Here’s how to make homemade vegan ravioli. Some might call it a labour of love, but it’s easier than you think. There’s no special equipment required. And it’s so worth it for a special meal. The lentil mushroom filling is a great recipe all on its own and you can use it for all sorts of other recipes as well as a standalone vegan pâté.
Reasons To Make Whole Wheat Vegan Ravioli
- Fun & satisfying
- Healthy & nutritious
- Protein rich
- Delicious
- Can make ahead
- Impress family and friends
- No fancy equipment required
- Easier than it looks
Homemade Vegan Ravioli
Homemade ravioli is like nothing you can buy. It’s not only delicious, but more wholesome and filling too.
You can get a pasta machine, ravioli moulds and special cutters, but you absolutely don’t need them. It’s true the resulting pasta may look rather more professional, but I like the homemade rustic look. And if you do it my way, there’s less fuss and less washing up involved. Always a bonus in my book.
As ravioli is an Italian dumpling, I’ve gone with an Italian inspired stuffing. It’s not a classic ravioli filling, but it does give a nod to the flavours and cooking methods of Italy.
Once you’ve made your pasta dough and filling, the hard work is done and the rest is the fun bit. It’s a fairly simple process too.
Ingredients
The ravioli filling is both delicious and nutritious. But I guess that’s a given here on Tin and Thyme. The combination of lentils, mushrooms and wholemeal flour make it protein rich. And the mix of ingredients provide all sorts of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.
These gorgeous Italian dumplings are fairly low in fat and although carb heavy, they’re the beneficial kind of carbs. They’re also dairy-free.
You don’t need any fancy ingredients in order to make these homemade vegan ravioli. Apart from a few store-cupboard essentials, you will need:
- Pasta dough made with 260g wholemeal flour.
- Tin of lentils – see section below if you want to cook your own.
- Chestnut mushrooms, although you can use whatever mushrooms you like.
- Onion
- Carrot
- Celery
How Many Dry Lentils Equals One Tin?
As you can see, I’ve used a tin of lentils for ease in this recipe. However, I usually cook my own. It’s a lot cheaper. For a one 400g tin of lentils, you’ll need an equivalent 100g dry lentils.
You can use any kind of lentils you like: green, brown or even black, it doesn’t really matter. But make sure they’re whole lentils, not split ones.
How To Serve Homemade Vegan Ravioli
The mushroom and lentil filling I’ve used to stuff these vegan ravioli with is quite robust in flavour. So it goes well with a flavoursome tomato sauce. I like to spoon some sauce onto the plate first, then lay the ravioli over it.
If you prefer, however, it’s fine to stir the ravioli into the sauce before serving. Just be gentle.
You could sprinkle some vegan parmesan cheese over the top if you like, but it doesn’t really need it. I just scattered some chopped parsley over the ravioli. A drizzle of a good peppery extra virgin olive oil is a lovely addition too.
A green salad to serve alongside is entirely optional, but works rather well.
Serve three ravioli per person as a starter and seven or eight as a main course.
Homemade Vegan Ravioli: Step-by-Step
Step 1. Soffritto
Like many a good Italian dish, you start the filling with soffritto. Just finely dice, onion, carrot and celery and sauté them gently in olive oil for ten minutes until softened.
Use a large wide bottomed saucepan with a lid. You’ll the need the lid later on.
Step 2. Add mushrooms
Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan. Raise the heat up a little, then fry the mushrooms for five minutes.
Stir occasionally to ensure everything is evenly cooked.
Step 3. Add Lentils
Rinse and drain the lentils, then add them to the pan along with the tomato purée, oregano, mustard and tamari.
You can use a different soy sauce if you like, but I always recommend tamari if you can get hold of it. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s really good quality and a little goes a long way.
Clamp the lid on the pan and cook for a further two to three minutes. Everything should be piping hot.
Step 4. Mash or Pulse Filling
Take the pan off the heat and remove the lid. Allow it to sit for a couple of minutes to cool slightly and for the steam to escape.
Use a stick blender to pulse the mixture briefly. Don’t blend it all, you want about half of the pieces left whole or nearly whole for texture. Alternatively, use a potato masher and do it by hand.
Taste test for flavour. If you think it needs a little salt, add some. Add a good grinding of black pepper and stir well.
Step 5. Roll Dough
Divide the pasta dough into two pieces. This makes it easier to roll. Roll out each piece with a rolling pin, as thinly as you can. The thinner you’ve rolled your dough, the more ravioli you will have.
Cut the dough into 10 cm strips, then cut each strip into 6 cm rectangles. Use a sharp knife and a ruler as a guide.
Gather any offcuts together and roll them out again. You should end up with at least 28 pieces of flat dough that measure 6 x 10 cm. If you have more, so much the better.
Step 6. Fill Dough
Place a heaped teaspoon of the mushroom and lentil filling in the middle of each rectangle.
Fold the short side over the top to make a square. Don’t worry if they’re not exact, these are meant to be rustic.
Use the prongs of a fork to press firmly along the edges of the dough to create a seal. It’s important that the filling can’t escape when you cook it.
Step 7. Cook Ravioli
You can cook the ravioli immediately or leave them for two to three hours. If you’re going to leave them, cover with a clean tea towel, so that they don’t dry out.
When you’re ready to cook your ravioli, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Lower the ravioli into the boiling water and allow them to simmer for about five minutes. Whole wheat ravioli will take a bit longer to cook than those made with white flour.
Don’t overcrowd the pan. Eight to ten is probably enough at one time, although this will depend on how large your pan is. When the ravioli are ready, they should float to the top.
Remove them carefully with a slotted spoon. Keep warm on an oiled tray or in a pan with your chosen sauce whilst you cook the remaining ravioli.
Ravioli Fillings And Sauces
Once you’ve grasped how easy it is to make ravioli, you can go mad with your fillings and sauces. You can even make two fillings in one batch to suit different dietary needs or preferences.
For these vegan whole wheat ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and lentils, I went for a homemade tomato sauce spiked with garlic and chilli. The mushroom and lentil filling is quite robust and can take a flavoursome tomato sauce.
Homemade Ravioli Fillings
- Butternut squash or sweet potato
- Fresh green peas and mint
- Spinach and ricotta is an Italian classic. For a vegan version try my homemade vegan cream cheese.
- Carrot & cheese
- Leek & mushrooms
- Minced aubergine (vegan)
Homemade Ravioli Sauces
Tomato sauce. Everyone has a favourite tomato sauce and it works well with robustly flavoured fillings. It might overwhelm more delicately flavoured ones though.
Sage and browned butter is a classic and goes particularly well with squash, pumpkin and sweet potato.
Cheese sauce is always a winner. If you want to go dairy free, try my ‘cheesy’ cashew nut sauce.
Homemade Vegan Ravioli: Top Tips
As already stated homemade vegan ravioli is easier to make than you might think. The more you make it, the easier it will become. Here are a few top tips to help.
Fresh Pasta Dough
Make your pasta dough the same day you make the ravioli. Although you can keep pasta dough in the fridge overnight, well covered of course, it’s best made on the same day.
Roll Thinly
The thinner you roll the dough, the more ravioli you will have. If you’re rolling by hand you’re unlikely to make it too thin, but if you use a pasta roller, ensure it’s not so thin that it might tear when you add the filling. Fragile ravioli is likely to tear or burst and once water gets in, it won’t be nearly as nice.
If you’ve used my whole wheat pasta recipe, you shouldn’t need any flour when you roll the dough out. But if you do find it’s sticking to the surface, use semolina if you can. This won’t dry the dough out as much as flour will.
Ravioli Filling: Texture And Flavour
Make sure the filling isn’t too wet. It should be thick enough to hold its shape. Too wet and it will seep through the pasta dough, making it sticky and difficult to handle.
Whether you use this mushroom and lentil filling or another one, make sure it’s full of flavour. If you taste it and want to eat it straight away, it’s probably about right.
Seal Ravioli Well
It’s important the ravioli filling is well sealed or it will leak out when it’s cooking. Press the prongs of a fork down firmly along the edges. This not only works, but it creates a pretty pattern too.
You’ll need to cook the ravioli in batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan.
Leftover Mushroom and Lentil Filling
If you have any leftover mushroom and lentil filling, it makes an excellent vegan pâté. It will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a week. Spread it on crackers or use in sandwiches.
Homemade Vegan Ravioli: Starter or Main?
The wonderful thing about ravioli is that you can enjoy it both as a starter or as a main course. These homemade vegan ravioli are quite chunky and filling. Allow three per person as a starter and seven or eight as a main course.
How To Make Homemade Vegan Ravioli In Advance
Ravioli is a great dinner party idea and it has a real wow factor. But you don’t necessarily want to have to make it on the day of eating as it takes a bit of time.
If you want to make it ahead of time, feel free. As long as you have room in your freezer, you’ll have no problem at all. Ravioli freezes really well.
To Freeze Ravioli
If you’re not going to eat your ravioli on the day you make it, never fear. The good news is that you can freeze homemade vegan ravioli.
Lay the ravioli out on a flat tray and pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours or until the pasta is frozen. Once frozen, place the ravioli in zip lock bags. If you do it this way, the ravioli won’t stick to each other. They’ll keep in the freezer for up to three months.
How To Cook Frozen Ravioli
Cook the ravioli straight from frozen. If you allow them to defrost, they will stick together and become quite messy. Simply transfer them to a large pan of salted boiling water and cook for a minute or two longer than you would from fresh.
Other Pasta Recipes You Might Like
- Easy romanesco pasta with chilli & garlic
- Mac n cheese: a healthier pumpkin version
- Miso marinated tofu with my pasta’s last stand
- Mushroom & chard pasta
- Sicilian pasta salad
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this mushroom and lentil ravioli or any other for that matter, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more vegan recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Homemade Vegan Ravioli. PIN IT.
Homemade Vegan Ravioli – The Recipe
Homemade Vegan Ravioli
Ingredients
- pasta dough made with 260g flour – see my whole wheat pasta recipe
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 celery stick finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms roughly chopped
- 400 g tinned lentils rinsed and drained (drained weight = 265g)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp tamari (affiliate link)
- 1 tbsp mustard wholegrain, English or Dijon all work well
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Lentil Mushroom Filling
- In a large saucepan, fry the onions, carrot and celery in the olive oil over a medium low heat for ten minutes until everything is soft. In essence you're making a soffritto.2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick
- Add the garlic and mushrooms, bump the heat up a little and fry for a further five minutes, stirring occasionally.2 cloves garlic, 250 g chestnut mushrooms
- Add the lentils, tomato paste, oregano, tamari and mustard. Give everything a good stir and clamp the lid on the pan. Cook for two to three minutes or until everything is properly heated through.400 g tinned lentils, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tbsp tamari (affiliate link), 1 tbsp mustard
- Turn the heat off, remove the lid to allow any excess liquid to evaporate.
- Pulse the mixture roughly with a stick blender. You want to break some of it up, but leave some of it as is for texture.
- Give everything a good stir and add some black pepper and a pinch or two of sea salt if you think it needs it.salt and pepper
Ravioli
- Divide the pasta dough into two pieces. Roll out each piece with a rolling pin (or pasta roller if you have one) as thinly as you can. The thinner you've rolled your dough, the more ravioli you will have.pasta dough
- Cut the dough into 10 cm strips, then cut each strip into 6 cm rectangles. Gather any offcuts together and roll them out again. You should end up with at least 28 pieces of flat dough that measure 6 x 10 cm. If you have more, so much the better.
- Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each piece.
- Fold the short side over the filling to form a square. Use the prongs of a fork to press the edges firmly together. It’s important the filling is well sealed or it will leak out when it’s cooking.
- When you’re ready to cook the ravioli, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Gently lower a few ravioli into the water, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Eight to ten is probably about right.
- Let them simmer in the water for 4-6 minutes. Cooking time will vary according to how thick your pasta dough is and how stuffed they are. You’ll know they’re ready though as they’ll rise to the top when they’re done. Remove them carefully with a slotted spoon. Keep warm on an oiled tray or in a pan with your chosen sauce whilst you cook the remaining ravioli.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for homemade vegan ravioli with #CookBlogShare, which is hosted by Glutarama this week.
Josh says
Everything is perfect from the pasta dough, filling, and to the sauce. Great recipe and definitely easier to make than I thought.
Choclette says
Glad you liked it Josh. Eggless pasta in particular is surprisingly easy.
Michelle says
I never thought I would make my own pasta, let alone ravioli, but this recipe inspired me! And it was DELICIOUS!
Choclette says
Making your own pasta is one of those things you don’t generally think about. Really pleased you tried the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.
Ana says
Oooh I’ve never tried using lentils in my ravioli before. Looking forward to trying this! It looks delicious!
Choclette says
Thank you Ana. Lentils are good for the protein element, but I love the flavour too.
Anna says
Fantastic vegan ravioli. The filling is so full of flavour. They are well worth the effort.
Choclette says
Good to hear you like them Anna. Thank you. And I agree, it’s definitely worth the effort.
nancy says
such a lovely whole wheat pasta thats loaded wholesome ingredients
Choclette says
Thank you Nancy. I try to make my recipes both wholesome and delicious.
Shilpa says
Yumm!! I made them using green lentils a d they were so good! Thanks for this recipe.
Choclette says
I love lentils and green work brilliantly in this recipe. So glad you liked them and thanks for letting me know.
Billy says
These look so delicious!
Choclette says
They really are. Do let me know if you give the recipe a try.
Andrea says
so much yumminess in every bite! love this recipe so much!
Choclette says
That’s a lovely description Andrea. Thank you for your feedback.
Kayla says
Yum! I am loving this vegan ravioli! It is the perfect fun recipe to make for a date night! We enjoyed it so much!
Choclette says
Ah, thank you. So glad you enjoyed it. Homemade ravioli is just the sort of thing to make for a date night.
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Well done you! Your ravioli look and sound delicious and vegan too!
So long since I’ve made pasta… I really need to get back to it again xx
Choclette says
Thank you Kate. Homemade ravioli is so good. It’s funny how we go in and out of making certain types of food. I guess a change is as good as a rest – as they say.
Rebecca - Glutarama says
I used to make my own pasta but then the kids decided one day they didn’t like fresh pasta – the humanity! I think it’s time I started making it again and this simple yet delicious recipe has inspired me.
Choclette says
Oh nooooo! That’s terrible. How could they not like fresh pasta? I reckon it’s time you started making it again too.
Lesley says
You really can’t beat homemade ravioli and I love the combination of flavours in your filling.
Choclette says
Thank you Lesley. It’s a completely different beast to shop bought, though I’m happy to eat that too when I’m feeling lazy.
Helen says
These look and sound absolutely delicious! Thanks for the clear instructions for rolling out and assembling the ravioli.
Choclette says
I hope it’s inspired you to give it a go Helen. It’s so worth it.