This easy ravioli casserole with frozen ravioli and ground beef meatballs is a family favorite dinner baked in the oven in 1 hour. NO defrosting necessary, layer with cheese and cook together!

A serving of cheesy, baked eggplant parmesan is lifted from a glass dish, garnished with herbs—solid alongside a comforting Ravioli Casserole.

Are you ever in need of a quick meal at the end of a long day but you want it to be hearty and filling enough for teenage boys?? We have the ticket, everyone asks for seconds on this one and it only takes 15 minutes to prep, NO thawing necessary.

Once we went to the store and they were clearancing out all of their bags of frozen ravioli so we had to grab a cart full and get to experimenting. We mean of course you know How to Cook Frozen Ravioli the boring way, boiling them and tossing with sauce for dinner but that is ehh.

Instead….if you combine it with similar ingredients to spaghetti except using these cheese or ground beef filled noodles you give that old fashioned dish so much more flavor!!

Bowls of shredded cheese, frozen meatballs, tomato sauce, ravioli, grated cheese, and fresh parsley on a white surface—everything you need to create a good Ravioli Casserole.

Now we used a lot of the same things here that we did with our Crockpot lasagna soup with frozen ravioliexcept this one is even easier. Using frozen ravioli filled with cheese or meat it has more protein with the meatballs layer too which we love.

Ingredient notes

We pick up a bag of frozen raviolior two depending on how large you want to make this. You can find store brands or name brands which we will say there is not a big difference between the two in our opinion.

Do you have to cook ravioli?

NO, that is the great part about this frozen ravioli casserole. When it bakes the pasta will defrost and emit a bit more liquid into the pan allowing it to become tender and cook the middle all the way thru as they bake.

You are going to start off with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Use any brand or flavor you love, we generally buy whichever is on sale and we do prefer chunky style if we have a choice.

We like adding cheeseand lots of it. Using a combination of shredded mozzarella and parmesan is our favorite but whatever you like can go in there friends.

Can you add meat?

We are adding a layer of frozen meatballs here but honestly you could precook a pound of ground beef or spicy ground sausage, drain, and use that instead but that takes longer. We chose to thaw in the microwave so that they would get tender and absorb more of the sauce flavors. There is enough time though where you could layer them frozen and it would be fine, not as tender and flavorful.

Swaps

There are two general choices for the insides, filled with ground beef or cheese. Sometimes you can find a vegetarian option with spinach inside or squash. Use whatever one you choose, the directions won't change as far as that is concerned.

Glass baking dish filled with Ravioli Casserole on rich tomato sauce, surrounded by bowls and fresh parsley on a white surface.

Glass baking dish with meatballs covered in tomato sauce, sliced mozzarella, and parsley on a white surface—solid for serving alongside a homemade Ravioli Casserole.

How Long to Bake Ravioli Casserole

There are two steps to this. You want to steam for the majority of it so everything gets super tender for 40 minutes but the top should get browned as well. The second step when foil is removed takes 20 minutes so 1 hour is typically solid with a few minutes to rest before serving so everything can solidify a bit more.

What Temperature to Bake Frozen Ravioli

You do want a bit lower to give it time to essentially steam under the foil to thaw and then cook to tender so we prefer 375 degrees F to get this done. Since the top is covered in the first step you could increase to 400 to get it done a bit faster but we recommend what is stated in the recipe card below for best results.

Can you make ravioli casserole with meat ahead of time?

Actually you could. We mean it will cool down and it is better warm of course but if you baked it you could keep warm in a slow cooker by transferring it from the dish into there. This will work for a few hours, or bake in an aluminum pan and set in a chafing dish if you are having a party and want to make about an hour before guests come.

Did you buy in bulk and want other ideas too? You can make our frozen ravioli in air fryer too which gives you a crispy texture which kids love to snack on…..or you can bread the outside and make air fryer ravioli bites for dinner.

Baked chicken parmesan in a casserole dish, topped with melted cheese and parsley, served alongside a hearty ravioli casserole for a comforting meal.

Ravioli Casserole Recipe

By This easy ravioli casserole with meatballs recipe is a family favorite dinner baked in the oven in 1 hour layered with lots of cheese. Prep: 15 minutes minsCook: 1 hour hrServings: 1 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

1 9×13 casserole dish

Ingredients

1 bag ravioli, cheese used, 25 oz.
1 bag meatballs, frozen, cooked to tender
1 jar spaghetti sauce24 oz
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

Defrost/cook frozen meatballs according to directions on back of box in microwave, set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 F and spray 9×13" casserole dish with non stick spray. Pour half of spaghetti sauce on bottom.
Lay half frozen ravioli on top in single layer, top with cooked meatballs spread out, followed by half of remaining sauce + 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Layer rest of frozen ravioli, remaining sauce topped with rest of mozzarella with parmesan on top.
Cover top with foil and bake for 40 minutes, uncover and bake for 20 more minutes until top is golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.