5-Ingredient Brown Butter Cheese Ravioli (Ready in 15 Minutes)
Frozen ravioli + brown butter = dinner that tastes way more impressive than it is.
This one is for the nights when you're genuinely too tired to think. Frozen cheese ravioli goes straight from the bag to boiling water, and while it cooks you brown some butter on the stove — that's really it. Brown butter sounds fancy but it's just butter you cook a little longer until it smells nutty and toasty. A handful of Parmesan and some black pepper pull it all together. Expect a rich, cozy bowl of pasta in about 15 minutes. It won't wow a dinner party, but it will absolutely save a Tuesday.
Ingredients
- 10 oz frozen cheese ravioli — one standard bag; any brand works
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter — half a stick
- 2 unit garlic cloves — thinly sliced or smashed
- 0.5 cup grated Parmesan — plus more for serving
- 0.5 tsp black pepper — freshly ground if you have it
Method
- 1 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
- 2 Add the frozen ravioli and cook according to package directions, usually 4–6 minutes, until they float and are tender. Before draining, scoop out about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
- 3 Drain the ravioli gently and set aside.
- 4 In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic slices and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, for 3–4 minutes. The butter will foam, then the foam will subside, and the milk solids will start to turn golden-brown and smell nutty. Watch it closely — it goes from brown to burned quickly.
- 5 As soon as the butter is golden and fragrant, remove the skillet from the heat for 30 seconds to stop the cooking.
- 6 Return the skillet to low heat and add the drained ravioli. Toss gently to coat everything in the brown butter.
- 7 Add the Parmesan and black pepper. Toss again, splashing in 2–3 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and help it cling to the ravioli.
- 8 Taste, adjust salt and pepper, and serve immediately with extra Parmesan on top.
Variations
- Add spinach — Toss a couple handfuls of fresh baby spinach into the skillet right after browning the butter. It wilts in about 30 seconds and adds some green without any extra effort.
- Faster swap — no garlic — Skip the garlic entirely and just brown the butter on its own. It still tastes great and shaves off a minute or two of attention.
- Substitute for Parmesan — Pecorino Romano or even a handful of shredded mozzarella work fine. The flavor will shift slightly but the dish still comes together.
Notes
The reserved pasta water is your best friend here — the starch helps emulsify the butter into a light sauce instead of a greasy puddle. Don't skip it. Leftovers reheat okay in a skillet with a splash of water, but the ravioli can get a little soft. Best eaten fresh.
Equipment that helps
- large skillet — A wide skillet gives the butter more surface area to brown evenly and lets you toss the ravioli without them piling up.
Find more dinners like this
More like this
