When removing gluten from my diet a couple years ago, one dish I assumed I would never taste again was ravioli. Seriously, how could I pull that one off without flour? I’m sure it could be done, but it would take weeks, even months, of trial and error. I love ravioli, but frankly, not enough to put myself through that kind of ordeal. Luckily, a moment of genius struck me when trying to figure out something unique to make with my most recent batch of Cappello’s Gluten/Grain Free lasagna sheets. They did all the hard work for me; I just had to put everything together.
Ravioli has been written about since the 1300s, so logic dictates that it’s been around longer than that. It probably took a while to get the attention of the scribes, right? There are countless variations of ravioli, but since this was my first time making it in years, I wanted to style it after my childhood favorite – Chef Boyardee beef ravioli!
serves two
1 pkg Cappello’s fresh lasagna sheets (12oz)
3 cups (24oz) Superior Spaghetti Sauce or similar
1/2 onion, blended
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
If you’re using spaghetti sauce from a jar (or leftovers in the fridge), pour it into a pot and let it warm on low as you get the raviolis ready.
In a blender or processor (or my favorite, a Magic Bullet), blend the onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
In a stock pot, heat the oil on medium heat, then add the blended ingredients. Simmer for about four minutes, stirring frequently. It’s important to use a stock pot when making the beef because we’re trying to get a finely-minced ground beef, since clumps won’t be very appealing in ravioli. Using a stockpot will keep moisture from escaping, and moisture will help keep the beef from clumping.
Stir in the beef, nutmeg, and cream and reduce the heat to med/low. Stirring (as opposed to pounding or mashing) will also help the beef remain clump-free. Continue to stir as the beef slowly cooks, it should take about 15 minutes.
This is what it’ll look like about five minutes into cooking.
Near the fifteen-minute-mark, the cream will have evaporated and the beef will be ready. Stir in 1 tbsp of parmesan cheese and remove from heat.
Drain the meat of most of its fat and set aside. It’ll look a little boring at this point, but that’s a good thing – it’s just one small piece of a larger project!
Gently wet two of the lasagna sheets and set them on a cutting board. Place four 1-tbsp clumps of the beef onto one sheet.
Cover the sheet with the other sheet, and gently press it down around the beef with your fingers to remove any trapped air. Using a ravioli press or a pizza cutter, cut out your ravioli.
Repeat this process with your other lasagna sheets – you should end up with 15 or 16 raviolis.
Quick tip: slice your leftover lasagna sheets into strips and use as fresh pasta!
Let’s take a second and give your spaghetti sauce some love. In order to get that signature Chef Boyardee consistency, I used an immersion blender to get rid of the chunks. You’ll also end up with quite a bit of leftover beef filling – stir it into your spaghetti sauce. Okay, back to your raviolis.
Warm the butter in a large skillet on med/low heat for a couple minutes, then add the ravioli. Toast on each side, about two mins per side, until nice and browned.
Pour on the sauce, and bring to a simmer for a minute or two.
Serve with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
The Domestic Man 
This looks amazing! I’m going to have to try this. Thank you for bringing raviolis back into our lives. =)
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Huzzah! These look beautiful!
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Reblogged this on Rebecca Stibrany and commented:
BIG yum.
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When I saw the picture, I immediately thought of Chef Boyardee! Obviously much healthier and delicious than Chef Boyardee (and more beautiful too), but a job well done.
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Thanks Pami! Great minds must think alike :)
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I bet the kids would love that!
Sent from my iPhone
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Just found out that I have to go gluten free. I’m so happy to see your beautiful ravioli and hope that I can find those lasagna sheets.
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Good luck with your new journey…I hope my recipes will help you along the way!
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I miss pasta…being from the Philippines it’s impossible for me to get those Cappello’s fresh pastas :-( Still searching for grain free pasta recipes on the web…
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I hope to make my own from scratch one of these days…don’t lose hope!
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I’m hitting the kitchen on Sunday for that…Found a recipe that mixes almond flour and Tapioca Starch + Xanthum Gum…keeping my fingers crossed.
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Hi Russ! the pasta was quite successful…I just need to roll out the sheets thinner. I did the same thing with mine, toasting them on a pan first before tossing them in the sauce. Thanks for inspiring me :-)
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I am SO interested in finding a pasta recipe. Any chance you may feel like sharing the recipe you found? :-) Thank you!
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Amazing!
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It is great to see all of these yummy gluten free pastas on the market lately.
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Russ, you sir are a Genius
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Thanks George!
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Hi,
Sorry in advance for my english…
I wanted to make you a question. Why did you toast the ravioli? It depends on the pasta you used? Why didn’t you boil them?
Greetings from Italy! Bye bye
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Hi, I toasted the ravioli at the recommendation of the manufacturer; the lasagna sheets are a little less hardy than flour-based sheets, so toasting helped them to firm up a bit. Simmering them in the tomato sauce after toasting helped to soften them again. Hope that makes sense!
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Thank you for your explanation :)
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I think it’s great that you provide recipes like this. For me, I’d worry that eating simulated grain foods would knock me out of kilter mentally. All this stuff is in the not-food bucket for me and if I want lasagna, I make it using sheets of butternut squash instead of pasta. (Anne Burrell has a great recipe for this over on the Food Network site.)
Regardless, this looks delicious – just not feasible for me.
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These noodles are made from almond flour and I don’t think they would bother you unless you are allergic. They are amazing.
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Wow these look amazing. Do you happen to have an idea what I can use to make my own gluten free lasagne sheets?
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Great question. I would assume that a combination of almond flour, egg, and some starch (tapioca, potato) would do the trick, but I haven’t taken a crack at it myself.
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This looks great, I can’t wait to try it!
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Now I am on a mission to find gluten-free, grain-free & egg-free ravioli! ;)
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This looks so very good! and I can not wait to try this!.
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Thank you so much! I haven’t had those terrible canned raviolis in years now, and I’ve gotta say I miss the dumb things, so I’m really glad you styled the recipe exactly the same. (But without preservatives and junk, which is a nice bonus- I’m gluten free from allergies, not the pursuit of healthy perfection.) My life is complete, thank you!
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This almost brought tears to my eyes!! My husband’s family tradition for Easter is Raviolis and last Easter I sucked it up and ate them and spent the next two days regretting it (as I always do when I eat gluten!). I’m going to print this and make it a few time before then but when the time arrives I’ll take my own. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
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