This ravioli lasagna is what I make when I want homemade lasagna but don’t have the whole afternoon the real thing takes me. I love homemade lasagna, but I only make the real thing a few times a year because it takes me a whole afternoon. This ravioli lasagna is what I make the rest of the time. Frozen cheese ravioli does the job of both the noodles and the ricotta, since each ravioli is pasta with the ricotta already sealed inside.

You layer sauce, frozen ravioli, and cheese right into the pan, cover the pan with foil, and bake. The ravioli goes in straight from the freezer, so there’s no boiling and no thawing. When the pan comes out, the sauce is bubbling at the edges, the cheese is browned on top, and the whole dish looks and tastes like lasagna.

A glass baking dish filled with cheesy baked Ravioli Lasagna topped with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella, garnished with chopped parsley. A serving spoon is scooping out a portion, showcasing this delicious Ravioli Lasagna Recipe.

A reader named Julie said it’s just as good as any lasagna, but much simpler, and she’s right. Some people call this style lazy lasagna, and the name fits.

Two things decide how this ravioli lasagna turns out: what you buy and how you spread the sauce.

Buy Enough Ravioli, And Buy The Right Kind

You need 38 to 40 ounces of ravioli, and counting bags won’t get you to that number, because bags run anywhere from 19 to 30 ounces depending on the brand. Check the printed weight. I use two 19-ounce bags of Celentano four cheese ravioli.

Two bags of ravioli fill the pan corner to corner. And if a bigger bag leaves you with extra ravioli, my fried ravioli turns the leftovers into an appetizer.

A glass baking dish filled with neatly arranged rows of uncooked square ravioli on a white marble surface, ready to be transformed into a delicious Ravioli Lasagna Recipe.

Square ravioli overlap a little at the edges, so each layer covers the pan without gaps and holds together when you serve it. If your store carries both square and round, take the square.

For the filling, go with four cheese rather than meat, because the ricotta is already inside the ravioli. The filling is the ricotta layer, so this recipe never asks you to mix one the way my lasagna roll ups do.

When Angela tested the final version, she served the finished lasagna to her family without any added ricotta, and they liked it better than traditional lasagna.

I loved that this recipe has no waste, no partially opened sauce, ravioli, or cheese, especially in this age of expensive groceries. Everything you buy goes into the pan.

One Jar Of Sauce Is Enough

For the sauce, one 40-ounce jar (I use Rao’s tomato basil) covers the bottom of the pan, the middle layer, and the top.

It’s tempting to grab a second jar for insurance, but it’s not needed. During testing, even one extra cup of sauce left the dish too soupy. Layers slide apart instead of stacking.

Cover Every Ravioli With Sauce

Any ravioli left sticking out of the sauce comes out of the oven dry and tough. Spread the sauce over each layer until you can’t see any pasta, and get into the corners.

A glass baking dish with one half filled with uncooked ravioli and the other half topped with red tomato sauce and shredded cheese, on a marble surface—perfectly showcasing this easy Ravioli Lasagna Recipe.

Frozen ravioli needs sauce touching it to cook soft.

A glass baking dish filled with Ravioli Lasagna, topped with a thick layer of tomato sauce and visible chunks of cheese, sits on a white marble surface—an inviting take on the classic Ravioli Lasagna Recipe.

On the top layer, the sauce goes on before the cheese, so the pasta never sits bare in the oven.

A glass baking dish filled with Ravioli Lasagna, topped with tomato sauce and shredded cheese, sits on a marble countertop, ready to be baked—a delicious twist inspired by the classic Ravioli Lasagna Recipe.

Keep the foil on for the first part of the bake. The trapped steam cooks the ravioli all the way through, and the foil comes off near the end so the cheese can brown.

A rectangular glass dish filled with baked Ravioli Lasagna, topped with melted cheese and tomato sauce, sits on a white marble surface—an enticing take on the classic Ravioli Lasagna Recipe.

How To Know It’s Done

The melted cheese will fool you. Cheese melts long before the middle of the pan is done, so look for sauce bubbling at the edges of the dish and cheese that has browned in spots.

A glass baking dish filled with cheesy baked pasta in tomato sauce, this Ravioli Lasagna is topped with melted cheese and chopped herbs. A serving spoon is lifting out a portion of this irresistible Ravioli Lasagna Recipe. Plates, utensils, and herbs are nearby on a marble surface.

Once the pan is out of the oven, give it 10 minutes on the counter, about the time it takes to throw together a Caesar salad.

Served hot, the lasagna comes up in soft, saucy scoops, closer to baked ravioli than to a firm slice, and nothing went wrong if your first serving slides a little.

A plate of baked ravioli covered in tomato sauce and melted cheese sits on a table, alongside a baking dish filled with savory Ravioli Lasagna and bowls of shredded cheese nearby.

The lasagna only cuts into clean slices after it has cooled and the cheese has set, so the leftovers end up the neatest-looking servings.

Make The Lasagna Ahead

You can put this ravioli lasagna together well before you bake it, either weeks ahead in the freezer or the night before in the fridge.

To freeze it, assemble the whole lasagna unbaked in a foil pan so your everyday baking dish isn’t stuck in the freezer, wrap the pan in two layers of heavy duty foil, and freeze it for up to 2 months.

When baking day comes, move the pan to the fridge a full day ahead so the lasagna thaws completely, then follow the recipe card as written. If the middle isn’t bubbling when the time is up, put the foil back on and give the pan a few more minutes.

If you only need tomorrow’s dinner, assemble the lasagna in your baking dish, cover it, refrigerate it overnight, and bake it the next evening.

Storing And Reheating The Leftovers

Let the leftover ravioli lasagna cool completely, then keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat servings in a 325°F oven until warmed through.

For anything beyond 4 days, wrap single servings and freeze them. One reader, Rosemarie, calls these her TV dinners.

This ravioli lasagna goes well with cheesy pull-apart bread on the side. My skillet lasagna and lasagna soup are built on the same idea, lasagna flavors without the afternoon. And if you’re planning dinners for the week, my dinner recipes index is a good place to start.

This recipe was first published in November 2019. It was updated in August 2026 with new photos as well as changes to the recipe to make the casserole fuller and saucier.

Ravioli Lasagna Casserole

5 from 4 votes

Delicious meat sauce, layers of ravioli, and cheese are baked to perfection and ready to serve hot and bubbling in this ravioli lasagna recipe.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

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Ingredients

40 ounces prepared tomato basil sauce, divided into ½ cup for the first layer, 2 cups for the middle layer, and 2 ½ cups for the top layer (Rao’s brand used) (5 cups)
38 ounces frozen 4 cheese ravioli, divided into one bag for each layer (Celentano brand used) (two 19-ounce bags)
2 cups whole milk low-moisture mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded (divided into 1½ cups in the middle layer and ½ cup for the topping)
¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Spoon ½ cup of the prepared tomato basil sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Spread the sauce to fully cover the bottom of the dish.
Layer the frozen ravioli from one 19-ounce bag into the bottom of the baking dish. The ravioli will need to be slightly overlapping to fully fill the bottom of the baking dish with no gaps between the ravioli.
Top evenly with 1½ cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese, then spoon 2 cups of the sauce over the cheese. Carefully spread the sauce to fully cover all the ravioli, and cheese.
Layer the second 19-ounce bag of frozen ravioli into the baking dish. Top with the remaining 2½ cups of sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese and shredded parmesan cheese over the top layer of sauce.
Lightly spray one side of a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick spray, then place the aluminum foil sprayed side down to tightly cover the ravioli lasagna in the baking dish.
Bake for 30 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and finish baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. You can broil the top of the lasagna for the last 2-3 minutes of bake time if needed for a deeper golden cheese topping.
Allow the ravioli lasagna to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before garnishing with the chopped fresh parsley and serving.

Notes

I find that the brands of frozen 4 cheese ravioli that are in the shape of a square, fit 9×13-inch baking dishes best as they create a layer of ravioli that slightly overlaps and evenly covers the entire surface of the dish.
You can use two smaller (18 to 24-ounce) jars of prepared tomato basil sauce. Since there are so many brands available on the market, and they all can vary by weight, you will want to aim for 40-ounces of sauce or a total of 5 cups.
This recipe was developed using frozen ravioli. If using fresh, or refrigerated varieties, you will need to reduce the bake time and check for doneness around the 25-30 minute mark.
You can add a layer of seasoned ground beef to this lasagna if desired. You will need to add 1-pound lean ground beef, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning in a medium skillet over medium-high heat cooking for 6-8 minutes or until no pink remains. Be sure to drain off any excess grease from the skillet. Divide the ground beef evenly over both layers of ravioli when assembling the lasagna, then bake as directed.