Ravioli Bake with spinach - a one dish meal packed with greens, cheese, pasta and flavorful tomatoes. An easy weeknight dinner everyone will love.
Baked pastas are one of my favorite, crowd-pleasing, go-to dinners. I can use homemade or jarred sauces, add veggies or not, and make a lot or a little. They are easy and always delicious. This one is no exception!

Baked pasta dishes are really my kind of casserole. A one-dish meal where separate ingredients come together in melty goodness. I love how often the pasta cooks right in the sauce, so it absorbs that extra tomato flavor.
Incredibly easy to make!
I have more tasty one-dish meals on TaraTeaspoon.com that make dinner easy like this delicious Coconut Fish Curry made right on the stove in ONE skillet. If you love ravioli, try this semi-homemade Ravioli Soup.
Spruced-up semi-homemade dinner
I wanted to make this baked ravioli a bit more special than a dump-and-cook situation, so I added some charred grape tomatoes for a tangy, caramelized bite.
I also threw in fresh basil. If you don't have that on hand, or didn't grab it at the store, chances are you have a jar of dried basil in the pantry. Use that!
Just stir 1 teaspoon of dried basil in with the marinara. It's an extra boost of flavor.
Adding some baby spinach is a go-to. For me it’s a way to get some veggies into dinner without having to make a separate side dish. Here I added some shredded basil to the greens for a pop of herby flavor.
Why char tomatoes?
Charring the tomatoes before adding them to the casserole brings out the sweetness and adds a little sophistication. Just throw them under the broiler for a few minutes.
Everything gets mixed together in one dish for this ravioli bake! I cover it to cook so the pasta doesn’t dry out.
Cooking time for baked pasta
It only takes about 30 minutes to simmer in the oven and heat through. About 10 minutes before the end of the time, uncover the dish and add your cheesy goodness layer. Melt the top and you’re ready to enjoy.
Fresh or regular mozzarella
I used fresh mozzarella because my market had it available. It melts in glorious white piles and has that distinct chew of fresh mozz.
You can use regular, shredded mozzarella in place of the fresh.
What kind of ravioli to use:
Any cheese ravioli will be delicious. I use the bag of non-brand frozen ravioli I find in the freezer section. Some stores will just have packets of fresh ravioli in the cheese section, and those will work too!
Feel free to change things up and use a meat or mushroom ravioli in place of the cheese variety.
How to make baked ravioli:
- Heat broiler with oven rack 6 inches below. Line the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish with foil and add grape tomatoes. Broil until tomatoes are just soft and skin is charred, about 5 min.
- Remove the foil and tomatoes and set aside; set the oven to 400ºF.
- In the baking dish, toss together the charred tomatoes, ravioli, spinach, basil, marinara and the mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with extra mozzarella and the Parmesan and bake another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Serve with extra Parmesan and French bread on the side.
📖 Recipe
Baked Ravioli with Spinach and Charred Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- 16 oz bag frozen cheese ravioli
- 5 oz (1 bag) baby spinach
- ½ cup basil leaves, chopped
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- ¾ cup diced fresh or shredded mozzarella, ( plus extra for top)
- 3 tablespoon grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat broiler with oven rack 6 inches below the heat. Line the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish with foil and add grape tomatoes. Broil until tomatoes are just soft and skin is charred, about 5 min.
- Remove tomatoes and foil and set aside. Set oven to 400ºF, moving rack to the center.
- In the baking dish, toss together the charred tomatoes, ravioli, spinach, basil, marinara and the mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with extra mozzarella and the Parmesan and bake another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Serve with extra Parmesan, and French bread on the side.
Notes
- A one-dish meal packed with greens, cheesy pasta and tangy tomatoes. In under an hour you have a delicious dinner on the table.
Nutrition
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Recipe and Food Styling by Tara Teaspoon. Originally published on the iHeartNaptime blog 09/16
Brittany Smart
Who knew pasta could be even more delicious!!!
Marie
This looks sooo good. My grandma used to always make fresh ravioli, and this recipe has me wanting to carry on that tradition. Can't wait to try it out!
Luci
OMG, this looks so delicious. I'm going to have to make this for my family. I know they will love it.
Indrani
Oh this is so tempting. I like the tangy flavour. and the texture too seems good.
Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites
this looks wonderful, spinach and grape tomatoes and all that cheese makes everything better
Clarice Lao / Camping for Women
Now, I know what was my mistake. My version was a bit dry. Will make sure to cover them next time. Thanks for the tip.
Paul
I made this last night and it was really good, quick and easy. Next time, I may add some more pepper and perhaps some ricotta cheese on top during the last 10 mins of baking.
Tara
Paul those additions sound delicious. I'm glad you liked this!
Mary Bench
Everything I love in one dish! Yum!