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This Ravioli Sauce is rich, velvety, and ready in minutes. It hugs every pillow of pasta without overpowering it—think creamy tomato bliss with Parmesan and fresh basil. Perfect for busy nights when you want “restaurant-worthy” without the fuss. Trust me—you’ll be licking the plate clean!
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I feel like a 5-star chef, and my family can’t get enough; even the neighbors commented on the amazing aroma coming from my windows. They even requested the recipe.” – Shi
“This was absolutely delicious!! So simple a sauce that stood on its own. Served with the ravioli, of course, but fresh steamed broccoli heads cut up that were devine drenched in this fabulous sauce along with the ravioli. A new staple in our home. My husband almost licked the dish clean.! Thank you!” – Dianne
“This creamy sauce takes homemade ravioli to the next level! It was so quick and easy to make too. The perfect “fancy” meal when you’re short on time!” – Dana
Why This Sauce is So Good
Sure, you could just throw any old sauce on ravioli, but let’s be honest—ravioli already has a ton of flavor thanks to that delicious filling. The key is finding a sauce that enhances it without taking over. That’s exactly what this recipe does. The creamy tomato base with a sprinkle of cheese and fresh basil? Perfection.
I love pairing it with a crisp green salad, warm garlic bread, or even a simple soup. If I’m stretching dinner for guests, I’ll add a quick antipasto platter (olives, prosciutto, mozzarella, and cherry tomatoes) and call it a night.
🩷 Erica
Key Ingredients
- Tomato Paste: Find a good, Italian brand. Cento, Mutti, or Star brands are some of my favorites!
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream works best for this sauce because it won’t separate when cooking. Half-and-half works in a pinch, but keep heat low to prevent curdling.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Costo actually has a D.O.P. Parimigiano Reggiano, meaning that it actually comes from the Parma region in Italy. It’s the real stuff and it is the best cheese to use for this recipe. Skip the powdery plastic canister “parmesan” for this recipe.
- Fresh basil: Nothing beats fresh basil. It’s worth using fresh but understandably, sometimes you just don’t have fresh on hand. Basil tip: When I have excess basil in the summer I will chop it and freeze it in ice cube trays with some olive oil, that way I can pull out a cube and add it to sauces like this one!
How to Make Ravioli Sauce Step-by-Step
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; sauté garlic until lightly golden. Stir in tomato paste and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken broth and bring to a simmer; add cream and stir until smooth.
- Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper.
- Remove from heat, then fold in basil.
Serving Options
Once your sauce is ready (and trust me, your kitchen will smell amazing), you’ve got two options:
- Serve it over top of the ravioli: Easy and elegant.
- Toss the ravioli right in the sauce: This is my personal fave—it coats every piece perfectly and keeps the pasta from drying out.
Whichever way you go, you can’t lose.
The BEST Homemade Ravioli Recipe:
Need a killer ravioli recipe to go with this sauce? Check out my Homemade Ravioli with Four Cheese Filling. It’s bursting with cheesy goodness, and you can customize the filling with chicken, lobster, mushrooms, or spinach. The possibilities are endless!
Recipe Tips
- Bloom the paste: Cooking tomato paste for a minute deepens flavor.
- Gentle heat = no curdle: Keep the sauce at a low simmer, especially after adding cream.
- Season in layers: Add a pinch of salt at each step and finish with Parmesan (it’s salty).
- Toss, don’t just top: Coating the ravioli in the pan keeps pasta from drying out.
- Adjust thickness: Thicken by simmering 1–2 minutes longer or adding more cheese; thin with a splash of broth or pasta water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—skip the paste for a simple Parmesan cream sauce, or use a few crushed tomatoes for a pink, slightly chunkier version. We especially like using San Marzano tomatoes.
Use heavy cream, keep heat moderate, avoid vigorous boiling, and add acidic ingredients (like wine or lemon) sparingly and off heat.
Cheese, spinach, mushroom, chicken, and lobster are all great. For sweet squash ravioli, add a brown-butter drizzle on top.
This batch comfortably coats about 20 ounces of refrigerated ravioli (roughly 4 servings).
The sauce can be GF if your broth and cheese are verified GF—just pair it with gluten-free ravioli.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you happen to have leftovers (lucky you!), this sauce actually saves really well. You can make it up to two days ahead of time, then just reheat and thin it out with a splash of pasta water or broth before serving. Stored in an airtight container, it will keep in the fridge for up to five days. When you’re ready to reheat, warm it gently on the stove or pop it in the microwave in short bursts, stirring as you go. I don’t usually recommend freezing because the cream can separate and the texture won’t be quite the same.
More Ravioli Sauce Recipes
Of course, this isn’t the one and only sauce that works for ravioli. You can serve it plain with a little butter or olive oil, basil, and cracked pepper or just about any pasta sauce will work great! Brown butter sauces are a popular choice for ravioli with a sweet filling like butternut squash or pumpkin. Fresh basil homemade pesto is always a solid choice and adds a bright, fresh flavor. You can also go traditional with spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes (with or without meat) or an authentic Italian pomodoro sauce. Or try it with my kids’ favorite, a classic Alfredo sauce!
More Delicious Italian Recipes
Looking to level up your Italian cooking game? Check out these reader favorites:
- Homemade Ravioli
- Easy Homemade Pasta
- Authentic Italian Spaghetti
- Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
- Neapolitan Pizza
- Potato Gnocchi
- 35+ Easy Dinner Ideas
This Ravioli Sauce is creamy, cozy, and weeknight-easy—made with pantry staples and ready to elevate any ravioli you love. If you make it, leave a star rating and tell me what filling you paired it with. Your tips help other readers (and me!) make it even better. 🍅💛
Ravioli Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (or to taste)
- 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (or to taste)
- 5 leaves fresh basil (chopped)
- sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
- 1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated ravioli (prepared according to package directions)
Instructions
- Heat butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add minced garlic and sauté until garlic becomes lightly golden and fragrant. Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes and stir together for another minute.
- Add chicken broth and stir until combined, bring to a simmer. Add cream and stir until smooth.
- Add parmigiano reggiano and salt and pepper, to taste.
- Remove from heat and add fresh basil, stirring until well combined.
- Gently toss with prepared ravioli and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Season with salt to your liking and season at all stages. Add just a little bit and taste until you get that perfect, rich flavor without the acidic overtones.
- Heavy cream is the best to use, not half and half or milk as these tend to curdle in this kind of sauce.
- Adjust thickness with a splash of broth (thinner) or a little extra Parmesan/simmer time (thicker).
- Delicious with cheese, spinach, or mushroom ravioli; add brown-butter drizzle for squash ravioli.
I feel like a 5-star chef, and my family can’t get enough; even the neighbors commented on the amazing aroma coming from my windows. They even requested the recipe.
Greatly appreciated,
Shi
So glad to hear you love this sauce as much as we do! I love that the neighbors asked for the recipe just from the smell, haha.
This was absolutely delicious!! So simple a sauce that stood on its own. Served with the ravioli, of course, but fresh steamed broccoli heads cut up that were devine drenched in this fabulous sauce along with the ravioli. A new staple in our home. My husband almost licked the dish clean.! Thank you!
So glad you liked it! It’s such a good sauce that goes well with everything. We always dip our breadsticks in it. SO good!
Just right and quite easy to prepare.
So glad you liked it!
The San Marzano Tomatoes in this recipe are amazing! This turned out to be such an easy dinner and everyone love loved it!
The recipe does not show any canned tomatoes, no San Marzano tomatoes.
Originally this recipe used 1 (28 ounce) can of San Marzano tomatoes instead of tomato paste. After testing and re-testing this recipe my family found that they preferred the tomato paste to the tomatoes because it was creamier yet still had a great flavor. The canned tomatoes can still be used in place of the tomato paste if preferred, they will just need to cook a bit longer. After the canned tomatoes are added, allow them to simmer and reduce until thickened before adding other ingredients. I added a note to the recipe card so you can see the original version. Hope this helps!
This creamy sauce takes homemade ravioli to the next level! It was so quick and easy to make too. The perfect “fancy” meal when you’re short on time!