While I love cooking from scratch, there are always those nights when all I have the energy to do is grab a few grocery store staples and throw them together for a quick meal. Recipes like this Easy Zucchini Sausage Ravioli are kind of “semi-homemade” but still far less expensive than going out to eat, and therefore totally invaluable!
What’s in Zucchini Sausage Ravioli?
For this super quick weeknight meal, I took advantage of a bag of frozen cheese ravioli, a jar of pasta sauce, and some Italian sausage links that I had left over in the freezer. And as usual, I needed to add some vegetables, so I cut up two pounds of zucchini (one of summer’s least expensive and versatile vegetables) and tossed that into the pot. Zucchini goes extremely well with both pasta sauce and Italian sausage, so it was a natural choice.
Bake it! …Or Not.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can transfer the pasta into a baking dish, cover the Zucchini Sausage Ravioli with a layer of cheese, and bake until it’s nice and bubbly on top. That would have made a beautifully irresistible “pin” but you know what? The ravioli already has cheese and I just didn’t want to over do it. So, I saved time, effort, and money, and just ate the ravioli as is. I wasn’t disappointed.
Fresh, Frozen, or Dry Ravioli?
You can typically find three types of ravioli at most major American grocery stores–fresh, frozen, and dried. And they’re all in different places in the grocery store. Here is a little more info on each type so you can decide which ravioli you prefer to use:
- Fresh ravioli – this type of ravioli is usually found in the refrigerated foods department. It has the best flavor and texture and takes only about three minutes to cook, but it is also usually the most expensive.
- Frozen ravioli – I find this type of ravioli to be the best balance between flavor, texture, and price. You’ll find it in the freezer department (if you couldn’t tell).
- Dry ravioli – you’ll find these near the other dry pastas. These ravioli are usually quite small, need to cook longer, and don’t have quite as good flavor or texture as fresh and frozen ravioli.
Easy Zucchini Sausage Ravioli
Servings 4 (1.5 cups each)Ingredients
- 1 20oz. bag frozen cheese ravioli ($3.99)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 8 oz. Italian Sausage ($1.99)
- 2 lb. zucchini ($3.21)
- 1 24oz. jar pasta sauce ($1.97)
Instructions
- Cook the ravioli in a large pot according to the package instructions, then drain in a colander.
- Add the olive oil to the pot used to the cook the ravioli, then add the Italian sausage. If the sausage is in a casing, squeeze it out of the casing and into the pot. Sauté the sausage over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Break the sausage up into small pieces as it cooks. Drain off the excess grease if needed.
- While the sausage is browning, slice the zucchini into half moons. Once the sausage is browned and excess grease drained away, add the zucchini. Continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more, or just until the zucchini is slightly softened.
- Add the pasta sauce and cook a few more minutes to heat through. Finally, add the drained ravioli and stir until the pasta is coated in sauce. Serve hot.
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Nutrition
Love ravioli? Try my Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce!
How to Make Zucchini Sausage Ravioli – Step by Step Photos
Start with a 20oz. bag of ravioli (or similar size). Cook the ravioli according to the package directions. This brand only needed a quick 5 minute simmer in boiling water. I was determined to use only one pot to make this meal, so cook the ravioli in a large pot that is big enough to house all the ingredients later.
Drain the ravioli after cooking. You can just leave it there while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
A while back I had bought a large pack of Italian sausage and frozen them in two link portions. Two links is 1/2 lb., which is about the amount of meat that I like to use in recipes. I tend to go light on the meat and higher on vegetable content.
Add one tablespoon of olive oil and the 8oz. of Italian sausage to the same pot that was used to cook the pasta. If your sausage is in links, squeeze it out of the casing. Sauté the sausage over medium heat until golden brown, breaking it into small pieces as you cook. If there is a lot of grease on the bottom of the pot, drain it off (mine didn’t have much, so I didn’t drain).
While the sausage is browning, cut 2 lbs. of zucchini into half moon slices. These zucchini were a little on the small side, so two pounds was about 4 zucchini.
Once the sausage has browned, add the sliced zucchini. Continue to sauté just until the zucchini begins to soften (about 5 minutes). You don’t want it completely limp, just soft around the edges. It will still cook a bit more and you don’t want it to end up mushy.
Finally, add a 24oz. jar of sauce and let it heat through (just a few more minutes). This is where you have some control over the ingredients. You can use a low sugar sauce or whatever flavor sauce you prefer. I used a very basic pasta sauce, but mushroom flavor or garden blend sauces would be nice as well.
Finally, add the drained ravioli and stir until everything is coated in sauce. The raviolis might be stuck to one another from chilling in the colander for a while, so just stir gently and carefully separate them. You don’t want the ravioli to tear. You can loosen them with a quick rinse of water while still in the colander, but I don’t like that method because then the sauce doesn’t stick to them quite as well. I’ll carefully pry my ravioli apart instead. :)
Zucchini Sausage Ravioli – a very quick, very filling, and a great alternative to take out!
A little meat, a little pasta, and a lot of vegetables.
I’ve been making this for years since Beth first posted this recipe. It’s so quick and simple to make and tastes great, everybody always loves it! I usually add extra zucchini and a full pound of spicy Italian sausage because I know I will eat the leftovers the rest of week. It’s almost like a lasagna with zucchini. Also – I always refer this specific recipe to people who “don’t cook” like recent college grads bc it’s easy and delicious. Thanks Beth!
So easy
I love a good recipe with only a handful of ingredients! I subbed the ravioli for tortellini just because its a personal preference. So yummy!