It's easy to get stuck in a past rut, making the same pasta recipes week after week! Sometimes you just need to switch things up! This Ravioli with Creamy Pesto Sauce is loaded with vegetables and comes together in a flash! Making it perfect for a weeknight meal.
You'll also love the flavor combination between the creamy pesto, the lemon zest, and the ricotta cheese-filled ravioli. It's so delicious, easy, and comforting!
WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS!
- Ravioli is one of the quickest cooking pasta, next to any kind of Angel Hair Pasta Recipe, and using a store-bought pesto sauce also helps speed up the process even more.
- But the real time-saver is the fact that two of the vegetables, the frozen peas, and the baby spinach, don't need to be prepped!
- There's no peeling, chopping, or dicing! You just throw them in, straight from their respective bags.
Watch My Video Demo of This Recipe Below!
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Also featured in this video is my recipe for Creamy Tomato Sauce with Linguine. Another easy weeknight pasta dinner!
What to Look For in Store-Bought Pesto?
Not all store-bought pesto sauce is created equal! I find if you want a sauce that tastes as close to my homemade pesto recipe as possible, head to the refrigerated section. That's where you'll find the good stuff!
Store-Bought Pesto Should Have these Qualities:
- Be stored in the refrigerated section, with a short expiration date
- Be dark green in color. If it's too light green, I find it doesn't have as much flavor
- Have visible chunks of pinenuts, garlic, and cheese
- Just a bit of oil on top. If it looks too oily or too dry, head for another brand
What Else To Make with Pesto Sauce?
This recipe only calls for ¼ cup (80ml) of pesto sauce, but you can make so many other yummy recipes with it like my Tarte au Soleil Appetizer, or my Cheesy Pesto Chicken Bake or my 15-Minute Pesto Gnocchi and Vegetables.
The Best Ravioli for Pesto Sauce
I find the best flavor combination with this recipe, is a ricotta cheese-filled ravioli. Trader Joe's has a great one that also includes lemon zest. I used it for this recipe and it's fantastic!
But other good choices would be spinach and cheese ravioli, roasted cauliflower ravioli (Trader Joe's has a great one!), or just plain cheese ravioli.
Pasta Water is the Secret Ingredient!
To make this creamy pesto sauce, bit lighter, I also add a full ladle's worth of pasta water to the sauce. It thins it out and prevents it from becoming too heavy. It also makes the sauce a bit saucier, and the starchiness of the pasta water keeps it from getting too thin.
More Great Pasta Recipes!
- Spinach Ravioli with Sauteed Veggies
- Spring Pasta with Crispy Proscuitto, Mushrooms, and Peas
- Orecchiette Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli
- Dad's Homemade Crepe- Style Manicotti
If You Enjoyed This Recipe Please
Leave a Rating and a Review Below!
Ravioli with Creamy Pesto Sauce Spinach, Peas and Shallots
A delicious ravioli recipe that is quick and easy for a weeknight meal! Store-bought pesto and a few no-peel, no chop vegetables makes this a snap!
Ingredients
- 1 package Ricotta Cheese Ravioli (U.S. Residents I used the lemon ricotta cheese ravioli from Trader Joe's which are fantastic with this!)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 1 shallot, sliced thinly into half-moons
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup (60ml) store-bought pesto sauce
- ½ cup (75g) frozen peas
- 1 ladle of hot pasta water
- 2 tablespoon (30ml) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon (2.5ml) lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups (3 fistfuls) baby spinach
- freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions
- Measure and prep all the ingredients so the sauce can be made quickly. This will assure your sauce will be done when the ravioli is done.
- Boil water and add ravioli. Cook ravioli until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and saute until the shallots are fragrant and wilted. Add the pesto sauce and stir to combine. Add the peas and stir to combine. Add 1 full ladle of pasta water and stir to combine.
- Add the heavy cream, and the lemon zest. Then add the spinach. Cook until wilted. Drain the ravioli. Add them to the sauce and toss gently to coat. Transfer to a serving platter and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
When Buying Store-Bought Pesto Look for These Qualities:
- Be stored in the refrigerated section, with a short expiration date
- Be dark green in color. If it's too light green, I find it doesn't have as much flavor
- Have visible chunks of pinenuts, garlic, and cheese
- Just a bit of oil on top. If it looks too oily or too dry, head for another brand
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 218mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 10g
Carrie
Hi,
So if this was going to be for 5-6 people would you double the everything to make enough sauce?
Carrie
Beth Le Manach
Yes exactly! Double the sauce since most packages of ravioli only serve 2 people maybe 3 if there's a child you are feeding too :). Hope you enjoy!
Leslie
This was very good!! Hubby & I enjoyed it! I always enjoy your videos!
Your expressions are priceless!!
Beth Le Manach
Aww so glad you guys enjoyed it! One of my faves too! 🙂
Carissa Torres
Beth - this was absolutely DELICIOUS! I got the right ravioli from TJ’s and also bought their panko breaded tilapia to pair with it. It was the perfect combo, especially because of the lemon flavor. The entire dinner was done in 20 mins and that’s only because I had to wait 10 mins for the tilapia to be done! Homerun as always. 😉
Beth Le Manach
YAY! I'm so glad it was a hit! And happy you were also to find the ravioli at Trader Joe's! 🙂