What to Eat with Ravioli – Sauces, Sides and Toppings

How it works

What to eat with ravioli? The filling decides the sauce, and the sauce decides the rest of the plate. These 41 ideas cover sauces by filling, toppings, breads and salads, vegetables, meat, sweets and drinks.

Read the full guide

How ravioli is served

Ravioli are usually served in broth or with a sauce. In Campania they are often eaten with tomato sauce in summer and ragù in winter. In Cyprus, ravioli filled with halloumi are boiled in chicken stock and topped with grated halloumi and dried mint. Breaded, fried ravioli is an appetizer, generally served with marinara for dipping.

Build the plate

Sauce the ravioli lightly: the richer the filling, the plainer the sauce. Then add one crisp or green thing and some bread for the plate. Meat is optional: the ravioli already have a filling.

Save some of the cooking water. A splash loosens a thick sauce and helps it cling.
Lift ravioli out of the water with a slotted spoon. Tipping them into a colander can burst them.

Questions and answers

What sauce goes with ravioli?

Tomato sauce or basil pesto for cheese ravioli, brown butter and sage for squash, mushroom cream sauce for beef or mushroom, and saffron cream sauce for lobster or crab. Butter and parmesan suits every filling.

What to eat ravioli with instead of tomato sauce?

Garlic and olive oil, walnut sauce or pistachio pesto leave the tomato out. For a creamy plate, try parmesan cream sauce or gorgonzola cream sauce, and for a soup, float small ravioli in chicken broth.

What do you eat ravioli with as a side?

Garlic bread or crusty bread for the sauce, then arugula salad with lemon, Caesar salad, roasted broccoli or sautéed spinach with garlic. Caponata and stuffed mushrooms suit ravioli in butter.

What meat goes with ravioli?

Meatballs in tomato sauce or Italian sausage with peppers beside cheese ravioli. Chicken cacciatore and braised beef bring their own sauce, so serve the ravioli plain, in butter.

What do you drink with ravioli?

Without alcohol: sparkling water with lemon, bitter orange soda over ice, or red grape juice in a stemmed glass.

All 41 ideas

Sauces, by filling 16

Basil pesto For cheese or chicken ravioli. Loosen it with a spoonful of the cooking water.
Brown butter and sage For squash or cheese ravioli. Cook the butter until it smells nutty, then add the leaves.
Butter and parmesan For a filling you want to taste. Toss the hot ravioli in the pan until glossy.
Chicken broth For small meat ravioli. Float them in hot broth and eat them with a spoon.
Garlic and olive oil For seafood or spinach ravioli. Warm the garlic gently so it stays pale.
Gorgonzola cream sauce For pear, walnut or beef ravioli. Strong, so a little is enough.
Meat ragù For cheese or spinach ravioli on a cold night. A ladle over each bowl.
Mushroom cream sauce For beef or mushroom ravioli. Brown the mushrooms well before the cream goes in.
Parmesan cream sauce For mushroom or chicken ravioli. Just enough to coat, not to drown.
Pistachio pesto For ricotta or shrimp ravioli. Thin it with olive oil and scatter chopped nuts on top.
Roasted red pepper sauce For cheese or sausage ravioli. Sweet, smoky and bright orange.
Saffron cream sauce For lobster, crab or shrimp ravioli. Keep it thin and pale gold.
Spicy tomato sauce For meat or cheese ravioli when you want heat. Go lightly at first.
Tomato cream sauce For cheese or sausage ravioli. Pink and mild, easy for children to like.
Tomato sauce For cheese ravioli. Spoon it over warm, or set it out as a dip for fried ravioli.
Walnut sauce For ravioli filled with greens and herbs. Pale, creamy and thick.

On top 6

A spoonful of ricotta Cold and creamy on hot tomato sauce. Do not stir it in.
Crushed amaretti cookies A pinch over squash ravioli in brown butter, for a sweet crunch.
Grated halloumi and dried mint Salty and cool over ravioli boiled in chicken stock.
Grated parmesan Grate it at the table, over the sauce, just before eating.
Melted mozzarella Cover the sauced ravioli with slices and bake until it bubbles.
Toasted pine nuts Toast them in a dry pan until golden and scatter a few on each plate.

Breads and salads 5

Arugula salad with lemon Peppery leaves and lemon after a rich, cheesy plate.
Caesar salad Crisp and cold next to soft pasta. Dress it at the last minute.
Crusty bread A plain loaf, torn at the table, to mop up the sauce.
Garlic bread For wiping the plate. Slice it thick so it holds together.
Tomato and mozzarella salad Thick slices with basil and olive oil, beside ravioli in butter or pesto.

Vegetables 4

Caponata Sweet and sour eggplant, served cool, beside ravioli in butter.
Roasted broccoli Roast it until the tips char, then squeeze lemon over it.
Sautéed spinach with garlic A quick pan of greens. It also goes under the ravioli as a bed.
Stuffed mushrooms Bake them while the water boils and pass them round first.

Meat to serve with it 4

Braised beef Soft enough to cut with a fork. Spoon its juices over plain buttered ravioli.
Chicken cacciatore Chicken braised with tomato and peppers. Its sauce is good on the ravioli too.
Italian sausage with peppers Brown the sausages, slice them and pile the peppers on top.
Meatballs in tomato sauce A few beside cheese ravioli, sharing the same sauce.

Something sweet after 3

Affogato A scoop of vanilla ice cream with hot coffee poured over at the table.
Panna cotta Cool, wobbly and plain after a heavy plate. Add a few berries.
Tiramisu Make it the day before and serve it cold in small squares.

Drinks 3

Bitter orange soda Fizzy and not too sweet. Serve it over ice with an orange slice.
Red grape juice Pour it into a stemmed glass, lightly chilled.
Sparkling water with lemon Cold and plain, so the sauce stays the main thing.