Four Cheese Ravioli

If you’ve never made your own homemade ravioli, then my Four Cheese Ravioli recipe will completely knock your socks off.

Flavorful Italian cheeses perfectly wrapped in homemade pasta dough is pure comfort food. This might not be one of those quick weeknight recipes, but it’s certainly worth it and is better than any ravioli you’ll get in a restaurant! Similar to my homemade sausage ravioli, this ravioli recipe is still made with my homemade pasta, but is a tasty vegetarian version.

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What You’ll Need for Four Cheese Ravioli

• Semolina and all-purpose flour – for the pasta dough, along with eggs, olive oil, water and salt.
• Whole milk ricotta – more on which one I buy and when to drain it below.
• Whole milk mozzarella – shredded. I recommend grating it from a block.
• Parmesan and pecorino – both finely grated.
• Roasted garlic – about 6 cloves. If you don’t have any on hand, here’s how to make roasted garlic.
• Fresh basil and 1 egg – the egg helps hold the filling together.

Full amounts are in the recipe card below.

The Four Cheese Ravioli Filling

The filling is where this ravioli gets its flavor. Each of the four cheeses has a different job:

• Ricotta makes it creamy.
• Mozzarella melts and holds the filling together, so it doesn’t run out when you cut into a ravioli.
• Parmesan and pecorino add the salty, nutty flavor that plain ricotta is missing. Pecorino is the sharper of the two.
• Roasted garlic blends right in and tastes sweet and mellow, nothing like raw garlic.

The finished filling should be thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. If it slumps and spreads, it’s too wet and will be hard to seal inside the pasta.

I always buy Trader Joe’s whole milk ricotta and use it straight from the container, no draining. Other brands can be a lot wetter. If you see liquid pooling on top of yours, drain it in a fine-mesh strainer lined with a paper towel in the fridge for about 30 minutes before you make the filling.

How to Make Homemade Cheese Ravioli

Step 1: Make and Roll Out the Pasta Dough

A good, and I mean really good, ravioli recipe starts with homemade pasta sheets. If you’ve never made your own homemade pasta recipe, I highly encourage you to try it. Not only does it taste better than anything you’ll find at the store, but it’s strangely satisfying to make.

My pasta recipe uses equal amounts of semolina flour with all purpose flour, farm fresh eggs (I know this isn’t an option for everyone), and olive oil. My recipe is super easy to make, especially if you knead the dough in a stand mixer, and have a pasta roller to make thin uniform sheets.

Step 2: Blend the Four Cheese Filling

Next comes the filling. I like to use four different kinds of whole milk cheeses. They each add a little something as far as flavor and texture to the ravioli. I combine the cheeses with fresh basil, roasted garlic, and egg in a food processor to fully mix.

Step 3: Fill the Ravioli

All you need to do at this point is to fill and seal your ravioli. It’s much easier if you have a ravioli press, but it is entirely possible to fill homemade ravioli without any special tools or equipment.

Step 4: Seal Each Ravioli Well

The main rule of thumb, however, is to be sure to NOT overfill your ravioli and to seal each one well. You don’t want any of that delicious filling to squeeze out when you’re boiling them.

Step 5: Pop Out the Ravioli

Flip the press over and tap the ravioli out. If any are still stuck together, cut them apart along the seams with a knife or pastry wheel.

Step 6: Cook or Freeze

From there, you can either drop your cheese ravioli in some salted boiling water for a few minutes to cook, or you can freeze them for a future meal.

How Long to Cook Homemade Ravioli

Fresh ravioli cook fast, so have your sauce warm before they go in. Cook them in batches in a big pot of water so they have room to float.

They’re done when they float to the top and the edges are tender, usually 3 to 5 minutes. The filling has a raw egg in it, so give them about another minute after they float to make sure the center is hot. If you want to check one, the USDA says egg dishes should reach 160°F.

Lift them out with a slotted spoon or a spider strainer instead of pouring them into a colander. They’re delicate, and a colander can tear them.

Why Homemade Ravioli Burst and How to Stop It

If your ravioli open up in the pot, it usually comes down to one of these:

• Air trapped inside. Press the air out around each mound of filling as you seal. Trapped air expands in the hot water and pops the seams.
• Dry edges. Dab a little water around the filling before the top sheet goes on, so the two layers stick together.
• A hard, rolling boil. Once the ravioli are in, turn the heat down to a gentle boil so they aren’t banging around.

And once they’re cooked, don’t stir them into the sauce like store-bought ravioli. Homemade ravioli are more delicate. I put them on the plate and spoon the sauce over the top.

“So many compliments on Christmas from my Italian American family! The ravioli dough was light, not a single ravioli opened in the water and the filling was light and delicious!! I haven’t made ravioli since I was a child with my Nona and this recipe was perfect! Thank you!”

Melanie, reader review

How to Freeze Homemade Ravioli

Well, if you toss all of the fresh ravioli into a container and then into the freezer, you’ll end up with one large blob of squished up ravioli. Much like when you freeze fresh berries, you must place them on a baking sheet in a single layer before you freeze.

I highly recommend lining your baking sheet with parchment paper first. It just makes it so that there’s no chance the ravioli will stick.

Once the ravioli are frozen solid, you can then combine them in a single container or plastic freezer bag before you stick them right back in the freezer.

No need to defrost before you cook, either. Just drop the frozen ravioli right into a pot of salted boiling water. They’re still done within just a few minutes and will float to let you know.

From frozen, plan on about 2 to 3 minutes longer than fresh, and check that the filling is hot in the center before you serve them.

It’s so easy to freeze ravioli that I highly recommend you make BIG batches and keep enough in your freezer to last you months. It makes a very quick and convenient meal.

Frozen at 0°F, they stay safe indefinitely, according to the USDA. For the best flavor and texture, use them within 3 to 4 months.

What to Serve With Homemade Cheese Ravioli

First, we must discuss sauce. Ravioli, of any kind, need a good sauce. Whether you choose to make a brown butter sauce like I do for my butternut squash ravioli, or you choose a hearty tomato sauce like I typically do for my cheese ravioli, a good sauce will make all the difference.

For a meaty sauce, spoon my homemade ragu sauce or easy bolognese sauce over the top. For something creamy, try my homemade Alfredo sauce.

More freshly grated cheese is always a good thing. Always.

From there, you can call it a day. Or, you can serve up some crispy homemade garlic bread and a nice Caesar salad. Oh, and don’t forget a big glass of red wine. YUM!

How many ravioli does this recipe make?

About 6 dozen, which works out to 12 servings of 6 ravioli each.

Do you have to cook homemade ravioli?

Yes. Both the pasta and the filling are raw, so boil them just like fresh ravioli from the store.

Can I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?

Yes, small-curd cottage cheese works. Run it through the food processor with the rest of the filling so it turns smooth and creamy. If you’re swapping it for someone who avoids lactose, keep in mind the other three cheeses still contain some.

Can I make a half batch?

Yes. Use the 1/2x button on the recipe card. The filling calls for one egg, so beat it in a small bowl and use about half.

More Cheesy Pasta Recipes

If you love pasta recipes with a cheesy filling, be sure to check out these.

Easy Cheese Manicotti (The Best Way to Stuff Shells)

Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Meat and Cheese Ravioli

Butternut Squash Ravioli