my first attempt at homemade ravioli

If you’re looking for instructions on how to successfully make homemade ravioli, you’ve come to the wrong place. I tried to make homemade ravioli for the first time today, and… well, let’s just say that I did not serve ravioli for supper this evening.

The process of making ravioli started out well. Using this recipe for three-cheese ravioli as my guide, I started by mixed up the filling. Here’s what I included:

1 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs
1/2 t. salt
dash of black pepper
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

So far, so good.

Next I needed to make the pasta dough, which is when things started going downhill. I used the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer for the first time as I combined the ingredients. The dough was much too dry. In hindsight, I should have added more water while it was still in the mixer, but I wanted to stick to the recipe (courtesy of The Food Network) as much as possible. I did add a little water just to make it form a nice ball on the counter, but it was too stiff to really knead, which is when I started feeling frustrated.

After letting the dough “relax” for half an hour, I tried to roll it out. I don’t know why I bothered to exercise on the treadmill this morning, because rolling out the dough sure felt like a workout! Seriously, it was hard work. I never really got the dough thin enough, but I finally decided that it was good enough and stopped. My dough was supposed to be a rectangle, but ended up looking like Australia.

Note to self: borrow or buy a pasta machine!


I straightened things up with a knife, plopped little dollops of filling on the dough, and then brushed the edges with egg before I laid another piece of dough on top. Sealing it up was not pretty. My dough was too thick and I used too much filling, which was oozing out the sides.

I made exactly nine ravioli before I gave up. I decided to cook one for a little afternoon snack, and in spite of the fact that it looked a mess before I cooked it, it actually tasted pretty good.

Of course, nine ravioli (actually, eight since I ate one) wasn’t enough to feed a family of four for dinner. Also, I didn’t want my kids to eat these inferior ravioli and then decide that they will never again eat my ravioli. So instead, I served ham, green beans, homemade macaroni and cheese, and french bread that I just baked this afternoon, and my culinary reputation remained intact.

I don’t think there’s much hope for the pasta dough I made, but the three-cheese filling was great, so it will probably end up in stuffed shells in a day or so.

I’d like to try making homemade ravioli again, but not until I have a pasta machine that can roll out the dough for me. Meanwhile, if any of you have made homemade ravioli and have any advice for me, I’d love to hear it!

6 Comments on “my first attempt at homemade ravioli

  1. How did you press the two squares together?

  2. Phoebe: Oops! I forgot to mention that. I used a little tool that I bought for a couple dollars — it’s like a pizza cutter with crimpers on each side of the cutting wheel. I think it would work better with thinner dough. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. I’ve not had much success with dough in my recipe attempts. When I made pork dumplings, I used wonton wrappers, and I think people use those for ravioli (at least its a shortcut without worrying with the dough silliness)

  4. Jessica: I’ll have to try wonton wrappers sometime. That would certainly be easier than rolling out my own dough with a rolling pin! And really, the most special part of homemade ravioli is the filling, not the dough, right? ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. I just looked up making fresh ravioli as I was trying to find a recipe for a three cheese filling and I found this! I actually made fresh ravioli last night and it turned out wonderfully – try Jamie Oliver’s recipe, it’s flawless. For every 100g of flour you use one egg. I’ve made fresh pasta before and you shouldn’t really add water. Hope this helps (even though it’s like 4 months late!)

  6. Nicole: Thanks for the tip! I only tried making it that one time, but I may need to make another attempt soon!

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