Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole – seriously delicious! Meat sauce, frozen ravioli, and 4 cheeses! The BEST pasta casserole EVER!!! Can make ahead and refrigerate or freeze for later. Frozen cheese ravioli, cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, Italian sausage, spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Serve with a simple salad and garlic bread. Great for dinner parties and potlucks! Everyone loves this easy casserole! I never have any leftovers!!
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Pin This RecipeThis Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole is a new favorite in our house! Meat sauce, ravioli, and tons of cheese. YUM! We ate this for lunch and dinner the same day. We just couldn’t get enough of it!!! You can make this pasta casserole ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later. I like to make this and split it between two pans. Bake one now and freeze one for later.
As I said, we LOVED this Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole! It is loaded with tons of amazing flavor. We served this with a salad and some garlic bread. If you need a good garlic bread recipe, check out our version of Carbone’s Garlic Bread. I love it!!
What is a good store-bought spaghetti sauce?
I used a jar of Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara (green label) in this casserole. I also like Rao’s or La Famiglia DelGrosso jarred sauces. All three of these jarred sauces taste great! I used Italian sausage for the meat sauce.
If you don’t like sausage, you can swap it out for ground beef or ground turkey. You might want to add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the beef or turkey to give it more flavor. Totally up to you.
One last thing about the ingredients, I used a bag of frozen cheese ravioli. There is no need to thaw the ravioli first. It will cook in the casserole.
One more thing, this casserole uses cottage cheese. I already know the emails and comments that are coming from all you cottage cheese haters! Here is my take on cottage cheese: I like cottage cheese in pasta casseroles. I NEVER ever eat it straight out of the container – yuck! BUT it is heavenly in casseroles. If you haven’t tried it, I really encourage you to branch out and try it. If you aren’t ready to trust the word of a tried and true picky eater, you can try and substitute ricotta for the cottage cheese.
Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 (28-oz) jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp parsley
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 (25-oz) package frozen cheese ravioli
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9x13x2-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large skillet brown Italian sausage. Drain fat from skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, softened cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic powder. Add ravioli. Toss to coast.
- Spread ravioli in the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Pour meat sauce over ravioli and top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Notes:
Steph
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Delish! Made this for the first time last night. Adults and kids LOVED it!
Thank you Plain Chicken – I use so many recipes from you!
Can this be made in the crockpot?
I haven’t made this in the slow cooker, but I think it would be fine.
I used ground italian style turkey instead of Italian sausage. Used low fat cream cheese. I blended the low fat cottage cheese because my family is not a fan of chunks of cottage cheese. Newman’s Own Marina sauce. it was awesome. Better than lasagna. Will make again and again!
I subbed tortellini for the ravioli. Easier to coat with the the cottage cheese mix. Worked out well.
Made this tonight. First of all it was so easy to make and the recipe was easy to follow. I have to say this was amazingly good. Definitely making this again. The recipe is already in my draw to keep. I didn’t substitute anything. When making it my son said with the cottage cheese and sour cream seemed weird. But when he ate it, he said it was so good and to keep this recipe. I do have a question though. Could this be made in a crockpot? I have a lasagna I do in the crockpot and your recipe is reminds me of that but better. If you can, how long would you cook it? Thank you in advance.
I’m vegetarian, can I make this without the sausage? How about using beyond beef crumbles? Thanks!
Either way is just fine.
Hi! Stupid question time….how far ahead have you assembled it before cooking? Today is Tuesday, and will be baking on Saturday? Too long? Thanks in advance and love ALL your recipes.
I mean, you can try it. I usually suggest 2 days in advance.
Thanks. I had some sausage I needed to use up. Made it and put it in the freezer to be safe
Perfect!
I gave this one a try last night and we loved it. I was skeptical about the cottage cheese because no one in my family likes it but I decided to trust all the reviews I read and I was glad I did. I did add onion to my meat sauce and a tsp of minced garlic and a little red pepper flakes. It was awesome. Thanks for the recipe and the spot on reviews.
You said in this recipe to use a 25 ounce bag of raviolis that’s a lot of raviolis my bag is only 12 ounces
Then you will need 2 bags or you can half the recipe and use the 12-oz bag
Wow!!! This recipe is amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing.
Amazing dish! Made it tonight and my family loves it. Wouldn’t change a thing.
This is hands down one of the most amazing dishes I’ve ever made! Thank you!!
I made this perfect dish for dinner.last night. I followed the directions exactly. We’ll not exactly, I always add pesto and a little nutmeg to all my pasta dishes! Came out delish!!!
I agree with the cottage cheese comment from the author. I hate cottage cheese, but in lasagna and other pasta dishes, it’s awesome. If it’s a texture thing do what I do and put it in the blender. My kids have no idea I use cottage cheese. If they did, they wouldn’t even try it. This recipe is amazing!!
Great tip with the blender!
I too run cottage cheese through the blender have for over 50 years. I used ricotta once in lasange and all my cottage cheeses hater were like mom this is awful what happened? End of that experiment!
I prepared this last night and can’t wait to cook it tonight! Since it has sat in fridge overnight, should I increase or decrease the cook time at all?
It will probably take a little longer to cook if you are baking it straight from the refrigerator.
My raviolis we’re in the fridge section, not the freezer. How long do I cook it now?
same amount of time listed
This was absolutely delicious!! Quick question if making it the day and then baking, would you need to bake it for the full 45 minutes since the ravioli would have defrosted?
Bake it however long you would like.
Did it cook in less time because the refrigeration time since the ravioli would be alittle thawed out?
Can I precook the pasta to save oven time? I hate heating my house with the oven any longer than necessary. Thanks!!
I don’t think that will save any time. The casserole still has to cook at about the same time to heat everything up. But it is your house, you can make this however you want.
I can’t find cream cheese anywhere right now. Can I substitute ricotta cheese for the cream cheese?
Absolutely fabulous! My brother-in-law hates cottage cheese with a passion and never had a clue it was in this dish. He even took leftovers to work the next day! Everyone loves it and it’s staying in our regular rotation for sure. Thanks Stephanie for a truly million dollar recipe!
SO glad it was a hit!
The recipe doesn’t say whether to cook the ravioli before or add to pan frozen.
It does if you actually read the post
Add them in frozen
would love for these recipes to be more printer friendly. This is the only site I have seen that doesn’t have a print button, that said…I love this recipe!!! have lost it a few times and am back to cut and paste it into word so I always have it.
There is a print recipe button on EVERY SINGLE RECIPE!!! EVERY SINGLE ONE!
Print button is on green bar, just above recipe image
To truly make it “million dollar”, I would sprinkle those crispy french fried onion bits to the last 15 min of bake time! Can’t wait!
Sounds amazing!
Can you use fresh refrigerated ravioli? If so, should it be precooked. Thank you!
Loved this! Was very easy to make and delicious! There was plenty for another meal later in the week. I forgot to soften the cream cheese so I used my microwave soften setting and was able to mix it up without any problems.
I doubled the sauce and sausage, added sautéed onions to sauce and it was absolutely delish! This will definitely be added to our rotation.
Cheaper and a lot quicker to make than standard lasagna which is an added bonus for sure!!
is the parsley fresh or dried?
dried
I highly recommend trying this!! I only used 2 8oz jars of spaghetti sauce though. I added mushrooms as well. I accidentally bought refrigerated ravioli so I boiled them for 3 minutes then mixed them with the cream cheese mixture. Turned out perfect 🥰
THANKS-Should I use marinara or spagetti sauce for best flavor?
Whatever you prefer – they are basically the same thing. I use Rao’s Spaghetti Sauce.
is that 2 TBSP fresh or dry parsley?-can I substitute marinara sauce for spaghetti sauce?-if so which is best?-THANKS
I used dry parsley
Delicious and very easy to make. The family has decided that it is a keeper recipe – the ultimate compliment!!!!
Substitution for sausage? I am not a fan…
I want to make this, but usually I am much more of a fan or Ricotta cheese–can I substitute or will it ruin it?
I don’t like cottage cheese either. I add more sour cream 1/2 cup and more cream cheese 1/4 cup. It sets up perfect and taste great!
Do I boil the frozen ravioli Before adding? Or just add frozen
add it frozen
I’m using fresh ravioli. Do I cook it beforehand?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This is delicious! Thank you for the recipe. You have the patience of a saint with all of these questions that are addressed in the blog and in the recipe. If I could suggest – if you have a question – re-read the directions and recipe prior to asking because you will probably be able to answer your own question. It’s extremely redundant, a waste of Steph’s time, and makes some of you look very silly – IMO, of course.
I made this last night, and my adult son and I both loved it. We love my lasagna recipe, but this was much simpler and faster to make. Probably not waist friendly enough to have every week, but a definite keeper for at least once in awhile! I used Rana (“Italy’s Most Loved”) cheese lovers signature fresh tortelloni, and it was terrific. The instructions on the package said to boil for 3 minutes, but my instinct told me that it would be just fine to put in the casserole unboiled since it would be cooking in the sauce for close to an hour. I was right! the pasta was just perfect. Looking forward to leftovers today!
This was so good!!!! Fam raves about it. Will be doing it again for sure!!!!!!!!
Made this twice now. The first time was pretty much to your directions above. At first I thought it was just ok and my husband’s review was, it’s ok but too cheesy for him. (He only tolerates soft and mild cheeses, but typically is against any other.) But next day’s leftovers Really just hit home for me! Like I became mildly obsessed…So a week later I made another half pan (9×9) for myself but with the following changes… not because I didn’t like yours, but to use up things in my fridge…
I used 2 pks of Trader Joe’s refrigerated Ravioli (Italian sausage). I probably got 18 raviolis total. Forgot to count. For your million dollar mix I used 4oz mascarpone, 3/4 c 4%fat cottage cheese, 2oz cream cheese, and 1/4 c or so of sour cream. Then about 2tsp dried minced garlic, and a few shakes of Penzeys Pasta Sprinkle (The best Italian Herb blend!)
I mixed all right there in the baking dish, and Once all blended, I stirred in the raviolis right in pan. Then, because I was lazy, I omitted the sausage and just poured about a half jar of spaghetti sauce over the ravs and covered with mozzarella. Baked at 350 til the cheese on top was perfect. I gotta say, it was just as delish! Ridiculously easy and quick. And since the ravs were only cold and not frozen, I only needed to bake about 25 min. I still let it rest though. This recipe will be made a lot!
Thanks for this!
So glad you enjoyed it, Katy!
Do you cook the ravioli first or put it in the pan frozen?
you don’t have to cook the ravioli before baking
Do I need to boil the ravioli first?
NO. It will cook in the casserole.
Do I need to boil the ravioli before it gets coated??
No, you don’t need to cook the ravioli before baking.
This sounds yummy! Can I use fresh ravioli…it’s what I have on hand. If yes, would I par boil it first? Thx in advance…Linda
I’m so glad I listened to you and decided to branch out and try cottage cheese in your recipes….it’s so delicious!!! Making this tonight ????
Made this over the weekend and it was amazing! Fed 8 people and had a little left over, served with salad and bread. I thinka standard 24oz jar of sauce is enough sauce, no need to open a second jar if that is what you have on hand. Super easy and super delicious. I made the casserole up and noon and refrigerated until dinner so when my guests arrive I only need to take the casserole out to pop it in the oven. Delicious.
Made this today. Turned out really good..didn't have cottage cheese or sour cream and used fresh ravioli as that was what i had. Thank you
Stephanie! This casserole is DELICIOUS!!! I made it for our church's monthly potbless, and everyone raved about it! I was secretly glad that there was some left over so I could eat it the next day. 🙂
YAY! SO glad everyone enjoyed it. This is one of my favorites. I'm jealous you had the leftovers. I need to make it again soon!
What size pans do you use when you split it into two pans, and should I change the cooking time if split into two pans?
I used the Bob Evan’s Italian sausage – the rolled kind. What kind do you normally use? Thanks
Okay just made this and it is flipping delicious!!
Hands down, this is the most delicious pasta casserole I've made. I followed the recipe exactly and divided it in half. I cooked one for dinner and froze the other. Both turned out just great! I'm making it again tonight and I'm going to try thawing the ravioli just a little bit beforehand as I found the frozen ones a bit difficult to work with. They kept sticking together and my hands were so cold after working with them. Hats off to Steph for a recipe that is now in my "favorites" file.
Can you use fresh ravioli instead of frozen? If so, how would you adjust the cook time?
Well we are about to find out. I had some fresh on hand so decided to throw caution to the wind and use it. I prepared it per the directions on the pasta but shortened the boil time. I also am shortening the baking time to 30 minutes (or less). Cross your fingers!
I am NOT a fan of cottage cheese (traumatic childhood experience) so I was skeptical. I made this recipe and used half the amount of cottage cheese that the recipe calls for and it was AMAZING! My husband and I both loved it!
How many people does this serve?
I’ve never used cottage cheese in casseroles before but I’m going to branch out and give it a try. Do you prefer small curd or large curd?
I definitely prefer small curd
Hi, Made the Million dollar Ravioli with Udi’s frozen gluten free Ravioli and it still came out perfectly!! Thanks 🙂
Thanks so much for letting everyone know!! So glad it worked out
Do you think if I used ricotta instead of cottage cheese, it would still be one cup?
Will make this with my grandson!
Yes! We are looking at surgery, and this would be great to throw together when we are home recuperating. Thanks
Do you think you could make the night before, keep in fridge until next day & then bake?
I think that would be fine – enjoy!
Love how easy this is – i'll never fuss with lasagna noodles again!