13 Flavorful Mix-and-Match Pasta Sauce and Ravioli Filling Recipes (2024)

24 of Our Favorite and Most Delicious Classic Italian Recipes

Fresh Pasta Dough for Ravioli

Grab some flour, water, salt, and eggs. This is where the best homemade ravioli begins. Though we call for a food processor to mix the pasta dough, there are also instructions for mixing by hand. Invest in a ravioli press to make it even easier to stuff these squares with a cheese ravioli filling or your desired filling combo.

Buy It: Eppicotispai Ravioli Starter Set, $85, Sur La Table

Sausage Ravioli Filling

Sausage is a spicy, hearty filling for more than Italian grinders and homemade pizzas. (Although we love it for those too.) Cook Italian sausage with fresh spinach, stir in creamy ricotta cheese, and add some sage to make this meaty ravioli filling recipe. A pinch of nutmeg adds a subtle sweetness.

Mushroom Ravioli Filling

Combining dried porcini and fresh mushrooms adds pleasant, earthy elements to this simple ravioli filling recipe. With so much umami and 10 grams of protein per serving, you won't miss the meat in this vegetarian dinner idea.

Crab Ravioli Filling

Not much time for cooking today? Try this crab ravioli filling recipe, which could easily be transformed into a lobster ravioli filling instead. It takes only 20 minutes to saute this citrusy, caper-infused combo before stuffing it inside pasta. Or you can reduce your work by serving the filling as a topping and skip stuffing individual ravioli.

Butternut Squash Ravioli Filling

Just when we thought we couldn't love butternut squash more, this—one of our best ravioli filling recipes—landed on our Test Kitchen table as a new way to eat the veggie. Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, and roasted butternut squash join forces for a sweet-nutty pasta stuffing.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

Yes, you can make the most of summer tomatoes in a topping for nearly any classic ravioli filling recipe. Roast garlic and peppers, simmer with tomatoes and seasonings, and then can in jars for an upgrade on marinara that will last for months in your pantry. This Italian-inspired blend works deliciously with savory meat ravioli.

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Sausage Ravioli Filling

Pressure Cooker Puttanesca Pasta Sauce

Italian nonnas (grandmas) spend hours perfecting each batch of puttanesca, a traditional Neapolitan sauce featuring tomatoes, anchovies, olives, capers, and more. Hit fast-forward with this simplified sauce. It cooks in mere minutes in your pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Mushroom Ravioli Filling

Herb Alfredo Sauce

Leave the jarred Alfredo on the supermarket shelf. You can slow cook your way to an herb-scented meal masterpiece with this decadent ravioli topper. To save time and make it possible to whip up this sauce any time of year, we call for purchased basil pesto rather than the fresh herb.

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Butternut Squash Ravioli Filling

Buy It: Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker, $97, Amazon

Browned Butter Sauce

Everything is better with butter. Including pretty much any of our homemade ravioli filling recipes. Drizzle each bowl of pasta with browned butter, grated cheese, and herbs for a simple and sophisticated dish. Finish with fresh herbs and a dash of ground black pepper, and your dinner table will practically feel like a Venician café (minus the gondola floating by, sadly).

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Butternut Squash Ravioli Filling

Fresh Herb, Tomato, and Caper Sauce

Why use store-bought when you can blitz up this ravioli sauce in 10 minutes? With heart-healthy olive oil, almonds, and handfuls of fresh herbs, your ticker and taste buds will thank you for serving this peppy sauce. As you can tell from the photo, this ravioli sauce is also great on steaks.

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Sausage Ravioli Filling

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

Call in the spice! And herbs, of course. Parsley, oregano, fennel, basil, marjoram—the whole Italian gang is here in this summery sauce that dazzles atop your best ravioli filling recipes (especially ones featuring similar ingredients—say, mushrooms—and aromatics, like garlic).

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Mushroom Ravioli Filling

Cashew Cream Pasta Sauce

"Cheese" sauce made from cashews? Sounds crazy, but tastes crazy-good on chicken pasta, lobster ravioli fillings, and more. Think of the garlic-scented sauce as a vegan version of Alfredo!

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Crab Ravioli Filling

Creamy Vino Sauce

Toss with a white wine, cheese, and herb mix to create a decadent sauce to pour over any noodly dish like your favorite seafood-stuffed pasta. Garlic and fresh basil infuse it with equal parts lusciousness, comfort food notes, and fresh summer flavors.

Homemade ravioli filling pairing: Crab Ravioli Filling