Pesto Sausage Ravioli Recipe
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This delicious Pesto Sausage Ravioli recipe can be made in under 30 minutes!
I used to think of ravioli as a restaurant only meal. I resigned myself to the idea that the only ravioli I would ever prepare would come pre made. Admittedly there are some delicious pre made ravioli on the market, mostly from specialty stores and brands. Although they are tasty and quick to prepare, they are always overpriced and are never quite as good as absolutely fresh.
I decided I needed to remedy this once I finally perfected my homemade pasta. Now that I have, I can’t stop making delicious homemade ravioli in different filling combinations. This delicious Pesto Sausage Ravioli recipe was one of the first filling combinations I created and it’s become a favourite in my home.
This ravioli dish is absolutely sumptuous. The sausage filling is savoury, garlicky and flavourful. The toasted nuttiness of the cashews compliments the creaminess of the grated parmesan and the herby brightness of the basil, while a good quality olive oil ties it all together. The richness in the sausage ravioli is perfectly offset by the fresh pesto, making this a beautifully balanced dish.
TOTAL TIME
- Preparation Time – 5 minutes
- Cooking Time – 22 minutes
- Total Time – 27 minutes (if you make the pasta dough the night before)
INGREDIENTS FOR THIS PESTO SAUSAGE RAVIOLI RECIPE
All the ingredients for this Pesto Sausage Ravioli Recipe are easy to source from any local grocer.
Pesto
- 2/3 cup Raw cashew nuts
- 2 cups Baby spinach
- 1 cup Fresh basil
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Chili flakes (optional)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan
- 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
Sausage Filling
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 6 Italian sausages
- 2 Large Crimini mushrooms
- 1 Scallion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 Large egg
Fresh Pasta
- 6 Large eggs
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A RAVIOLI MAKER?
Although a ravioli press/form certainly makes it easier to create uniform ravioli, they can also be cut freehand with a pasta cutter.
WHAT ARE CRIMINI MUSHROOMS?
Cremini mushrooms, also known as Baby Bellas, are small juvenile Portobello mushrooms. I prefer them to white mushrooms because they impart a beautiful nutty flavour.
DO I HAVE TO MAKE FRESH PASTA?
If you don’t want to make fresh pasta, you can purchase premade fresh pasta at many specialty stores. I would suggest that if you use premade fresh pasta roll it out to half thickness before using it.
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
CAN I SUBSTITUTE ANOTHER NUT FOR CASHEWS IN THE PESTO?
You could use traditional pine nuts in this recipe if you’d like. You could also use another fatty nut like walnuts if you’d like. The important thing is you want to use a nut that has fat, which will allow it to toast beautifully and puree smoothly.
CAN I SUBSTITUTE PRE GRATED PARMESAN FOR FRESH IN THIS PESTO?
Definitely not. Pre grated Parmesan is an entirely different product than fresh Parmesan. Fresh Parmesan is a beautiful sharp hard cheese that I use in most of my pasta recipes. It has a salty tang that is the perfect addition to any pasta dish, and adds a wonderful flavour to this pesto. Pre packaged Parmesan is processed and packed with chemicals that keep it shelf stable. It tastes nothing like fresh. Don’t use it.
CAN I USE A DIFFERENT MEAT INSTEAD OF SAUSAGE?
If you’d like to avoid pork all together, ground beef can be used instead. The texture and flavour will be different, but it will still be good. If you’re ok with pork, you could substitute pancetta and this recipe would still be delicious.
CAN I USE ANOTHER KIND OF CHEESE?
You need to use a hard sharp cheese in this recipe. If you’d like to substitute Parmesan for something else, you could certainly use Pecorino or Grana Padano, both of which are delicious sharp cheeses.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR PESTO SAUSAGE RAVIOLI RECIPE
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Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make this delicious Pesto Sausage Ravioli:
- Heavy Bottomed Pan – My most used pan by far is my Le Creuset Braising Pan. It is made of heavy cast iron and coated in ceramic as all Le Creuset cast iron pans are. It’s large and deep which makes it perfect for everything from frying to making sauces. I can’t recommend it enough.
- Kitchen Aid Mixer – Although I have fond memories of making homemade pasta using a manual machine with my grandparents, I also remember how time consuming the process was. I highly recommend purchasing a good mixer if you are able to do so. I adore my Kitchen Aid Professional mixer. It can handle even the heaviest of batters with ease.
- Kitchen Aid Pasta Attachment – I love this mixer attachment! There is some effort required to get the dough consistent and thin enough to feed through the machine initially, however after the first run through the rest is effortless and takes mere minutes.
- Kitchen Knife – Zwilling J.A. Henkel Kitchen Knife a good kitchen knife is a necessary tool for any home cook. Quality and price point varies widely. This is what I use at home. It’s a perfectly decent knife, while still being very affordable.
- Kitchen Aid Food Processor – I use my Kitchen Aid Food Processor whenever I need to to finely chop and puree vegetables or a sauce. It works beautifully to chop the cashews into fine mince, and then pulse and mix all the pesto ingredients together.
- Ravioli Press
- Cutting Board
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet
- Large Pasta Pot
- Slotted Spoon
COOKING DIRECTIONS FOR PESTO SAUSAGE RAVIOLI
This Pesto Sausage Ravioli Recipe can be prepared in under thirty minutes. It is extremely delicious, and can be made easily as long as you follow a few simple rules:
- Use the freshest ingredients in your pesto.
- Take the time to caramelize the sausage filling.
- Roll the fresh pasta out thin to ensure the proper ratio of filling to pasta.
MAKE AHEAD STORAGE FOR SAUSAGE RAVIOLI
The pesto can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container. The pasta dough can be made the night before and, pre rolling, be stored wrapped tightly in the fridge.
This delicious pasta can be stored in the fridge for up to four days, and can be frozen in an airtight container.
FINISHED DISH
Enjoy your amazing Pesto Sausage Ravioli!
OTHER PESTO DISHES
Flavourful Pancetta Pesto Pasta
Pasta with Pistachio and Kale Pesto
OTHER PORK DISHES
Four Cheese Mac and Cheese with Pancetta
Pork and Beef Rigatoni Bolognese
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment and rating below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cooking.with.carbs.
Pin the image below if you would like to make this recipe later!
Pesto Sausage Ravioli Recipe
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Heavy Bottomed Pan
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting Board
- Kitchen Aid Mixer & pasta attachment
- Ravioli press
- Wooden spoon
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Baking sheet
- Large Pasta Pot
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
Sausage Filling
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oiil
- 6 Italian sausages
- 2 Large Crimini mushrooms
- 1 Scallion
- 2 Cloves garlic
- 1 Large egg
Fresh Pasta
- 6 Large eggs
- 4 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
Pesto
- 2 cups Baby spinach
- 1 cup Fresh basil
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 Cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Sausage Filling
- Warm the oil in the heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat.
- Add the sausage and break it up while you cook for 12 minutes until browned.
- Remove the cooked sausage and place it on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Reserve the drippings in the pan.
- Roughly chop the mushrooms and scallion and cook them in the sausage fat for 4 minutes until browned.
- Dice the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the vegetables and sausage to the food processor and pulse until desired dice
- Add the egg and mix.
Fresh Pasta
- If you have a stone counter top, and are comfortable using it, prepare it for using as a prep surface. Otherwise get the biggest cutting board you have, this can get messy!
- Pour your flour out on work surface and form it into a little mountain with a well in center of it. Ensure the walls of the well are nice and high so your eggs won’t spill out (I learned this the hard way!).
- Break your eggs into a bowl, then pour into the well in the middle of your dough. You can also break your eggs directly into the well, but be extremely cautious: the last thing you want is a chunk of shell in your pasta dough!
- Working slowly with a fork, mix your eggs in the centre of the well, then gently bring in flour from the edges. Keep mixing until all the flour is incorporated into your eggs. Don’t be frustrated if this gets messy! It will get easier each time you do it.
- After your eggs are incorporated, set the fork aside and work the dough with your hands pulling it into a pile in the center of your work surface.
- Kneed the dough by pulling it towards yourself, pressing it down with the heels of your hands (the meaty part where your palm meets your wrist) and pushing it away from you. Then bring it back, turn the dough on your surface, and repeat. Do this for about 5 minutes, sprinkling flour as needed, until the mixture starts to resemble actual dough.
- Wrap your dough ball tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Take your dough out of the fridge and place on a lightly floured work surface.
- Cut your dough in two and rewrap half.
- Using a rolling pin, roll your dough to approximately one centimetre thick.
- Set up your pasta machine (either manual, or Kitchen Aid mixer attachment).
- Set your mixer attachment on the widest setting. Roll your pasta through the attachment. If your pasta sticks, try rolling it out a bit thinner before trying again.
- Fold the pasta into thirds, like a letter that you are trying to place in an envelope.
- Feed the folded dough back into the machine, open end first.
- Fold your dough into thirds again, and feed the folded dough into the machine open end first again.
- After you have done this three or four times, the result will look like dough!
- Feed your dough through the next smaller setting, and continue going smaller until it is to your desired thickness. For ravioli or filled pasta, you should be able to see your hand through your pasta dough (6 or 7 on the Kitchen Aid attachment).
Filled Ravioli
- Place a finished pasta sheet into the ravioli press.
- Press down to create indents.
- Add 1 teaspoon of filling into each indent.
- Place another pasta sheet over the filled pockets.
- Roll over the pasta with a rolling pin to fuse and cut the ravioli.
- Turn out the finished ravioli onto a floured baking sheet.
Pesto
- Toast the cashews on medium heat for 2 minutes until lightly browned.
- Place them in the food processor and pulse until they are finely ground into a paste.
- Add the spinach and basil to the food processor and pulse until minced.
- Add the grated parmesan, garlic, salt, and chili flakes (if using) to the food processor and pulse to combine.
- Slowly stream the olive oil into the food processor while pulsing to combine.
Just the description itself makes me drool and crave! Your Pesto Sausage Ravioli looks absolutely delicious. And I super love the idea of cashews and parmesan together.
What a lovely ravioli recipe. Yum! That filling sounds delicious. I haven’t made homemade pasta in a while. This is the perfect opportunity to dust off that pasta maker I have and make this. Thanks!
There is nothing better than fresh pasta. We are big ravioli fans and this recipe just looks awesome with the sausage filling the pesto. Great tutorial too.
Drooling over this delicious ravioli.nothing can beat fresh homemade flavors. Pinned to make this soon. Thanks for sharing
I just got a pasta roller and I was excited to try making my own pasta from scratch. The combo of sausage and pesto was absolutely divine!
This wqs delicious and so fun to make! The pasta came out so perfectly tender, and I loved the brightness of the pesto for the spring.
These ravioli are simply perfect. The filing is super flavorful. They cook very well. I cannot wait to make them again and again!
I love the idea of adding spinach in pesto! It’s such a great way to use up leftover spinach and the color is so vibrant. I have all the ingredients so I’m definitely making this for dinner tomorrow!
I have never made ravioli from scratch, but now I am inspired—such a beautiful dish with so many layers of flavor and yummy textures.
Oh my! I need this in my life. Must print your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
so flavorful and awesome pesto recipe especially combined with ravioli. Totally delish.
These ravioli looks amazing Anneke, I’ve never made ravioli myself but have always wanted to try, it looks easier than I thought. The step by step images are very helpful. I will print the recipe and try to make them. Thanks for sharing!
Very detailed pasta recipe and can be done in 30 minutes. I need to try making my own pasta!