Baked Toasted Ravioli
This completely homemade, Oven Baked Toasted Ravioli recipe is a lighter take on the St. Louis classic.
Toasted Ravioli: A St. Louis Staple
I grew up with a food called Toasted Ravioli. To me, it was normal. I thought it was as common as Macaroni and Cheese.
Apparently, I was wrong.
While breaded and deep fried ravioli served with marinara sauce is becoming more widely known, a good many people look at me with a strange expression of confusion when I try to explain it to them.
Now, I just shrug and tell them, "It's a St. Louis thing."
What is Toasted Ravioli?
Toasted Ravioli originated in the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis know as "The Hill." (If you've ever been there, you'll know why. I've never seen so many steep hills within city limits in my life.)
Most accounts attribute the creation of this dish to an accident, but isn't that where many great ideas come from?
Just imagine this: warm (meaty or cheesy) filling, surrounded by a layer of pasta, crispy seasoned breadcrumbs and a dusting of Parmesan cheese, all dunked in a bright marinara sauce.
If you've never heard of it, now you have. And, I'm betting, now you want some.
Our Baked Toasted Ravioli Recipe
Well, you're in luck, because today the Sunday Supper crew is sharing hometown recipes, and we're bringing you a completely from scratch way to make this St. Louis staple. Better yet, we're lightening it up so you get the same crispy goodness without the deep-fried belly bomb of grease.
You're welcome!
How to Make Toasted Ravioli
We found a lot of recipes online for how to make toasted ravioli. It's pretty simple in essence. Take ravioli, dip it in egg wash, coat in it breadcrumbs, then fry it or bake it.
But, most recipes call for store-bought, frozen ravioli.
That's all well and good, and we've written up our recipe below so you can choose if you want to make your own ravioli using our homemade ravioli recipe, or grab some store bought raviolis to make these baked toasted ravioli got a bit quicker.
But, honestly, ravioli are so much fun and relatively simple to make from scratch, that it's almost not worth heading to the store for a bag of ravioli. You probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen already, and, isn't it just way more fun to say you made ravioli from scratch?
So, why not?
As a side note, St. Louis actually has a lot of unique food traditions. You can read a nice compilation of them here thanks to Wikipedia. I'm thinking this is the start of a mission to re-create them all. Stay tuned!
Oven Toasted Ravioli
Ingredients
- ¾ c bread crumbs
- ¼ c whole wheat flour
- ¼ c (1 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon skim milk
- 30 frozen ravioli
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Place a greased wire rack on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, wheat flour, grated Parmesan cheese, and spices.
- In another small bowl, lightly beat together egg and milk.
- Dip the frozen ravioli first in the egg mixture and then in the breading, pressing the breading lightly into the ravioli to coat.
- Place breaded ravioli on the greased rack and continue until all the ravioli has been coated.
- Bake ravioli for 15-20 minutes, until puffy and golden.
- Serve with homemade marinara sauce.
To store
- Freeze breaded ravioli in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheets for 30 minutes. Transfer frozen ravioli to an air-tight bag or container and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Bake as directed above from frozen.
Nutrition
We'd love to hear what food represents your hometown. Leave us a comment and shout out to the food traditions that hail from your town.
And, be sure to take a look at the rest of the Sunday Supper crew's tributes to their hometowns. (Can you guess the town by just the title?) Thanks to Coleen of The Redhead Baker for hosting this weekend's event.
Breakfast
- Alamo City Breakfast Tacos by The Weekend Gourmet
- New York Style Bagels by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
Appetizers and Snacks
- South Jersey Boardwalk Popcorn by Take A Bite Out of Boca
Main Dishes
- Chicken and Dumplings by Food Lust People Love
- Crockpot Cincinnati Chili by Palatable Pastime
- Hot Brown Ham Sliders by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
- New England Beans and Cod by Cooking Chat
- Philadelphia Tomato Pie by The Redhead Baker
- Pierogies by Hezzi D's Books and Cooks
- Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" by PancakeWarriors
- Revved-up Poutine by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
- San Francisco Cioppino by Eat, Drink and be Tracy
- Seattle-Style Dungeness Crab Roll by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
- Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas with Chile con Carne by The Texan New Yorker
- Upper Peninsula Pasties by Recipes Food and Cooking
- Victory Pig Sicilian Style Pizza by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
- Xiang La Tu Zi // Hot & Spicy Rabbit by Curried Canteloupe
Desserts
- Chocolate Earthquake Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Mile High Strawberry Pie by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Pear Parkin by Happy Baking Days
- Vernors Cake by Country Girl in the Village
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
It's also a Chicago thing. We had these growing up. You may have heard about Italian food in Chicago.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing Michelle!
I remember my 3 wonderful years in St. Louis in the 80's. I fell in love with the food in the city and on "The Hill", especially the St. Louis tradition of Fried Ravioli! This recipe 'toasted' is even better for us today. Thanks for bringing back such fond memories of a wonderful city!
Thanks for sharing your memories!