Homemade Ravioli Recipe
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This delicious homemade ravioli recipe is stuffed with cheeses, seasonings, and ground beef for an amazing Italian meal. You will be blown away by the flavor of these tasty ravioli.
I’m Sicilian so making and eating pasta in my house is commonplace. If you want to try out some new recipes, you must try Aglio e Olio or Bucatini All’Amatriciana.
Ravioli
Ravioli is an Italian specialty consisting of little round or square pillows of pasta dough filled with various mixtures, including cheese, meat, or vegetables. You then boil the ravioli and served it with cream, cheese, or tomato-based sauce. These can be stuffed with whatever you desire and served with any sauce.
Watch the video of my Aunt Pam’s famous ravioli recipe, where I get together with my Sicilian family to make over 2200 ravioli.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour – Use fine ground durum wheat semolina flour. If you cannot find this, use 00 or bread flour.
- Eggs – You will need large room temperature or cold eggs for the filling and the dough.
- Oil – Use a good extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt – I always use sea salt in my cooking and baking.
- Water – You will need a few tablespoons of cold water for the ravioli dough.
- Meat – Use 80/20 ground sirloin. You can also use a leaner ratio like 90/10.
- Cheese – You will need whole milk ricotta cheese and pecorino Romano cheese.
- Seasonings – A combination of dried oregano and garlic granules is used for the filling. In addition, you will use salt and pepper to help season the filling.
Equipment You’ll Need
You will need a ravioli mold and a rolling pin to make them. The other option is to make the ravioli right on a clean, floured surface using a ravioli stamp or cutter.
How to Make Ravioli from Scratch
In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt.
Next, whisk together the eggs, oil, and water in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup until combined.
While processing the flour-salt mixture at high speed, slowly pour in the egg-water mixture until incorporated.
You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to help make the dough while in the food processor.
Process until the dough turns into a tight ball and cleans the side of the processor.
Remove the dough and knead on a clean, lightly floured surface for 2 to 3 minutes. It should be soft when pinching it, like play-do.
Cover and rest the dough for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the meat, cheese, eggs, and seasonings until combined. Keep cool and covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Cut the dough into 8 individual balls.
Press each dough ball down and lightly flour on both sides.
Run the dough through the widest setting on the pasta roller, then run it through on the second to last thinnest setting on the pasta roller. Lightly flour both sides of the rolled dough and repeat the process with the other 7 dough balls and hang them on a pasta drying rack.
Lightly flour the top of the ravioli mold.
Place 1 of the rolled-out doughs on top of the mold.
Stuff each ravioli slot with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of the meat filling totaling 12 individual filling slots. Do not over stuff.
Place another sheet of rolled-out dough over top and then lightly flour.
Using a rolling pin, roll the outside edges of the mold and center around each ravioli cutting through the dough into the mold, and separating them.
Remove the excess dough around the outside. You can re-roll this out and make homemade spaghetti or any other pasta you’d like.
Flip the mold over onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat the process 3 more times until you have 48 total ravioli.
You can either freeze the ravioli until frozen or boil them right away. If boiling, add them to a large pot of boiling salted water. After the ravioli are floating, cook them for another 5 to 6 minutes or until the meat filling is cooked through.
If you are freezing them, breaking them into individual ravioli is easier.
After boiling them try serving them with Pomodoro Sauce or a meat Spaghetti Sauce.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You will need to serve the ravioli immediately after cooking. However, you can make these ravioli for up to several weeks if they are kept covered and in the freezer. You can par-boil them and then chill them in an ice bath. Drain the ravioli, coat them in 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and keep them covered and stored in the refrigerator.
How to Store: These are best if you store them pre-cooked on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and in the freezer, covered for up to 6 months. After they are cooked, cover the ravioli, separate them from any sauce, coat them in 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These will not freeze well after cooking.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of ravioli to a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. Serve with your favorite sauce.
Chef Notes + Tips
- If you are using semolina flour, make sure it is not coarse ground, it needs to be finely ground.
- Feel free to replace the ground beef with loose Italian Sausage.
- If you can find sheep’s milk ricotta cheese, use it instead of whole milk ricotta.
- You can substitute the pecorino Romano with Parmesan Reggiano.
- If you are re-rolling the dough, ensure there is no meat filling in the dough.
More Pasta Recipes
Video
Homemade Ravioli Recipe
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 4 cups fine ground durum semolina flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup cold water
For the Filling:
- 4 eggs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- ¾ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic granules
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt 3 to 4 times.
- Next, whisk together the eggs, oil, and water in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup until combined.
- While processing the flour-salt mixture at high speed, slowly pour in the egg-water mixture until incorporated.
- You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to help make the dough while in the food processor.
- Process until the dough turns into a tight ball and cleans the side of the processor.
- Remove the dough and knead on a clean, lightly floured surface for 2 to 3 minutes. It should be soft when pinching it, like play-do.
- Cover and rest the dough for 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the meat, cheese, eggs, and seasonings until combined. Keep cool and covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Cut the pasta dough into 8 individual balls.
- Press each dough ball down and lightly flour on both sides.
- Run the dough through the widest setting on the pasta roller, then run it through on the second to last thinnest setting on the pasta roller. Lightly flour both sides of the rolled dough and repeat the process with the other 7 dough balls and hang them on a pasta drying rack.
- Lightly flour the top of the ravioli mold
- Place 1 of the rolled-out doughs on top of the mold.
- Stuff each ravioli slot with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of the meat filling totaling 12 individual filling slots. Do not over stuff.
- Place another sheet of rolled-out dough over top and then lightly flour.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the outside edges of the mold and center around each ravioli cutting through the dough into the mold, and separating them.
- Remove the excess dough around the outside. You can re-roll this out and make homemade spaghetti or any other pasta you’d like.
- Flip the mold over onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat the process 3 more times until you have 48 total ravioli.
- You can either freeze the ravioli until frozen or boil them right away. If boiling, add them to a large pot of boiling salted water. Once they are floating, cook them for another 5 to 6 minutes or until the meat filling is cooked through.
- If you are freezing them, it makes it easier to break them into individual ravioli.
- After boiling them try serving them with Pomodoro Sauce or a meat Spaghetti Sauce.
I used your dough recipe but used my Italian grandma’s filling recipe. Weirdly it’s made with ground ham, spinach, garlic and eggs to bind it. They turned out great, the dough was perfect! Sauced it with garlic butter.
Why is your pasta recipe different from ravioli?
Best,
Pam
Just a few different variations and all work.
Please disregard my question about eggs in the filling—I need to read more closely 🙂
Glad you found your answer!
How many eggs are used in the beef filling?
I do not have a food processor can I make this without that?
Yes, you can make the dough by hand.
Billy,
I don’t have a ravioli pan or the pasta roller but I want to try making them anyway. Can I just roll out the dough with a rolling pin and fill them that way?
Thanks,
Ruth
Sure, just make sure you seal the edges.
Billy,
This video was the sweetest I’ve seen. Watching your whole family making pasta and spending time together was truly special—it made me wish I was there! And I absolutely love your Aunt Pam. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful moment. I’ve learned so much about pasta making through your website, and I really appreciate all the knowledge you’ve shared. I’ve never made fresh pasta before, but now I’m inspired to give it a try.
That means so much — thank you! Cooking with family is everything to me, and I’m so glad that came through.Appreicate you trying this recipe!
Followed your recipe exactly. The pasta I made with fresh milled durum and it was great. I’m just wondering if the measurement is correct for the ricotta because the filling part was really soupy, it did not look like the video. Good though! The whole family enjoyed it and I was glad because it took me hours to make.
Drain your ricotta! I found this tip somewhere else. It gets a lot of the excess water out.
I am not a pasta lover. I needed something new. I found this wonderful dish. It was easy enough. My husband and I love this dish with warm garlic bread. I always make the full recipe. Eat half and freeze half. Thank you Billy!!
These turned out perfect and were so yummy! Thank you for sharing your family recipe. My husband said Chef Parisi would be proud of me! Will make again and again.