Dinner made easy with an easy freezer meal beef and cheese ravioli made with simple ingredients and a dash of spice.
We are loving our freezer meals RIGHT NOW. Cooking most meals at home can be a real chore if you’re making them one at a time…all the cleaning and hassle. Why not throw down a bunch of freezer meals so you’re always ready for supper.
This is one of the BEST pasta freezer meals we’ve ever made and is super simple by using cheese-filled ravioli from the grocery (no boiling or cooking!!), marinara sauce and ground beef, then piled high with shredded cheese. All your favorites, baked into one delicious frozen casserole!
How To Make Freezer Meal Beef and Cheese Ravioli
Folks, this is one easy beef ravioli recipe! Simple ingredients layered together for the MOST AMAZING tasting store-bought cheese ravioli with ground beef! Serve it with fresh Italian bread, rolls or go crazy and bake up our Best Cheesy Garlic Bread alongside the foil pan of ravioli.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR A FREEZER MEAL BEEF AND CHEESE RAVIOLI
- Cheese Ravioli – for this recipe, I used frozen cheese ravioli, thawed first in the fridge. It was much less expensive than the pre-made refrigerated ravioli at my grocery store and tasted just as good.
- Ground Beef – lean ground beef saves the mess of having to drain off the extra fat. This recipe is excellent with ground chicken or turkey too!
- Marinara Sauce – Jarred or fresh work equally well, but I like to make my own using my 10 Minute Homemade Marinara Sauce recipe. I keep a stash of this sauce in the freezer.
- Mozzarella Cheese – shred your own from a block for the best melting!
- Parmesan Cheese – grated parmesan from a canister is fine, or use fresh grated.
- Garlic – for this recipe, I used my secret weapon – pre-minced garlic from a jar. It’s a super time-saver. If you’re a garlic purist – go ahead – mince up fresh garlic.
- Italian Seasoning – this mixed spice is so convenient…but you can sub in dried oregano if that’s what you have.
- Onion Powder – adds a nutty onion flavor to the dish. I like to use this finely ground onion powder that mixes easily into sauces.
??If you’re serious about making dinner time hassle free, then you definitely need the right tools to get started. Here’s what I use: Foil pans with foil lids, large labels to write out what’s included and instructions (just found these) and extra wide plastic wrap for easily wrapping the foil pans for the freezer. What’s the old saying…. “get the right tools for the right job”…perfectly said for making freezer meals!!
While I’m at it, I like to thrown down one of these delightful dinners to bake right away for supper, and freeze several more for later in the foil pans!
Love to make tasty, family friendly freezer meals? Check out all our recipes on our Freezer Meal page!
Freezer Meal Beef and Cheese Ravioli
Ingredients
- 24 ounces cheese ravioli 2 (12-ounce) bags, fresh or frozen
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 32 ounces marinara sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Grease or spray with cooking spray a 9 x 13 or similar size foil pan or freezer safe ceramic baker.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef, breaking into crumbles with spoon. Drain fat as needed. To the beef, add the garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder and marinara sauce.. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook 5 minutes until heated thru and flavors are blended.
- Spread 1/3 of meat mixture in the bottom of prepared pan. Top with 1/2 of the raviolis, laying out in a single layer. Top with another 1/3 of the meat mixture and one-half each of the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Repeat the layers of ravioli, then meat sauce, ending with the cheeses and parsley.
- Cover pan with foil, sealing edges then wrap completely in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Thawing and Baking
- Thaw ravioli in covered pan overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap from fil pan, leaving foil top on. Bake on center rack of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil top and bake for 10 minutes more until casserole is bubbling around the edges. Serve warm.
To Bake from Frozen
- No need to thaw – remove plastic and place foil covered pan in a 350° F oven and bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until heated thru. Remove foil and bake 20 to 30 minutes longer until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling around the edges. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
Chef Tips
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
© Copyright Christine Mello for Must Love Home. We would love for you to share a link to this recipe but please do not copy/paste the recipe instructions to websites or social media. We are happy for you to share a photo with a link back to this website instead.
