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 on a tray

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.

Ingredient shot-- all the ingredients that go into this dish

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: 

Process shots--tossing the veggies with seasonings and olive oil

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!

Process shots--tomatoes added to the roasted veggies; cooking ravioli; ravioli in a large bowl

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.

Process shots: adding ravioli to the roasted veggies; adding dollops of pesto; mixing everything together; serving

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

  1. 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.
  2. Cook Ravioli: Boil ravioli in salted water until al dente, then drain. Salt the water generously to flavor the pasta.
  3. Combine: Toss the cooked ravioli with the pesto sauce gently. Add pesto in stages to evenly coat the ravioli without overwhelming them.
  4. 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.

Pesto Ravioli

More simple pasta recipes

5 from 3 votes

Pesto Ravioli and Veggies

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 unforgettableย pasta dish!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 21 minutes
Total Time: 36 minutes
Servings: 2 -4 servings

Equipment

  • Recommended: 15ร—21 inch sheet pan

Ingredients  

  • 3 bell peppers (I use 1 red, 1 orange, 1 green)
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for serving)
  • Fine salt and pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 cup (150g) cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 package (10 oz.; 283g) fresh 4-cheese Ravioli Note 1
  • 1/3 cup fresh basil pesto Note 2
  • Optional: freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh basil or parsley Note 3

Instructions 

  • PREP: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). Remove the stems and seeds of the bell peppers and chop them into even 1-inch cubes. Thinly slice the onion.
  • ROAST VEGGIES: Add the chopped bell peppers, sliced onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste, I add 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/4 teaspoon pepper), 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon dried basil to a very large sheet pan or 2 smaller ones (I use a 15x21-inch pan). Toss with your hands until ingredients are well combined. Space out veggies in one even layer, so they aren't overlapping. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and add the tomatoes and minced garlic on top of everything. Toss to combine, spacing the veggies out again so they have plenty of room to roast, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. See Note 4.
  • RAVIOLI: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water (I add 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to every 4 cups of water). Boil the ravioli according to package directions, subtracting one minute from the package's indicated time. Drain.
  • ADD PESTO: When the veggies are finished roasting, remove from the oven and immediately toss the drained ravioli on top. Spoon the 1/3 cup pesto evenly over everything and toss on the sheet pan to combine. Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes.
  • SERVE: Remove from the oven and serve immediately on plates adding an extra drizzle of olive oil and a few more spoonfuls of basil per plate. Top plates with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and if desired, some fresh basil or parsley. Enjoy immediately!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1:ย  Ravioli: 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! Our favorites in this recipe are Ranaโ€™sยฎ 4-Cheese Ravioli (the 10-ounce size) andย Buitoni's 4-Cheese Ravioli.ย 
Note 2: Pesto: The pesto is a big part of the flavor; I recommend getting a refrigerated, freshly-made basil pesto, which you can find near refrigerated fresh pasta and gourmet cheeses. Ranaโ€™sยฎ Basil Pestoย is my personal favorite store-bought pesto sauce, Buitoni'sยฎ fresh basil pesto is another favorite and we've tested that in this dish as well.
Note 3:ย Parmesan: We like to use a block of Parmesan cheese and grate on the small holes of the cheese grater or microplane right over the plates -- so good!
Note 4: Veggies: Note that cook time changes quite a bit (it's much longer) when the veggies are overlapping or don't have enough space to roast. If crowded or overlapping they will steam instead of roast which will result in less flavor and texture!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 853kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 1284mg | Potassium: 716mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 7005IU | Vitamin C: 258mg | Calcium: 144mg | Iron: 17mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

More Recipes You'll Love

5 from 3 votes

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




10 Comments

  1. Sarah says:

    HI! This looks delicious! I have the sun dried tomato pesto instead of Basil pesto , what do you think ?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      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!

  2. Carole says:

    I also used arugula and parmesan ravioli, as I’ve never seen this brand before.

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Sounds delicious! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Carole says:

    Made this recipe tonight….But cut the pesto down to 2 Tbs. It’s supposed to be used sparingly. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. Julie says:

    5 stars
    Not only was this delicious and easy but it was so pretty!

    Thank you!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      So happy to hear that you enjoyed this dinner! Thanks for the comment Julie ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Michelle says:

    Just found GF ravioli (yay!) and I can’t wait to try this!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Awesome!! I hope you love it ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Christina says:

    5 stars
    Gah!! This recipe looks legit amazing! I adore pesto. I haven’t had the parmesan and black pepper ravioli before, it sounds delicious!