Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

The Dinner That Makes Life Easier

This super-easy crockpot ravioli casserole is a weeknight lifesaver. This crockpot meal comes together in minutes and tastes like you slaved over a lasagna for hours.

How to Make Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

I cannot believe I haven’t shared this super-easy crockpot recipe before. This ravioli casserole is such an easy meal that comes together quickly, tastes incredible, and is perfect for those times life gets crazy and you’re looking for an easy weeknight recipe that doesn’t take forever to make.

One busy evening, this came together with leftovers and stuff we always have on hand. As soon as my family took one bite, they asked me what was so different this time around…

It was amazing. Seconds were mandatory.

Ingredients for Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

This is another one of those ridiculously easy crockpot recipes. Four ingredients: frozen ravioli, a jar of sauce, sausage, and mozzarella cheese.

Done. This is one of those meals I know I can count on, which is why I always have a bag of ravioli in the freezer waiting to be turned into a meal.

Crockpot Ravioli Casserole Recipe:

• Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it into tiny pieces as you cook. Make sure to drain it really well. If you don’t do this part, the casserole will be super-greasy.
• Remove the insert from your crockpot and coat with non-stick cooking spray. This will help with cleaning up as well as preventing cheese from sticking in spots as it melts.
• Return the insert to your crockpot and pour a little of the jarred sauce in the bottom, spreading it into a thin layer. This will help with moisture and will prevent sticking.
• Add a layer of ravioli spread out evenly, followed by sausage, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Cook on low for 3.5 hours or high for 1 hour 45 minutes, though if your crockpot cooks on the hotter side, keep an eye on it at this point. It’s done when ravioli are cooked through, the cheese is melty throughout, and it appears to be mostly set.
• Allow casserole to rest 10 minutes before scooping to serve. This will allow the casserole to set up and make scooping much easier.

Garlic bread or dinner rolls would be the perfect accompaniment to this casserole, something to soak up all that glorious sauce. Or, keep it really simple and serve up a quick, easy, green salad.

Can I Gift this Dish?

Yes! This is the ultimate giftable casserole.

It’s easy to bring to someone else’s home, it will feed an entire family, and doesn’t call for any instructions. It’s a great option if a friend or family member has a new baby, has had surgery, or is having a really rough week in general.

Just show up with this beauty and leave them to enjoy.

Can I Change up this Recipe?

If you want to sneak in a few veggies, you can add in some frozen, chopped spinach. Be sure to thaw the spinach out, then squeeze out as much water as possible, or your casserole might turn out a little watery.

For protein, you can use ground beef, ground turkey, or shredded rotisserie chicken. The rotisserie chicken is an easy way to save some time, but doesn’t pack the same flavor punch as the sausage, so make sure to make a tasty sauce to compensate.

If using ground beef or ground turkey, add some Italian Seasoning and garlic powder to keep that robust flavor. For vegetarian, omit the meat and double the cheese, or substitute spinach-and-cheese ravioli.

Use mozz and provolone if possible, the ultimate combo for a killer cheese pull. Want to take it up a notch?

Whisk a few tablespoons of cream cheese into the pasta sauce to give it a creamier, richer flavor, more like those baked pastas you see at restaurants.

How It Keeps and How to Reheat It

Cover any leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Honestly, these kinds of casseroles often taste even better the next day, I’d say leave it in the fridge at least a day or two if you can.

To reheat, nuke an individual portion in the microwave, adding a teaspoon of the pasta sauce or a small splash of water to any portions that seem a little on the drier side, or pop a larger portion in a 350 degrees F oven, covered in foil, until heated through. Enjoy!

You can cook the sausage ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. Otherwise, I’d assemble it right before cooking.

The texture of the dish is better when you don’t leave the frozen ravioli sitting in the sauce too long, as they’ll just get all soft and sad.

Three Ways to Use What’s Left

The best part about a dish like this is you can enjoy the leftovers in so many different ways. Here are my favorites:

Pasta Bake. Spread out leftovers in a 375° F preheated oven in an oven-safe casserole dish.

Add a little extra marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese and bake for about 20 minutes, until bubbly and crispy-edged!

Pasta Soup. My kids LOVE this option.

Just dump leftovers straight from the fridge into a big pot on the stove and cover with beef or chicken broth. Add some extra veggies like spinach or even some diced tomatoes if you have them on hand.

Simmer on the stove until ravioli are heated through and serve up a big, hearty bowl of ravioli soup. You can also add some extra water right into the crockpot and re-heat straight there, but the soup option is a change-up that’s easy to make and worth trying out.

Straight out of the fridge. Just add a little extra sauce or water and heat through on low.

How to Make It Lighter

Ground Turkey instead of Italian Sausage – season it with Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, and even a little fennel if you have it.

Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese – it will melt and cover your casserole just as good as whole-milk mozzarella but with less fat.

Add in some veggies – I love to add frozen spinach for some hidden veggies that won’t impact the flavor. Thaw and squeeze out the liquid and sprinkle between the two layers.

Crockpot Ravioli FAQ

Can I use fresh ravioli instead of frozen?

I use frozen ravioli for this recipe. Fresh refrigerated ravioli cooks too fast and falls apart.

Save it for boiling.

What size Crock Pot does this recipe make?

This recipe will fit in a 6-qt Crock Pot programmable cooker without crowding/squishing. Mine even has a timer and automatically shifts to WARM once it’s finished.

What kind of marinara do you recommend?

With only four main ingredients in this recipe, quality counts! Rao’s is worth the price for its thick texture and amazing flavor.

Other Easy Dinners Worth Having in Rotation

• Funeral Potatoes — the ultimate cheesy potato side dish for when you need something that makes people happy
• Crock Pot Beef and Noodles — tender beef slow-cooked until it falls apart, tossed with egg noodles
• Crockpot Lasagna — the full lasagna treatment in the slow cooker

This crockpot ravioli casserole comes together in no time, is bursting with cheesy goodness, and is the perfect slow cooker family dinner. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Course Dinner Cuisine American Servings 6 servings Equipment slow cooker skillet Ingredients 20 ounces frozen ravioli 24 ounces pasta sauce 1 pound ground italian sausage 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese Instructions In a skillet, brown sausage.

Transfer to slow cooker. Top with frozen ravioli, pasta sauce, and cheese.

Cover and cook on low for 3.5 hours or on high for about 1 hour 45 minutes. Notes Can you double this recipe?

You could try. Just make sure to have a large enough slow cooker for the amount of ingredients so it will cook correctly.

Is fresh or frozen ravioli better for crockpot ravioli casserole? We find that the frozen ravioli holds its shape the best.

The fresh tends to get a little too soft for us. Is the casserole watery?

This can be the result of a couple of things. One, the pasta sauce you’re using might be a little on the thin side.

Two, the ravioli may have started to defrost before it was added to the recipe. Always keep the ravioli frozen until you’re ready to add them.

Should you cook the casserole on low or on high? This recipe will taste better if you cook it on low.

However, we know that life gets busy, so if you’re in a hurry, feel free to cook it on high. Do you need to brown the sausage before adding to casserole?

Yes. You’ll end up with too much of a mess otherwise and will get a pool of grease at the top of the casserole.

How large of a slow cooker should I use for crockpot ravioli casserole? We’ve made this recipe in a 6 quart crockpot.

Easy Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

This recipe for Crockpot Ravioli Casserole is a meal I make when we’re in a hurry and have to eat in shifts. It holds well and comes together easily.

It’s a favorite with the kids.

Grease slow cooker insert. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the bottom of the slow cooker.

Brown sausage and drain. Arrange half of the ravioli over the sauce.

Top with half of the meat and half of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Add remaining pasta and repeat layers.

Cover and cook on LOW about 3-1/2 hours or HIGH about 1:45, or until pasta is tender and cheese is melted. Allow casserole to sit about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve in scooped portions.

Block Mozzarella Melts Better Than Bagged

Like a lot of casseroles, the secret to great Crockpot ravioli is the cheese. Hand-shredding a block of mozzarella takes two extra minutes, but it’s worth it.

Bagged shredded mozzarella has an additive to prevent clumping that prevents melting and makes it less stretchy. Sure, save yourself time and use bagged shredded when you’re busy, I totally do it myself, but you’ll get a better result shredding your own.

The Sauce Jar Question

You can use a super-expensive artisanal sauce if you want. Honestly, I think that’s silly.

This is a casserole that will be cooking for 3 1/2 hours alongside flavorful Italian sausage, I think that’s going to bring up any budget-friendly jarred marinara to great heights. That said, a little red pepper flakes and teaspoon of Italian Seasoning helps too.

Timing It Around Practice Pickup

This casserole holds well on WARM for an hour or so. After that the ravioli get a little mushy and some of the edges get a little overdone.

You could scoop some into a covered container and have stragglers microwave their own.

Which Bag of Ravioli to Buy

Cheese-filled ravioli holds up better than meat-filled in my opinion. Meat-filled tastes a little grainy after four hours in the slow cooker.

Also, Aldi has a really big bag of ravioli that’s super-convenient for this recipe. So is Costco’s three-pound bag of ravioli.

Save some money too.

No Crockpot Free? The 9×13 Version

When my Crockpot is spoken for, I’ll also make these in a greased 9×13 pan. Assemble just as directed and bake, covered with foil, at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Uncover and bake another 10 minutes or until cheese is browned. The edges are much crisper when baked.

There’s a faction in my house that likes them better this way. They’re wrong, but I’ll allow it.