Space out veggies in an even layer so they don’t overlap. Bake 10 minutes. Remove and add tomatoes and minced garlic on top. Toss to combine, spacing veggies out again so they have plenty of room to roast, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes (see note 4).
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously salt the water (I add 1 teaspoon salt to every 4 cups water). Boil the ravioli according to package directions, subtracting 1 minute from the package’s indicated time. Drain.
- When veggies finish roasting, remove from oven and immediately toss drained ravioli on top. Spoon the pesto evenly over everything and toss on the sheet pan to combine. Return to oven for 1–2 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately, adding an extra drizzle of olive oil and a few more spoonfuls of basil per plate. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and if desired, some fresh basil or parsley. Enjoy immediately!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
HI! This looks delicious! I have the sun dried tomato pesto instead of Basil pesto , what do you think ?
I’ve never actually had a sun-dried tomato pesto so not sure how the flavors would work; sorry I wish I could be of more help!
I also used arugula and parmesan ravioli, as I’ve never seen this brand before.
Sounds delicious! 🙂
Made this recipe tonight….But cut the pesto down to 2 Tbs. It’s supposed to be used sparingly. 😉
Not only was this delicious and easy but it was so pretty!
Thank you!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this dinner! Thanks for the comment Julie 🙂
Just found GF ravioli (yay!) and I can’t wait to try this!
Awesome!! I hope you love it 🙂
Gah!! This recipe looks legit amazing! I adore pesto. I haven’t had the parmesan and black pepper ravioli before, it sounds delicious!