Quick One-Pot Ravioli With Meat Sauce

If you need a quick, easy dinner, try this One-Pot Ravioli with Meat Sauce.

I’ve been making occasional dinners for some friends, and this recipe is a winner with the teen-age kids. They even told me I should open a restaurant….if only it were that easy!

I love one-pot meals because I don’t like washing a lot of pots and pans. So I devised a recipe where you don’t need to boil the ravioli separately. Just make the sauce, bring it to a boil, and stir in the ravioli. The  sauce provides plenty of liquid for the ravioli to absorb, and it thickens up as the ravioli cooks.

I use refrigerated ravioli, Buittoni brand, because it’s easy to find at most grocery stores. If you use dried ravioli, you’ll probably need to add one to two extra cups of water so the pasta can rehydrate properly. I use three-cheese pasta, since there’s already meat in the sauce. But you can choose the kind of ravioli you prefer.

Needed: a 12-inch skillet with at least 3-inch sides, or a wide pot or Dutch oven

Makes 6 1-1/2 cup servings

1 pound ground beef, 85 to 93% lean preferred (You can also use mild Italian bulk sausage, or hot Italian if you like a lot of spice)

1/2 cup chopped onion (or 2 tablespoons dried chopped onion)

1 tablespoon  garlic powder

2 cups beef broth (or 1 14-ounce can)

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 15-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes (If you prefer a smoother sauce, substitute one more can of tomato sauce)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 20-oz. package refrigerated cheese ravioli

1. In a large pot, cook the ground beef with the onions over medium-high heat. With a spatula, break the beef into small clumps, and sauté until beef is cooked completely through.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except ravioli, and stir until well mixed. Allow the sauce to come to a gentle boil.
3. Stir the ravioli into the boiling sauce, making sure the ravioli is well-covered with liquid. Let the mixture simmer for 7-10 minutes, or until ravioli is tender.
4.  Taste, and add more basil, oregano, garlic, or salt if necessary. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little water or beef broth to thin it.