Making homemade ravioli is something that’ll be a big hit with your family. It’s a filling dish that’s satisfying to eat for dinner.
Sometimes you might get a bit overzealous when making the filling, though. If you wind up having too much filling, you might not be able to utilize all of it.
Is there something that you can do with the extra ravioli filling so it doesn’t go to waste? Or are you just going to have to be more careful next time not to make too much?
Keep reading to learn about your options, so you can put those leftovers to good use!
1 – Freeze the Filling to Use it Next Time
Of course, one of the most practical things to do is to freeze the filling. If you decide to freeze it, you should be able to use it again the next time you want to make ravioli.
Generally, it’s going to be very simple to freeze the filling. You’ll just want to wait until it cools so that you don’t have issues with moisture.
Once the ravioli filling is sufficiently cooled, you’ll be able to place it in some type of airtight container. You’ll want to use one that’s also safe to use in the freezer.
Ensure that the lid is secured properly and then place the container in the freezer. You should be able to store it for a few weeks or a month until you want to make ravioli once again.
There are some caveats to this that you’ll need to know about, though. Some filling ingredients won’t freeze well.
For example, if you use vegetables in your ravioli filling such as spinach, squash, or pumpkin, you might not want to try to freeze it. These ingredients are too watery, and the moisture seeps out.
It can cause the filling to go bad faster due to the water seeping out. Also, the ingredients simply might not taste good after being frozen.
2 – Use the Filling as Pasta Sauce
Another simple and logical idea is to utilize the ravioli filling as a pasta sauce. Often, ravioli filling recipes will taste very good when eaten with pasta.
You can just cook a bit of pasta as normal. Add the filling to it and drizzle a bit of olive oil and butter on the dish as well.
This should allow you to create a simple and satisfying pasta sauce. You’ll be able to turn the ravioli filling into another meal.
You shouldn’t have to let the filling go to waste if you don’t want to. Just find other ways to use it with different meals.
3 – Stuff the Fillings Inside of Dough
How about stuffing the fillings inside of dough? Your filling can help you to make some special creamy types of bread.
Essentially, you’ll be making bread that will have filling stuffed inside. It’ll be something that you can pick up and eat when you’re on the go.
This idea is similar to the microwaveable pizza pockets that can be purchased at grocery stores. Your homemade ravioli filling pockets will be substantially tastier, though.
It won’t be hard to make these because you’ll just have to wrap the dough around the filling and close things off. Then you can bake the dough at an appropriate temperature.
If you’re looking for something new that will make it feel like you’re eating something different, this is a fun idea. Plus, it should be a pretty big hit with your kids.
4 – Put the Filling in Pasta Shells
Pasta shells are pretty popular, and it’d be very easy to just put the ravioli filling inside of them. Cook the shells until they’re al dente and then spoon your filling into them.
You can eat the shells by themselves and enjoy a very tasty lunch or dinner. Some people also choose to pair them with salads.
Either way, this is a very simple meal that will make it easy to utilize the leftover ravioli filling. You won’t have to go to much trouble since getting pasta shells won’t take much effort at all.
The only downside is that this dish might taste very similar to ravioli. If you just had ravioli, you might feel like you’re not really mixing it up much.
5 – Just Make More Ravioli
Of course, you could choose to simply make more ravioli so that you can use the rest of your filling. It’ll take you a bit more time to make more, but at least you’ll be able to use the filling as intended.
Depending on the situation, this might make the most sense. If you still have some leftover ingredients, it shouldn’t be that hard to make more that you can stuff with the filling.
Otherwise, you could go out and buy more ingredients so that you can make another batch. You’ll just have to make sure that you eat everything.
Consider inviting a friend or a family member over to help you finish it up.
6 – Just Eat it
This might sound kind of simple and strange at first, but the ravioli filling is perfectly edible by itself. You could simply ensure that it’s hot and eat it with a fork or spoon.
If you’re a bit picky, you might not think that this is a good solution. It’s true that the filling will taste better when it’s inside the ravioli, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still taste good on its own.
It certainly isn’t fancy, but it’ll at least give you the opportunity to eat the tasty filling without having to throw it out. Don’t waste it when you really don’t have to.
Final Thoughts
Making too much ravioli filling is actually a pretty common problem. Sometimes it’s easy to make a bit more than you need.
You don’t have to be concerned about wasting it if you don’t want to, though. There are actually many things that you can do to ensure that it gets used.
Of course, you can freeze the filling and use it at a later date. This might not be possible if you’re using water-heavy vegetables as ingredients, though.
You could also simply eat it since it’s perfectly edible. It might not be fancy, but it’s easy to just eat it with a fork or spoon.
If you want to make the filling a part of a different dish, you should try using it as a pasta sauce. You can combine it with pasta to enjoy a very satisfying cream sauce.
Some people have even stuffed the filling into dough to make special ravioli pocket treats. This can be a fun little meal that you can pick up and eat on the go.
You have options and you don’t need to throw the leftover filling out. So long as you don’t wait too long to use it, it’s going to be just fine.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.