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The easiest Valentine’s Day dinner ever – Creamy Tuscan Ravioli. Store-bought ravioli tossed in a garlicky sun-dried tomato cream sauce topped with baby spinach, basil, and parmesan cheese. Ready in less than 30 minutes!
It’s date night food, but it’s also easy enough for weeknights to throw together for the whole family.
Creamy Tuscan Ravioli. It’ll make you feel like you’re in some fancy-schmancy restaurant where you paid way too much money to eat at, only this time you didn’t, and the portions will actually going to fill you up! Tuscan sauce – you know the traditional (I use the term loosely) sun-dried tomato, garlic, and baby spinach cream sauce that was going around the internet paired with both shrimp and chicken?
Well, I’m making it a lot easier to get that on the table, by using store-bought ravioli. But that also means that you could totally make this meal carnivore-friendly by using a chicken or prosciutto stuffed ravioli. Take it in a pescatarian direction by using stuffed lobster ravioli (okay, that would be AMAZING.) And my personal favorite (my husband would totally disagree when he has the meat option) mushroom ravioli, or even spinach and ricotta. I can’t decide.
Let’s be honest, around mid-February there are a lot of significant others that get the itch to cook. I’m not talking about those that pitch in and do so regularly. I’m talking about the ones that want to do a little something for their sweetie. This is the sort of thing you can totally pull off with lots of success because 1.) it’s easy 2.) doesn’t have to involve meat, so you spare them from food poisoning (always a plus) 3.) your significant other will totally be impressed with this dish.
Check. Check. And check.
I’m no stranger to making things what they aren’t. Before I came up with this creamy Tuscan ravioli, I did a twist on chicken piccata with ravioli piccata. Briny and zingy lemon butter sauce tossed with capers, garlic, and fresh herbs. So many of you share your pictures on Instagram and loved how easy it was to make.
Consider this the second act.
What is creamy Tuscan ravioli?
Creamy Tuscan ravioli is what you get when you mash together Tuscan chicken with ravioli pasta. Tuscan ravioli is just ravioli (stuffed with just about anything you like) tossed in a creamy Tuscan inspired sun-dried tomato sauce. And instead of serving pasta on the side (which a lot of people do), we’re adding it directly to the sauce – so much better that way!
Ingredients for Tuscan Ravioli
- butter
- minced garlic
- seasonings
- lemon juice
- stock (see below for sub)
- heavy cream
- baby spinach
- ravioli
- sun-dried tomatoes
- parmesan cheese/ basil (for topping)
What kind of ravioli works best for this recipe?
- chicken and mushroom
- sausage and kale
- spinach and mozzarella
- lobster or seafood medley
- porcini mushroom
- spinach and ricotta
- Four cheese
Where do I find fresh ravioli?
Fresh ravioli is easily available in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Sometimes, they keep it near the shredded cheese and sour cream. But other times, I’ve seen it in the prepared food section as well… even though it’s not 100% prepared – a debate for another time.
How to make creamy Tuscan ravioli:
- PRO TIP: Make sure you season your pasta water liberally with salt. When the ravioli boils, it picks up all of its salty flavor, so you want to be sure the water is seasoned well. Boil the ravioli for one minute less than what the package instructions suggest. This is so we don’t overcook the ravioli when we toss it in the sauce later.
- Make the sauce: Add the butter and sun-dried tomato oil to the skillet and allow for the butter to melt. When melted, cook the minced garlic for 30 seconds before seasoning with onion powder, Italian seasoning, lemon juice, chicken stock, sun-dried tomatoes, and heavy cream. Let the sauce heat all the way through and simmer for 1-2 minutes, so it thickens just a little bit.
- Toss in the ravioli until the sauce coats the pasta nicely. Sprinkle with basil and baby spinach. Cover and allow the greens to just wilt slightly before stirring.
- Serve immediately topped with parmesan cheese and a shake of red pepper flakes!
How to serve creamy Tuscan ravioli:
I usually use mushroom ravioli (it’s my favorite) and serve it by itself for me (with protein for hubby) but you could also serve it with:
- additional roasted veggies
- garlic butter chicken
- sauteed shrimp
- homemade spatchcock chicken
- cooked lobster tails (you fancy)
- baked salmon or pan-seared salmon (minus the sauce)
- garlic butter roasted brussels sprouts
- steamed broccoli
- side salad
- cheesy pull-apart garlic bread
Semi-homemade creamy Tuscan ravioli is sure to wow your guests. Whether it’s for a simple but elegant Valentine’s day dinner, something to serve the family on a weeknight, or for company, you’re sure to leave the crowd wanting more!
And if you want someone else to make this for you, send them a link! Ain’t no shame in telling your S/O what you wish to to enjoy for date night!
Date Night Creamy Tuscan Ravioli
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or vegetable, see notes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach packed
- 2 9-10 ounce package of ravioli (see notes)
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (reserve 1 tablespoon oil)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese + basil for topping
Instructions
- BOIL: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water liberally, then add the ravioli and cook for 1 minute less than package directions, drain and set aside.
- SAUCE: Start on the sauce while the ravioli is boiling. Add the butter and the 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the garlic and allow for it to cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the onion powder, Italian seasoning, lemon juice, chicken stock, heavy cream, and sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet and allow for it to become smooth and heat through; about 1-2 minutes.
- FINISH: When the ravioli is done, add it to the prepared sauce, stir to combine. The sauce should thicken significantly once the ravioli sits for a minute. Top with spinach, basil, and cover the pan and allow for it to just wilt. Once wilted, stir to combine and top with freshly grated parmesan before serving!
Notes
- If you don’t have stock on hand, you could easily use pasta water to help thin the sauce!
- Ravioli flavors that work well with this Tuscan cream sauce: chicken and mushroom, sausage and kale, spinach and mozzarella, lobster or seafood medley, porcini mushroom (a personal fave), spinach and ricotta, and four cheese
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Can I make the sauce ahead of time and reheat before serving?
Thanks!
Made for a cooking contest with my family. I won ofcourse with this amazing recipe
This really is quite delicious. I will be making it more in the future.
LOVED creamy Tuscan ravioli! Was so delicious and looked very fancy. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! ☆☆☆☆☆
Creamy Tuscan Ravioli was awesome! Husband just kept saying how good it was. I made it exactly per recipe except that I used frozen spinach and omitted fresh basil, none on hand. For the 2 of us, I only cooked 1 (10oz) pkg sausage ravioli. I then made the full sauce recipe, added the spinach, and put 1/2 in fridge for another meal before adding ravioli to the remaining sauce. It was a total hit. I will absolutely be making this again. Already added to my recipe app! Thanks for the great recipe.
UPDATE: Last night hubby requested more of this delicious meal. Served remaining sauce with another bag of ravioli. Was surprised to find that sitting in fridge overnight had actually IMPROVED the sauce flavor quite noticably. So delicious. Looked and tasted like a quality restaurant meal. Only ONE PROBLEM, it’s now Day 3 and hubby is asking for this AGAIN!!!
I made this ravioli dish last night and it was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I had leftovers for lunch today, Yummy! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m going to spend some time on your site for more of your recipes.
Made this tonight and it’s a keeper. I’m going to use a crabmeat or lobster ravioli next time. This is a great recipe.
I have made this recipe a few times now. It is easy and delicious. Can be made quickly on a work night. We really like this dish with Italian sausage ravioli. I also chop the spinach. This time I added red pepper flakes and topped it with pine nuts and parm. Fabulous!
Do you use 2 packages of ravioli’s?
This recipe was great! Me and my boyfriend loved it! I added about 2 ounces of cream cheese to the recipe, ( bc it was going to go to waste otherwise) and the sauce was creamy and delicious!
This recipe was delicious. So easy and quick to make. Definitely a keeper.
I know this says to serve immediately, but thoughts on making ahead and keeping warm in a crock pot? I’m hosting a ravioli night with the girls and want to have my sauces done ahead of time and holding so that once we are done making three different types of ravioli we can mix and match our meals with the different sauces/raviolis. Thoughts?
Delicious. Used butter and EVOO – rather than oil packed tomatoes (Used the packed sundried tomatoes that you get in produce department which are also super). TOTALLY forgot to add the spinach. Thinned sauce a bit further with pasta water. Served over homemade Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli for New Years Eve. Really great.
Might try with Half & Half next time to make a bit less decadent!
I made this meal for my boyfriend. Ingredients were easy to get and process was very easy. It turned out amazing! I didn’t use sun dried tomatoes and added pesto. Wonderful meal! We still talk about it. We’ll definitely be making again. Thank you for the amazing recipe ♥️
I made this tonight with frozen ravioli. It was super easy and delicious. I’ll make this sauce with penne next time. Thanks!
How much parmesan?
This recipe was excellent! Made it for my family of three tonight and EVERYONE went back for seconds. I used spinach ricotta ravioli, which paired wonderfully with the sauce and made some garlic parmesan cheese bombs on the side. It was a simple dish to make but very elegant in presentation and flavorful. I have already added this recipe to my personal book and plan on making it again soon! Thank you.
I made this yesterday and it was absolutely incredible. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since we ate it, definitely making enough for leftovers next time.
Hello! Anything you would recommend to sub for the sun dried tomatoes? Thanks!
I made this and it is so delicious! Definitely recommend.