This Lazy Lasagna is made with ravioli and just 4 other ingredients for the ultimate weeknight dinner! A freezer friendly casserole you can whip up in no time for the perfect family meal.
This recipe is a real keeper in our house! I first started making it when I had very bad lasagna cravings during my first pregnancy, but was too tired to cook much. And with each kid we added, it just got more convenient to have a quick and easy 5-ingredient dinner up my sleeve!
This lasagna recipe for the lazy (or busy!) among us comes with a simple meat sauce, creamy cheese layers and yummy ravioli pillows. My kids and husband go crazy for it! And I love how easy it is to whip up with some freezer/pantry staples.
Ingredients you’ll need
This is just an overview of the ingredients needed – scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for exact quantities and instructions.
Ingredient notes
I want to start this by saying – do not panic about all these notes for a perfectly simple recipe. It’s mostly just about which ingredients to buy and how much you’ll exactly need. I know what it’s like to have a recipe fail for a stupid reason, so I want to make sure this comes out great for you the first time you make it!
Beef: I use the cheaper, fattier ground beef here and just drain it well after browning. Feel free to use lean ground beef instead, or even ground turkey!
Cream cheese: I pretty much always make this with cream cheese, because that’s what I have in my fridge at all times. If you want to get fancy with this recipe, it’s delicious with ricotta cheese in place of the cream cheese.
Ravioli: I recommend using square ravioli here for easier arranging. Mine are store-brand and seem to have less filling in each ravioli than some brands I’ve seen. The exact size, shape and amount of filling of your ravioli makes a big difference to how many you need. I use about 1.5 pounds with cheap, smaller, not-hugely-filled ravioli. I know other brands need 2 pounds for three layers.
If you already have ravioli on hand and are looking for a recipe, either stretch the ravioli across three layers with a bit more space between them, or do just two layers with more sauce in between.
Pasta sauce: Do not get the kind of sauce with meat in them, as you’re adding ground beef! We like a chunky style pasta sauce, or tomato basil for this recipe.
Step by step photos
This recipe is super easy! The only pre-cooking you’ll have to do is browning the hamburger meat, then you just stir a jar of spaghetti sauce into the beef. That’s your meat sauce done!
Spoon a thin layer of this sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch casserole dish. You really just need a thin layer, otherwise you won’t have enough sauce for the rest of the lasagna.
Now, you’ll do the layering: Ravioli – meat sauce – cream cheese – shredded mozzarella.
And repeat…
And repeat once more!
You can leave out the cream cheese on the top layer if you prefer, but my family always fights over the pieces with extra cheese – so I definitely can’t skip it.
If you’re feeling extra lazy, throw half the ravioli in the dish, add half the sauce and cheeses, then throw the other half of ravioli on top, add the rest of the sauce and cheeses!
Then just bake the casserole for around 45 minutes, or until bubbly. I love just- melted cheese, so I always throw on an extra handful of mozzarella after around 40 minutes of baking. It’s just perfectly melty once the lasagna is done!
Freezer instructions
If you want to make this recipe for the freezer, just follow the recipe but don’t bake it.
Cover the dish first with plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil. Label with the name und use-by date, then freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake, remove the dish from the freezer and remove both foils. Let the casserole sit on the counter as the oven preheats.
Loosely cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the hot oven for 60 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until heated and bubbly all the way through.
Serving ideas
If you want something on the side with your baked ravioli, garlic bread would be a classic.
If you’re looking for more greens, a tossed salad with Italian dressing is a great option, too! Or a simple tomato salad with balsamic.
More easy ground beef dinners
- Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole
- Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf
- Easy Shepherd’s Pie
- Easy Instant Pot Chili
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to add a review by tapping the stars in the recipe card below!
Lazy Lasagna with Ravioli
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
This Lazy Lasagna is made with ravioli and just 4 other ingredients for the ultimate weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 (32-oz) jar pasta sauce (see notes)
- 2 pounds refrigerated or frozen cheese ravioli (do not thaw if frozen)
- 1 (8-oz) tub cream cheese spread OR ricotta cheese
- 1 (8-oz) bag shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F and spray a 9x13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Brown beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain if desired, then stir in pasta sauce.
- Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of meat sauce.
- Add a layer of ravioli to the dish. Top the ravioli with 1/3 of the meat sauce, then dot with 1/3 of the cream cheese and sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat layers two more times.
- Bake casserole in the hot oven for 40-45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the casserole is bubbly. Add more mozzarella cheese for the last 5 minutes of baking, if you like.
Notes
Pasta sauce: If I can't find a 32-oz pasta sauce at my store, I usually take a 45-oz jar and eyeball about 2/3 of it (I use the rest to make a quick tomato soup for my lunch the next day). You can also use two 14-oz jars if you prefer, or a 24-oz jar, it's just a little less saucy.
Do not get the kind of sauce with meat in them, as you're adding ground beef! We like a chunky style pasta sauce, or tomato basil for this recipe.
Ravioli: The exact size, shape and amount of filling of your ravioli makes a big difference to how many you need. I use about 1.5 pounds with cheap, smaller, not-hugely-filled ravioli. I know other brands need 2 pounds for three layers.
If you already have ravioli on hand and are looking for a recipe, either stretch the ravioli across three layers with a bit more space between them, or do just two layers with more sauce in between.
Layering: If you're feeling extra lazy, throw half the ravioli in the dish, add half the sauce and cheeses, then throw the other half of ravioli on top, add the rest of the sauce and cheeses!)
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