Are you looking to treat yourself or your loved ones to a special meal? Well then you should check out this recipe for butternut squash ravioli with alfredo sauce! This butternut squash ravioli recipe strikes the perfect balance of sweet, creamy, and plain old flavorful! We provide separate sets of instructions for people who do have a ravioli mould and people who do not have any special equipment.
In this recipe we use gluten free all purpose flour to make our ravioli gluten free. However, if you do not have a gluten intolerance you could always use standard all purpose flour. In addition to being gluten free, this recipe is also vegetarian, egg free, and nut free.
How to roast butternut squash
- Cut the squash in half lengthwise. The first step to roasting a butternut squash is to cut the squash in half lengthwise. It is somewhat difficult to cut through a butternut squash since the squash is so large and thick. You are best off using a high quality chef’s knife (this the exact knife we use) that will slice through the squash like butter.
- Scoop out the seeds. After you cut the squash in half, you should scoop out the seeds and the stringy bits out of the bulb of the squash. You can keep the leftover squash seeds to roast later on if you are a fan of squash seeds.
- Brush the squash with oil. After you scoop the seeds and stringy bits out of the bulb of the squash, you should brush both halves of the squash with olive oil.
- Roast the squash. The final step is to roast the squash on a baking sheet that is lined with tin foil. You should roast the squash with the flesh facing upward. This allows the moisture that is trapped inside the flesh of the squash to escape.
How to make homemade ravioli dough
Homemade ravioli dough is surprisingly easy to make! All you need is flour, water, olive oil, and salt. You should use a ratio of 1 cup of flour to 1/2 cup of water and add 1 tsp of olive oil and 1/8 tsp of salt per cup of flour. If you find that your dough is too sticky then you should add more flour 1 tbsp at a time until the dough becomes easy to work with. If you find that the dough is too dry and crumby you should add more water 1 tsp at a time until the dough comes together.
In this recipe, I use gluten free all purpose flour to make ravioli dough that is gluten free. You could also use regular flour if you do not have a gluten intolerance. If you use regular flour you should knead the dough for an extra few minutes after you mix the dough together to develop the gluten.
How thick should homemade dough ravioli be
How thick should ravioli dough be? As a rule ravioli dough should be thin, but not thin enough that you are able to see through it. You should aim for somewhere between 1 mm and 2 mm in thickness.
If you are new to making ravioli you might want to keep your dough a little on the thicker side. Thicker sheets of dough are less likely to tear apart if handled incorrectly.
How to make ravioli with a ravioli mould
Using a ravioli mould is by far the easiest way to make ravioli. If you do not have a ravioli mould then we recommend you pick up this ravioli mould so that you can make more ravioli, faster! Here is how to make ravioli with a mould.
- Roll the dough out. Roll the ravioli dough out into two thin sheets.
- Press the dough into the mould. Press one of the sheets into the ravioli mould.
- Fill the wells. Fill the wells made by the ravioli mould with the butternut squash filling. The wells should be filled all the way to the top.
- Cover the ravioli. Put the other sheet of ravioli dough on top of the wells to cover them. Then press down to bond the two sheets of dough together.
- Cut the ravioli out. Use the ravioli cutter attachment to cut all of the ravioli out at once.
How to cut ravioli without a mould
How do you cut ravioli without a mould? Using a ravioli mould makes the process of making ravioli much quicker and easier, but it is not strictly necessary. If you do not have a ravioli mould then you can cut out your ravioli using the rim of a drinking glass or a shot glass.
It is not as easy to remove ravioli sheets from the rim of a glass as it is to remove them from a dedicated ravioli mould. This is because you can only push the ravioli in one direction – deeper into the glass. It might help to push a corner of the ravioli into the glass to break the seal between the dough and the glass then shake the glass a little so that the ravioli sheet falls out. It might also help to grease the rim of the glass regularly so that the glass does not hold on to the dough as tightly.
How to make ravioli without a mould
How do you make homemade ravioli without a mould? Here is how to make homemade ravioli.
- Cut the ravioli shapes out. Cut two equally sized sheets of dough to use as the top and bottom of the ravioli. You can also cut the top sheet out so that it is slightly larger than the bottom sheet since the top sheet has to stretch over all of the filling.
- Add the ravioli filling. Add a scoop of filling on top of the bottom sheet. Leave a rim that is 1/2 cm – 1 cm thick around the edge of the sheet so that you can seal the ravioli around the edges.
- Cover the ravioli filling. Lay the top sheet of ravioli dough on top of the bottom sheet. Line the edges of the top sheet of ravioli dough up with the bottom sheet of ravioli dough.
- Press down on the rim of the ravioli to bond the dough, Use your fingers or a fork to pinch the top and bottom of the ravioli together around the edges. If you want your ravioli to look pretty I recommend using a fork.
How long does it take to boil homemade ravioli?
How long does it take to boil homemade ravioli? It does not take much time to boil homemade ravioli. It generally takes 3-5 minutes to boil larger ravioli and 2-4 minutes to boil smaller ravioli. You will know when the ravioli are done because they will float to the surface of the water.
Can you make homemade ravioli in advance?
Can homemade ravioli be made in advance? Yes homemade ravioli can be made in advance. For best results, you should assemble the ravioli in advance and cook them when you are ready to serve them. Pre-made ravioli can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Butternut squash ravioli
Ingredients
Ravioli dough
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (plus up to 1/4 cup extra)
- 1 cup warm water (plus up to 2 tbsp extra)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Roasted butternut squash & garlic
- 1 butternut squash
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
Butternut squash filling
- 2 cups roasted butternut squash (from previous step)
- 3 cloves roasted garlic (from previous step)
- 1 cup ricotta
- 2 tsp rosemary
- 1/4 tsp salt
Alfredo sauce
- 2 cups cream
- 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese (vegetarian parmesan style cheese)
- 1 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp flour (heaping)
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 4 sprigs thyme (only use the leaves)
Instructions
Roasted butternut squash & garlic
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds of the butternut squash. You should also scoop out the stringy bits that surround the squash seeds as well.
- Remove the skin from the garlic then drizzle both the butternut squash and the garlic with olive oil and top them with a pinch of salt.
- Lay the butternut squash flat side down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Put the garlic under the bulb of the butternut squash where the seeds used to be to prevent it from drying out. Bake the butternut squash in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Butternut squash ravioli filling
- Combine all of the ingredients for the butternut squash filling in a medium sized bowl and mix well.
Butternut squash ravioli
- Combine all of the ingredients for the ravioli dough in a large bowl and mix well. Lay a sheet of parchment paper out on a flat surface then put the dough on top of it.
- Roll the dough out into a thin sheet that is 1 mm - 2 mm thick then use a ravioli cutter, cookie cutter, or the rim of a glass to cut out your ravioli shapes. Collect the leftover scraps of dough and combine them into another ball of dough. Roll the dough out and repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.
- Fill the ravioli. Lay one sheet of ravioli dough flat then top it with a generous serving of butternut squash filling. Leave about 1 cm of space around the edge of the ravioli sheet. Add another sheet of ravioli on top of the filling then use a fork to press the ravioli closed around the edges. Repeat this process until all of your ravioli are filled.
- Boil the ravioli for 3-5 minutes or until they float to the top of the water.
Sauce
- Heat a pan over medium heat on the stove then make a roux by combining the butter and flour. Cook the roux for 1-2 minutes then start mixing the cream into the roux a little at a time.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream cheese to the pan. Stir the sauce until the cream cheese dissolves then add the rest of the Alfredo sauce ingredients into the pan. Stir the Alfredo sauce continuously until the parmesan cheese dissolves.
Notes
Recommended tools & ingredients for ravioli
Here are some of the tools and ingredients we recommend using when making ravioli. We provided recommendations for ravioli moulds (Bellemain) as well as single ravioli cutters (Master Feng) so you can decide which you prefer to use. You probably only need one or the other.
Substitutions for butternut squash ravioli
- Cream cheese. The cream cheese in the alfredo sauce is not absolutely essential. I generally add the cream cheese to the Alfredo sauce to help stabilize the sauce and prevent it from curdling.
- Fresh thyme. If you do not have fresh thyme but you do have dried thyme you can substitute the fresh thyme for 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme.
- Spices. Rosemary, thyme, and sage all go really well with butternut squash. If you are missing the thyme or rosemary you could substitute in equal parts sage.
Other recipes you will love
If you have any questions about how to cook butternut squash you should check out our comprehensive guide on how to cook butternut squash.
If you are looking for a simpler recipe that uses pre-made pasta you should check out our recipe for alfredo pasta with butternut squash.
If you have any butternut squash filling leftover you can use it to stuff these gluten free butternut squash manicotti! I often make a double batch of filling and save half of it to make manicotti the next day.
Butternut squash gnocchi are even easier to make than butternut squash ravioli. If you are looking for a slightly easier recipe for homemade pasta you should check out this gnocchi recipe made with butternut squash and ricotta.
More gluten free ravioli recipes
These easy spinach and artichoke ravioli are topped with a decadent brown butter sage sauce. The spinach artichoke ravioli filling is made with frozen spinach and canned artichoke hearts so nothing in the filling needs to be pre-cooked!
These pear and gorgonzola ravioli strike the perfect balance between sweet and savory. Check out this recipe if you are looking for a ravioli recipe that feels a little extra fancy!
