How to Make the Best Million Dollar Ravioli Lasagna at Home

Okay, so I messed this up twice before getting it right, but NOW I’ve got the perfect Million Dollar Ravioli Lasagna recipe that’ll make your family think you’re some kind of culinary genius. Spoiler alert: you’re not. It’s just really good frozen ravioli with some fancy tricks.

Look, I’m gonna be honest with you – I stumbled across this idea when I was too lazy to make regular lasagna from scratch. My sister-in-law kept bragging about her “famous” lasagna at every family gathering, and I was getting tired of hearing about it. So naturally, I had to one-up her. Mission accomplished.

The Story Behind This Disaster-Turned-Masterpiece

This whole thing started because my 12-year-old announced he hates regular lasagna. Hates it. Won’t even try it anymore after that one time I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. (Don’t ask. It was a dark period in my cooking life.) But he LOVES ravioli, so my brain went: “What if I just… made lasagna… but with ravioli instead of noodles?”

First attempt? Complete disaster. I used way too much sauce and it turned into this soggy, sad mess that looked like someone dropped Italian food in a swimming pool. Second time, I overcompensated and it was dry as cardboard. But third time’s the charm, right?

The secret – and I cannot stress this enough – is treating the ravioli like they’re already partially cooked pasta. Because they are! Don’t overthink it like I did.

What Makes This “Million Dollar”?

Honestly, I have no idea where that name came from. Pinterest, probably. But it tastes expensive, and my grocery bill definitely felt like a million dollars after buying all that cheese. Worth every penny though.

The magic happens when you layer everything just right and let the ravioli absorb all those flavors while staying tender but not mushy. It’s like regular lasagna’s fancy cousin who went to culinary school.

Ingredients (And My Shopping Disasters)

For the love of all that’s holy, don’t buy the cheap frozen ravioli. I tried this with the store-brand stuff once and it basically disintegrated. Get the good stuff – I always use Costco’s cheese ravioli or sometimes the spinach ones if I’m feeling fancy.

What You’ll Need:

• 2 bags (20 oz each) frozen cheese ravioli (don’t thaw them!)
• 1 jar (24 oz) good marinara sauce – I use Rao’s because I’m bougie like that
• 1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo sauce (Bertolli works fine)
• 1 lb ground Italian sausage (hot or mild, your call)
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 egg (to bind the ricotta – learned this the hard way)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan (the real stuff, not the powder)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I use like 4 because I have no self-control)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh basil for serving (if you’re feeling fancy)

Shopping tip: Buy extra cheese. Trust me. You’ll either use it all or eat it while cooking. There’s no in-between.

The Method (AKA How Not to Mess This Up)

Step 1: Brown the Sausage Cook that sausage in a large skillet until it’s nice and crumbly. Don’t drain all the fat – that’s where the flavor lives! Add the minced garlic in the last minute because burnt garlic tastes like disappointment.

Step 2: Mix Your Ricotta Situation In a bowl, mix ricotta, egg, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt. This is your “fancy layer.” Don’t skip the egg – it keeps everything from turning into ricotta soup.

Step 3: Sauce Mixing Time Here’s where I do something weird that works: I mix about 1/2 cup of the marinara with the cooked sausage. Then I take the rest of the marinara and mix it with about 1/2 cup of the Alfredo sauce. Sounds crazy, but it creates this amazing pink sauce that’s not too heavy.

Step 4: Assembly (The Fun Part) Preheat your oven to 375°F. Use a 9×13 dish and spray it with cooking spray because nobody has time for stuck-on cheese.

Layer 1: Spread a thin layer of your pink sauce mixture on the bottom Layer 2: Half the frozen ravioli (straight from the freezer!) Layer 3: All the ricotta mixture, dolloped and spread around Layer 4: The sausage mixture Layer 5: Remaining ravioli Layer 6: Rest of the pink sauce Layer 7: All remaining Alfredo sauce Layer 8: ALL THE CHEESE

Don’t be shy with the cheese. This is not the time for portion control.

Step 5: The Waiting Game Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly. The hardest part is letting it rest for 10 minutes before cutting. I usually set a timer because otherwise I’ll cut into it immediately and it’ll be a hot mess.

Things I Learned the Hard Way

Don’t pre-cook the ravioli. Just don’t. They’ll turn to mush. The steam and moisture in the dish will cook them perfectly.

Use enough sauce. My second attempt failed because I was stingy with the sauce and the ravioli didn’t cook properly. They need moisture to steam and get tender.

Let it rest! I know it smells amazing and you want to dig in, but if you cut it too early, it’ll fall apart and look sloppy. Give it those 10 minutes. Use that time to make a salad or something.

The foil matters. Without it, the top will burn before the inside is done. With it the whole time, the cheese won’t get golden. It’s a delicate dance.

Variations (For When You Get Bored)

Sometimes I use spinach and ricotta ravioli instead of plain cheese. My neighbor swears by using half cheese ravioli and half meat ravioli, which sounds amazing but I haven’t tried it yet.

You could probably make this vegetarian by skipping the sausage and adding some sautéed mushrooms and spinach to the ricotta layer. Haven’t tested this theory, but it sounds like it would work.

Pro tip: Make two smaller ones and freeze one unbaked for later. Future you will thank present you when you just want to throw something in the oven after a long day.

The Verdict

My sister-in-law asked for the recipe at the last family dinner. Victory is mine.

This feeds about 8 people generously, or 4 people with serious appetites. We usually have leftovers, which are honestly even better the next day. The flavors meld together and it’s just… chef’s kiss.

Is it healthy? Absolutely not. Will your family ask you to make it again? Every week. Choose your battles.

Let me know how yours turns out! And if you come up with any brilliant variations, I’m all ears. Always looking for ways to make my sister-in-law’s lasagna look even more basic.

Happy cooking! (And may your cheese never burn)