Amazing Caprese Ravioli
A spin on the classic Italian salad we all love, this Caprese Ravioli is SO delicious and comes together in just 20 minutes. Mozzarella ravioli tossed in a flavorful sauce made with butter, white wine, garlic and fresh tomatoes, this dish is perfect for a summer meal that will become a new favorite for everyone! Trust me, this might be the best ravioli dish you’ve ever made.
This ravioli is so simple, yet sooo good!
I’m not exaggerating, I’ve made this ravioli three times in one week, and nobody in the household was upset about it. It’s so simple, we cook tomatoes and garlic in some butter, white wine, and chicken broth to create a base for the sauce. Then you simply add the cooked ravioli to the pan, and finish off by drizzling with truffle oil (or high quality olive oil), balsamic reduction and sweet basil. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more flavorful ravioli dish that is this simple!
What is Caprese?
Caprese is a simple yet flavorful Italian style salad, named after the Isle of Capri. The salad includes ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, sweet basil, and extra virgin olive oil. Caprese is often made into sandwiches and pasta, as well.
Ingredients you’ll need
A few notes about the ingredients before you get started!
- Mozzarella ravioli – use the refrigerated kind, typically found in the imported cheese section of the grocery store.
- Butter – I use salted.
- Garlic – fresh garlic cloves that you will chop. This makes a huge difference! Do not use jarred garlic.
- Roma tomatoes – roma is the best variety for this recipe as it is more firm than other varieties.
- Chicken broth
- White wine – Pinot grigio, Sauvignon blanc, or Chardonnay will do just fine.
- Fresh basil – a staple to this recipe!
- Truffle oil – I love the subtle hint of truffle in this dish, but you can use a high quality extra virgin olive oil in its place.
- Balsamic glaze – a balsamic glaze is thicker and sweeter than just straight balsamic vinegar. If you do not have balsamic glaze, you can make your own reduction with balsamic vinegar. See tip below.
Recipe Tips
- Balsamic reduction – to make your own reduction, bring 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar has reduced and thickened.
- Garlic – you want the garlic to be coarsely chopped, not minced.
- Basil – to slice the basil julienne style, stack all the basil leaves together in a pile, then roll together the long way, as you would roll up a map, then slice thin horizontal slices across the short end. This should give you thin slivers of basil leaf.
How to make Caprese Ravioli
The details are quite simple!
Melt the butter and sauté the garlic and tomatoes. Then we add the white wine and cook until it is slightly reduced.
Next, we add chicken broth and let that simmer until it reduces.
Finish the sauce by adding salt, then turn off the heat. The sauce should look like this, not too watery. Be sure to simmer long enough.
While the sauce is cooking, you want to cook the ravioli in boiling water. Toss the ravioli in some olive oil while in the strainer to keep it from sticking together.
Add the cooked ravioli to the pan with the sauce, drizzle with balsamic reduction and truffle oil. Finish the dish by sprinkling fresh basil on top.
Serve with some fresh grated parmesan to take this dish to the next level!
Recipe FAQs and substitutions
Is this dish vegetarian?
Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth to make this recipe vegetarian.
What other kind of pasta can I use?
I chose mozzarella ravioli, but any kind of cheese ravioli or tortellini will work. I do recommend still using the fresh refrigerated pasta over frozen. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can try this dish with the Trader Joe’s Caprese Ravioli! You’ll have to let me know how that is.
If you’re up for the challenge of making your own ravioli, try this recipe!
What to serve with Caprese Ravioli?
Garlic bread, of course! I love to serve this dish with sliced grilled chicken, drizzled with more balsamic glaze on top. This recipe also goes beautifully with a Caesar salad for a meatless meal!
What to do with leftovers?
This dish is best served right after preparing. You can store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat in the microwave or in a sauté pan by adding a little chicken broth as the ravioli will soak up most of the sauce.
Caprese Ravioli Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Place a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil.
- While waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter (4 tbs) in a medium-large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add the chopped garlic (6 cloves) and the chopped tomatoes (2 roma tomatoes). Sauté for 3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the white wine (1/8 cup) and the chicken broth (1/2 cup). Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in the salt (1 tsp) and turn off the heat.
- While the sauce is simmering, cook your ravioli according to the package instructions. This should be the refrigerated ravioli that takes 3 minutes to cook in boiling water.
- Once cooked, strain the ravioli. While in the strainer, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over the ravioli and give it a good stir to keep them from sticking together.
- Add the cooked ravioli to the sauté pan with the sauce. Mix well to coat the ravioli. Drizzle the balsamic glaze (2 tbsp) and the truffle oil (1 tbsp). Stir in the chopped basil (1/2 cup)
- Serve with more balsamic glaze to drizzle if desired!
I just made this for our supper tonight & my husband was going absolutely crazy over this dish!!! I loved it too! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious!!! I’m checking out all your other recipes! I’m hooked!!! Thank you!
So glad you guys loved it!! 🙂
Truly delicious meal. I wasn’t sure how all the ingredients would blend together but they worked harmoniously. Definitely a keeper.