My family loves a simple 4-ingredient ravioli casserole so much that I wanted to see if I could give it a million-dollar makeover. No, I’m not talking about spending that much on ingredients by adding gold leaf or renovating our kitchen!
Instead, I was inspired by the viral Million Dollar Spaghetti that made its rounds on Tiktok and Instagram last year. That meant adding lots of meaty flavor and four types of cheese to amp up this casserole’s decadence and make it large enough to feed a crowd of neighbors or my extended family.
Surprisingly, there are quite a few different million dollar casseroles—from the viral spaghetti to a chicken casserole topped with buttery crackers. The idea is simply to make your diners (or yourself) exclaim “Wow, this tastes like a million bucks!” while eating.
It’s easiest to do this by adding flavor at every part of the cooking process. Here, a baked ravioli casserole that can be assembled with just fresh ravioli, jarred sauce, some browned sausage, and a bag of shredded cheese gets sizably upgraded with more meat, more sauce, and a layer of ricotta, cream cheese, and sour cream as well as a double cheese topping.
Simply Recipes / Photo by Rachel Vanni / Food Styling by Tiffany Schleigh
The Building Blocks of Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole
- Start with premade ravioli. I prefer fresh because it has a slightly shorter cook time than frozen. Frozen works well too, though. You can keep things simple since there is already a lot of meat in the sauce and use cheese ravioli or choose a beef version.
- Use two kinds of meat. In a weeknight ravioli casserole, Italian is a shortcut for flavor. A million dollar version has to have Italian sausage plus ground beef as much for richness as for general heft.
- Add a creamy, decadent cheese layer. The money layer, if you will allow me to be so cheesy, is a combination of ricotta, softened cream cheese, and a little sour cream that goes in the middle of the ravioli layers. It’ll bake ultra creamy and help this casserole taste like a long-baked, lovingly prepared lasagna.
- Big layers help with flavor and structure. Unlike a lasagna, this casserole has just four main layers—about a third of the ravioli tossed in the marinara sauce, the ricotta layer, the remaining two-thirds ravioli, and the meat sauce. There’s also a crown of mozzarella and Parmesan on top, so four cheeses total in this dish.
Make It Ahead
This casserole takes about 25 minutes to assemble and bakes for 35 to 45 minutes so it can come together for a relatively quick night dinner. It can also be assembled up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated or frozen.
If freezing, thaw overnight in the fridge. Bring your refrigerated casserole to room temperature while you preheat the oven and bake as directed, giving a few extra minutes if needed until the casserole is bubbly and browned.
Simply Recipes / Photo by Rachel Vanni / Food Styling by Tiffany Schleigh
Cook Mode
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Nonstick cooking spray
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1 (20–ounce) package fresh cheese ravioli, such as Buitoni or Rana
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1 (40–ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided
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1 pound 90% lean ground beef
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1/2 pound mild Italian sausage, removed from casings if links
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1 (8–ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
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1 cup ricotta cheese
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1/4 cup sour cream
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1 teaspoon garlic powder
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1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
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1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
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2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
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1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside. Combine the uncooked ravioli with 1 cup of marinara sauce in a medium bowl and toss to coat.
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Make the meat sauce:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and sausage to the hot pan to brown. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the meat and cook until browned and no longer pink, about 12 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and add 2 cups of marinara sauce. Stir to combine and set aside to cool while you make the cheese mixture.
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Make the cheese mixture:
In another medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Mix until mostly smooth, a few small lumps are ok.
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Layer the casserole:
Pour the remaining cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan. Arrange about a third of the sauced ravioli in a single layer on top of the sauce. Use a spatula to dollop the cheese mixture over the ravioli and then spread that into an even layer.
Top the ricotta mixture with the remaining ravioli in as even a layer as possible—you will have some overlapping ravioli here. Add the meat and sauce mixture on top of the ravioli. Sprinkle on the two cheeses.
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Bake:
Bake covered with foil for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake until browned and bubbly, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. If your casserole doesn’t brown to your liking in this time, you can place it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.
Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 428 | Calories |
| 24g | Fat |
| 23g | Carbs |
| 29g | Protein |
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| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 8 to 12 |
|
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 428 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| 24g | 31% |
| Saturated Fat 12g | 58% |
| 88mg | 29% |
| 1141mg | 50% |
| 23g | 8% |
| Dietary Fiber 3g | 10% |
| Total Sugars 7g | |
| 29g | |
| Vitamin C 2mg | 11% |
| Calcium 427mg | 33% |
| Iron 3mg | 15% |
| Potassium 655mg | 14% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
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