5 Minute Ravioli Sauce

5-minute ravioli sauce is dreamy blend of sun-dried tomato pesto and luxurious cream yielding a restaurant worthy pasta dish in, yep, just 5 minutes! Pour over your favourite filled pasta parcels for a filling, family-friendly midweek meal. 

All sounding a little too easy? Up the challenge by making your own fresh homemade pasta for this versatile sauce. 

Pasta is a go-to meal; it’s quick to cook, satisfyingly filling, and inexpensive. But how do you keep it interesting? By switching up stuffed pasta for plain pasta, swapping meat or cream or tomato sauces, or adding protein like chicken, prawns or meatballs. The combinations are virtually endless. You could eat pasta every day of the week and not get bored!

When my kids were growing up and I was a full-time teacher, I needed food on the table fast! Quick and convenient store-bought filled pasta parcels featured heavily on our menu rotation.

And while spinach and ricotta ravioli (my son’s fave) with a patch of butter melted over it was adequate in elementary school, by the time they were in high school I knew I had to up my game. 

Which is how this easy 5-minute ravioli sauce came about. 

How to make 5-minute ravioli sauce

This super simple and speedy recipe requires just 4 easily accessible ingredients and is ready in the time it will take for your ravioli to cook. Dinner prayers, answered.

So, what’s in it?

Sun-dried tomato pesto: sweet with sun-ripened tomatoes and tangy with parmesan cheese, using pesto gives a deeper more intensified flavour than tomato purée or canned tomatoes- which can be acidic and sour. 

Garlic: I used just one clove and minced it so it cooks seamlessly into the sauce. Is it even a pasta sauce if you don’t use garlic?

Basil leaves: fresh is best when it comes to herbs. Basil has a distinct flavour, slightly anise-y, that is well-known for complimenting tomato. Reserve some leaves for a profesh-looking garnish. 

Light cream (single cream UK): I’ve chosen light cream for its easy pour-factor and velvety texture. Heavy cream is an option if you like a thicker sauce and don’t count calories! 

Combine the sauce ingredients and when the pasta is cooked, drain it reserving half the hot pasta water. Add the ravioli to the sauce and stir very gently to cover every square of pasta, being careful not to damage them. If needed, add a little of the reserved water to loosen up the sauce.

What kind of sauce goes with ravioli?

If the t-word (tomato) doesn’t go down well in your house, make the same 5-minute ravioli sauce with a homemade green pesto. This lemony spinach pesto (contains walnuts) is zesty and fresh, or Tuscan kale pesto (with almonds) is a nutritional powerhouse, or go traditional with classic basil pesto.

As we are coming into pumpkin season right now, this silky, autumnal butternut squash ravioli sauce deserves a shoutout too! It’s gorgeously golden and rich with cream, sage and garlic. 

Depending on your filling, although there are no strict rules here, you can mix and match any ravioli or filled pasta with whichever pasta sauce you please. The aim is to keep it interesting, remember?

There’s even a vodka sauce for pasta which I think goes especially well with an eggplant (aubergine) pasta filling. But that ones for the grownups. 

Serving Suggestions

One of the reasons I love this quick ravioli sauce recipe is it comes together faster than you can say “Mamma Mia!” so I tend to keep sides simple, and balanced, too. I go for a light garden salad, or a theme-keeping Caprese salad.

Or for colder nights lemon butter green beans or tenderstem broccoli. 

Finish the dish with some restaurant-style flair by adding a flurry of extra parmesan, a twist of black pepper and a sprig of basil on top. And if you’re really showing off, sprinkle over an Italian pangrattato (crispy herby breadcrumbs) for bonus crunch-factor.

Storage and leftovers

Leftover 5-minute ravioli sauce is good in the fridge for up to 4 days. Ravioli itself is not so good! If it’s possible, keep the ravioli sauce separate and discard any leftover ravioli. Sadly, these puffed up pasta pillows will go flabby in the fridge. 

Store the remaining creamy tomato sauce in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container and reuse it over chicken or plain pasta in another meal. Reheat gently on the stove adding a splash of water if the sauce needs loosening. 

More quick pasta recipes

• Pasta with smoked salmon
• Creamy pasta with pancetta and peas
• Creamy tagliatelle with bacon, mushrooms and truffle oil
• Tagliatelle with pancetta, basil and mozzarella