What do you do for self care? I think most people avoid cooking themselves a good meal as part of their self care routine because it sounds like a lot of work, but recipes like these Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce are an incredibly fast and easy way to do something special for yourself. It’s an elegant restaurant-quality meal, without the huge bill at the end. ;) So turn off that phone, light a candle, pour yourself a glass of white wine, sit down to this fancy-pants ravioli, and just enjoy the moment. 💆♀️
And since this makes two servings, it also makes a great date night meal. ;)
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What’s Up with Brown Butter?
It’s pretty much the best thing ever in the entire universe. Brown butter is what happens when you cook butter long enough to make the butter solids get all toasty and delicious, but not so long that they burn. You can use brown butter in baked goods, sauces, and just about anything to give your recipe a nutty-sweet flavor. For more information about this liquid gold, check out my tutorial on How to Make Brown Butter.
Brown Butter Sage Sauce is Magic
Okay, so now you know how incredible brown butter is, let me just sing the praises of this super simple brown butter sage sauce. This incredibly simple yet elegant sauce is rich, nutty, herbaceous, and not too heavy. It’s the perfect way to lightly dress the ravioli in flavor and moisture and it perfectly balances the subtle sweetness of the ravioli filling. Once you make this brown butter sage sauce you’ll start to think of all the other foods you could drizzle it over. Pour it over baked sweet potatoes, gnocchi, wild rice pilaf, or pork chops.
Ravioli Alternatives
I used an awesome butternut squash ravioli (from Aldi) for this recipe, but you could use any regular cheese ravioli, or even something like gnocchi. Squash or pumpkin flavors go especially well with the brown butter and walnuts, but if you can’t get your hands on that, regular cheese flavors are also great.
Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Servings 2Ingredients
- 9 oz. ravioli* ($2.89)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped ($0.57)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.52)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
- 1/4 lb. fresh spinach ($0.60)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan ($0.11)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the ravioli. Once boiling, add the ravioli and cook until tender (check package for specific cooking times, as this can vary with the ravioli size or whether it is fresh or dried). Once cooked, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain the ravioli in a colander.
- While the ravioli is cooking, prepare the rest of the dish. Mince the garlic and chop the walnuts before you begin the sage brown butter sauce, since the sauce cooks very quickly.
- Add the butter to a large skillet and melt it over medium-low heat, stirring continuously. Once the butter begins to sizzle and becomes foamy (about 2-3 minutes), add the minced garlic and chopped walnuts. Continue to stir and cook over medium-low heat until the sediment in the skillet turns deep golden brown (about 3-5 minutes). Once it becomes browned, remove it from the heat, and stir in the dried sage.
- Add the spinach and the 1/4 cup reserved ravioli cooking water to the skillet. Return the skillet to low heat, and stir until the spinach is wilted (about 2 minutes). Taste the spinach and add salt to taste. Finally, add the cooked and drained ravioli to the skillet with the spinach and sage brown butter sauce, then toss to coat.
- Serve the ravioli with a light dusting of grated Parmesan and freshly cracked pepper over top.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce – Step by Step Photos
This is the ravioli I used, which is a seasonal product from Aldi. As mentioned above, you can use regular cheese ravioli, or even gnocchi for this dish. 9 oz. is kind of a weird package size, but you could use anywhere from 8-10 oz. of ravioli or gnocchi for this amount of sage brown butter sauce. Start boiling a pot of water for the ravioli first. Once boiling, add the ravioli and cook according to the package directions (only about 3 minutes for this fresh ravioli). Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain the ravioli in a colander.
While waiting for the water to boil and the ravioli to cook, you can prepare the rest of the dish. Prep the ingredients for the sage brown butter sauce before you begin melting the butter because the sauce cooks quickly, so you don’t want to be double-tasking. Mince a clove of garlic, and chop 1/4 cup walnuts.
First add 4 Tbsp butter to a large skillet and melt it over medium-low heat. Wait for the butter to begin sizzling and for it to get a bit foamy on top (about 2-3 minutes), then add the chopped walnuts and minced garlic.
Continue to stir and cook the butter, walnuts, and garlic over medium-low until the sediment turns a deep golden brown like in the photo above (about 3-5 minutes). Remove the skillet from the heat (it will continue browning with the residual heat of the skillet, so it’s important to take it off the burner to slow this down).
Finally, stir in 1/2 tsp dried sage.
I should have gotten two separate photos here, so sorry. First add the 1/4 lb. spinach and the reserved 1/4 cup cooking water to the skillet, return the skillet to low heat, and stir until the spinach is wilted (about 2 minutes). Taste the spinach and add a pinch or two of salt, if needed. Finally, add the ravioli and toss to coat in the sage brown butter sauce.
Sprinkle a little bit of grated Parmesan and freshly cracked pepper over top just before serving.
Too much fats, increase # of servings.
this is one of my favorite “new dinners” since not usually a fan of packaged pastas and ravioli,. etc. and since making this a few weeks ago have made it 2 more times and now today. It is also a fancy cuisine dinner without the fancy prices. Many thanks.
I love how simple this recipe is! I felt it needed a bit more seasoning so i added creole seasoning to it! A TRUE easy weeknight meal!!
This was outstanding. Very nice meal. This would go well with a great glass of Chardonnay.
I didn’t love the taste of the spinach cooked in the pasta water, and it seemed to take away from the brown butter. Next time I would wilt the spinach separately, drain it, and skip adding the pasta water when I combine it with the rav and nuts.
My boyfriend distracted me and I FORGOT THE PASTA WATER, so I used 1/4 cup half and half instead which was actually super delicious. Also I used potato gnocchi and I think it worked well.
Loved this recipe as a springboard. Used pecans instead and ended up adding another couple tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of heavy cream for a slightly richer sauce. A heavy dash of cracked black pepper at the end was lovely. Served it with italian sausage. Yum!
Delicious! We doubled the recipe for three adults and ate it all up. Emily bought a pig of cheese pasta and some pumpkin pasta. We used pecans instead of walnuts because that is what we had. (There were walnuts labeled 10/13. From the looks of the package I think that was 2013? Yikes. We tossed those.) Otherwise followed the recipe. Easy to make.
Haha, there’s nothing that makes you realize how fast time flies like looking at the date on pantry items! The other day I found some spices that had a “best by” date that was a few years ago, but I SWEAR I just bought them! 🤣
Great autumn meal that tastes just as good the next day! The only change I made was that I used fresh sage I had leftover instead of dried. Will definitely make this again!
Delicious- had with my butternut ravioli and subbed pecans and mushrooms for walnuts and spinach (pantry items). So goood!!!
Can this sauce be made with earth balance vegan butter or does it only work with real dairy butter??
Unfortunately I haven’t tried it with vegan butter. I’m not sure if that butter browns the same way that dairy butter does.
Could I use fresh sage instead of dried? Thank you!
Yes, fresh sage would be amazing in this.
I’ve been using sage browned butter for years with mushrooms ravioli. Will have to try this new version out.
This was awesome! I had to “pantry shop” a bit because I didn’t have all the same ingredients and I doubled it for my family of 4 (with 2 teen boys). I used cheese tortellini, pepitas (planned on pine nuts because I’m the only one that likes walnuts, but was out), low on spinach but had a box of “power greens” in the fridge that included kale and chard. My husband really liked it and my one picky eater ate it – so a WIN in my book. Thanks!
Could I triple this recipe? I have 3 9oz packages of ravioli. My only concern would be the pasta water… does 3/4 cup seem like a lot? Thanks!
You definitely could! I would cook the pasta in batches though to ensure even cooking.
Thank you! Also, if I add mushrooms, when should I add them? Or should I cook them separate and add them when I add the ravioli to the sauce?
I’d add them with the spinach.
This recipe is simple and delicious! Couldn’t believe how easy it was. I used kale instead of spinach. You can use whatever you have.