Looking for something tasty and hearty to take to a holiday potluck? Well, consider yourself “potlucky” that you found this recipe! Like a lasagne, this casserole has layers of meaty tomato sauce and shredded cheese, but magnificent rows of cooked raviolis replace the lasagne noodles. My two guest taste-testers gave this casserole a two-thumbs up and even took some home as party favors.
Lisa’s Ravioli Casserole
From Paul & Phil’s Potluck Cookbook
Ingredients:
9 oz. fresh or frozen raviolis
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
Salt, garlic, ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning, to taste
1 – 26 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (mixture of mozzarella, Romano and Parmesan)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Boil 8 quarts of water and cook raviolis according to package instructions. Drain them.
3. While raviolis are cooking, brown hamburger with the spices. Drain fat from meat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and set aside.
4. Spray a large casserole with nonstick spray. Layer meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Place a few raviolis on top of the sauce. Put another layer of sauce on top of the raviolis. Sprinkle a layer of cheese on next. Continue to layer the ingredients with final layer being cheese.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
Serves 4-8
Linnell’s Notes:
1. This recipe creates a good casserole. Nothing exotic, though. The great thing about this recipe is its adaptability. The next time I prepare this casserole, I will use more interesting tasting ravioli (I used cheese ravioli the first go-round) and add some sweet Italian sausage to the ground beef mixture for more depth of flavor. Chopped spinach (defrosted and squeezed dry), chopped mushrooms, diced green peppers, chopped onions, and a can of diced tomatoes would also enhance the flavor of this recipe. Oh, and maybe a little wine, too . . . .
2. I doubled the recipe and it fit nicely in a 9 by 13-inch pan.
3. Instead of placing “a few raviolis on top of the sauce” as the recipe states, I layered the raviolis in rows to cover the sauce (approximately 4 raviolis across and 6 raviolis long). This way every person is guaranteed to get his share of ravioli!
Enjoy!
What about this? 
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