Butternut Squash Baked Ravioli
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Get ready to fall in love with the coziest comfort food of the season! This Baked Ravioli with Butternut Squash Sauce is packed with all your favorite fall flavors, creamy pumpkin ravioli, savory Italian sausage, and a luscious butternut squash sauce. It’s the perfect easy dinner to make when you’re craving something warm, hearty, and full of autumn vibes. Best of all, it comes together with just 20 minutes of prep time!
Why you’ll love this easy recipe
Inspired by this traditional Baked Ravioli recipe, I decided to make a fall version of the recipe with just 5 ingredients from Trader Joe’s! But don’t worry if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s around you. I’ll give alternate ingredients that you can pick up at any major grocery store, so you can always make this easy recipe at home!
If you’re looking for a recipe that gives you all the fall vibes, this is it, and here’s why you’ll love it!
- Cozy perfection. This dish is pure comfort food! Every bite is loaded with melty cheese, tender pumpkin ravioli, and flavorful butternut squash meat sauce.
- Incredibly easy. There’s no need to boil pasta, and it only takes 20 minutes to prep this recipe, making it a weeknight dinner win!
- Budget-friendly. You only need 5 ingredients to prepare this recipe and it makes 6 servings, perfect for a budget-friendly meal.
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this butternut squash baked ravioli recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Butternut squash pasta sauce – I have made this recipe with my homemade butternut squash sauce and Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce. If you have more time, you can make the homemade sauce, but if you’re short on time, use Trader Joe’s autumnal harvest sauce. You can also find jars of butternut squash pasta sauce online and in some grocery stores.
- Pumpkin ravioli – I’ve made this recipe with Trader Joe’s Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli and Rana Butternut Squash Ravioli (easily found at Costco). They’re both delicious in this dish and add a sweet element to the recipe. Trader Joe’s also has a gluten free pumpkin ravioli that you can use to make this entire dish gluten free. If you prefer something homemade, check out my sweet potato ravioli recipe.
- Ricotta cheese
- Mozzarella cheese – I recommend buying a block of cheese at Trader Joe’s, or your favorite grocery store, then shredding it at home yourself. It melts so much better than pre-shredded cheese in a bag.
- Italian sausage – since I was shopping at Trader Joe’s for this recipe, I picked up their sweet Italian sausage links and simply removed the sausage from the casing, crumbled it up and used it in this recipe. If you’re shopping at a traditional grocery store, you can purchase your favorite type of Italian pork sausage. If you want a little sweet heat in this dish, use hot Italian sauce.
- Optional additions: you can cook diced onions and minced garlic in olive oil before cooking the sausage, if you’d like. You can also season the ricotta cheese with salt and Italian seasoning. These are optional, and I’ve tested this recipe with the additions and without them. It works either way, so up to you, if you’d like to add them!
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Prepare the sauce.
- Optional: heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup diced onions and cook for 4 minutes. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Remove sausage from casing. Cook and crumble the sausage until no longer pink, around 6-8 minutes. Drain any grease from the skillet.
- Pour butternut squash pasta sauce in the pan with the cooked sausage. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.
Assemble and bake the casserole.
- Arrange pumpkin raviolis in the bottom of a 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish in an even layer, not overlapping.
- Pour half of the butternut squash meat sauce over the raviolis.
- Optional: stir 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning into a 16 ounce container of ricotta cheese.
- Dollop the ricotta cheese over the meat sauce in the casserole dish.
- Repeat with another layer of pumpkin raviolis, another layer of meat sauce, and another layer of ricotta cheese.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the entire casserole.
- Cover the baking dish with non-stick foil, or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray so it doesn’t stick to the cheese. Place in a 350°F preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes. Turn the oven from bake to broil on high. Uncover the dish and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbling. Optionally garnish with fresh parsley or basil.
What to serve with it
This fall baked ravioli recipe is delicious served with rolls and a fall salad on the side. Try it with any of these recipes!
Pumpkin Baked Ravioli with Butternut Squash Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian pork sausage
- 25 ounces Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce, or homemade butternut squash sauce
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt, optional
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, optional
- 18 ounces honey roasted pumpkin ravioli, two 9 ounce packages
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Remove sausage from casing. Cook and crumble the sausage until no longer pink, around 6-8 minutes. Drain any grease from the skillet. Pour in the pasta sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Optional: combine the ricotta cheese, salt, and Italian seasoning. You can also make this recipe without seasoning the ricotta cheese.
- Add one package of the pumpkin ravioli to the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with half of the sausage pasta sauce. Dollop half of the ricotta cheese on top. Top with the remaining raviolis, pasta sauce, and ricotta cheese. Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with non-stick foil, or foil sprayed with cooking spray so it doesn’t stick to the cheese. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
- Turn the oven from bake to broil on high. Uncover the dish and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbling.
Notes
- If you can’t find pumpkin ravioli, you can use butternut squash ravioli in it’s place.
- You can make this recipe with frozen or refrigerated raviolis with no need to boil the pasta, or add any time to the cook time.
- If you’re using frozen ravioli and they’re stuck together, place them in a colander and run them under cool water in the sink until they start to defrost and separate.
- If you’d like to add onions and garlic to the meat sauce, start the recipe by heating 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup diced onions and cook for 4 minutes. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Then add the sausage and proceed with the recipe as instructed above.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, replace the Italian sausage with a pound of diced vegetables, like mushrooms, bell peppers, or zucchini.
- Store any leftover baked ravioli in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat a single serving in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, or reheat more than one portion, covered in an oven-safe dish, in the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
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