Toasted Ravioli
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Make the most crispy and flavorful Toasted Ravioli by pan frying them on the stove or cooking them in an air fryer. This delicious Italian appetizer recipe is easy to make with frozen ravioli, and it’s always a party favorite!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Growing up, if we went to a restaurant with toasted ravioli on the menu, I would order it. This salty, crispy, cheesy recipe is even better than what you would get at a restaurant, and it’s so easy to make at home! Here’s why you’ll love it.
- They’re easy to make! Starting with store-bought frozen raviolis makes this recipe super easy. All you have to do is bread them and cook them, then you have a delicious appetizer, or meal, ready to go!
- They’re crispy on the outside, creamy on the outside. Using cheese raviolis means that you have a creamy, cheesy inside, surrounded by a perfectly crispy parmesan bread crumb crust on the outside. The result is a perfect combination of textures!
- You can serve them as an appetizer or meal. At my house, they’re both! Toasted raviolis make a great appetizer for a game day party, or Italian feast. They also make a great meal, paired with marinara sauce and an Italian salad.
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this toasted ravioli recipe, what each one does, and substitutions. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepared raviolis – these are usually found refrigerated near the deli section at the grocery store. For this recipe, I used a four cheese ravioli, but you can use another type of ravioli with a different filling. To make an Olive Garden copycat recipe for Toasted Ravioli, you’ll want to use raviolis with a ground beef filling. Chicken, Italian sausage, and spinach ricotta are also common types of filling found in prepared raviolis at the grocery store. I recommend freezing the raviolis at least an hour before making this recipe, if they’re not already frozen. This will make breading them easier and they’ll cook in just the right amount of time. You’ll want a 20 ounce package of raviolis to make approximately 25 toasted raviolis.
- Panko bread crumbs
- Parmesan cheese – grated cheese from a shaker will work just fine for this recipe, as we’ll combine it with the bread crumbs to make the crispy coating on the outside of the ravioli.
- Italian seasoning – I always prefer to use my own homemade seasoning mix. It has the best flavor, with a great combination of spices, and it’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes! Click the link for the recipe, or purchase pre-made Italian seasoning at the grocery store.
- Salt
- All purpose flour
- Eggs
- Canola oil – or vegetable oil, will work for frying the toasted ravioli. You can also air fry them and skip the oil. More on that later in the post.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Bread the raviolis. Set up a breading station by combining panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and salt in a shallow bowl. Add flour to another shallow bowl. And in a third shallow bowl, whisk eggs together. Dredge each frozen ravioli in the flour, shaking off any excess before transferring it to the egg mixture. Drip off any excess egg, then coat the ravioli in bread crumbs on all sides. You’ll want to press down gently on the ravioli in the breadcrumb mixture to make sure it’s fully coated.
- Fry the raviolis. Once all of the raviolis are breaded, place them in the refrigerator to chill while you heat the oil to fry them. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the breaded ravioli, 4-6 at a time so you don’t overcrowd the pan, and cook them for 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove the raviolis from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on a wire rack over a stack of paper towels to cool while you fry the rest of the raviolis.
When breading the ravioli, always use one hand for the wet ingredients and one hand for the dry ingredients. This will prevent clumping, keep your hands from becoming coated in the breading, and it will help keep the breading ingredients separated.
How to make them in an air fryer
Instead of pan frying them, you can place the breaded raviolis in an air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray them on both sides with cooking spray, then cook them at 400°F for 6-8 minutes in an air fryer.
I could fit 6 in my 5.8 quart air fryer with space around each one so they would cook evenly. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you’ll probably have to cook the raviolis in multiple batches.
Make-ahead, storage and reheating
You can bread the raviolis up to 24 hours in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them. You can also freeze the breaded raviolis for up to 6 months.
You can store leftover cooked toasted ravioli in the fridge for up to 6 days.
To reheat the leftovers, I highly recommend an air fryer. Place the toasted ravioli in an air fryer basket and reheat at 400°F for 2-3 minutes. This will crisp them right back up!
If you don’t have an air fryer, I recommend heating 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat, then adding the toasted ravioli and re-frying them for 1-2 minutes per side, until crisp again on the outside.
Dips for toasted ravioli
These delicious toasted raviolis can be served on their own, but they’re also great dunked into a scrumptious sauce! Try any of these sauces, or serve the toasted ravioli with a trio of sauces, so you can try them all out.
For the marinara sauce, I recommend heating it up in a saucepan on the stove before serving it in a small bowl with the raviolis.
More Italian recipes
Try these other TESTED AND PERFECTED Italian recipes from my kitchen to your home!
Toasted Ravioli
Ingredients
- 20 ounce package prepared raviolis, frozen *see notes below
- 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, click link for homemade recipe
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup canola oil, optional – for frying
- 1 cup marinara sauce, optional – for dipping
Instructions
- Combine the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt in a shallow bowl.
- Add the flour to another shallow bowl. Whisk the eggs together in a third shallow bowl.
- Dredge each ravioli in the flour, shaking off any excess, then roll it in the egg mixture. Drip off any excess egg, then coat the ravioli in the bread crumbs on all sides. Repeat until all of the raviolis are coated in the breadcrumbs.
- Place the breaded raviolis in the refrigerator to chill while you heat the oil to fry them.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the breaded raviolis, 4-6 at a time so you don't overcrowd the pan, and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack, over a stack of paper towels. Repeat until all of the raviolis are cooked.
- Air fryer method: alternatively you can spray the raviolis on both sides with cooking spray and cook them in a single layer in an air fryer at 400°F for 6-8 minutes. I could fit 6 in my 5.8 quart air fryer with space around each one so they would cook evenly. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you’ll probably have to cook the raviolis in multiple batches.
Notes
- Prepared raviolis are usually found refrigerated near the deli section at the grocery store. For this recipe, I used a four cheese ravioli, but you can use another type of ravioli with a different filling. To make an Olive Garden copycat recipe for Toasted Ravioli, you’ll want to use raviolis with a ground beef filling. Chicken, Italian sausage, and spinach ricotta are also common types of filling found in prepared raviolis at the grocery store. I recommend freezing the raviolis at least an hour before making this recipe, if they’re not already frozen. This will make breading them easier and they’ll cook in just the right amount of time.
- You can bread the raviolis up to 24 hours in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them. You can also freeze the breaded raviolis for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Facts
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