Easy Mexican Ravioli Lasagna (Just 5 Ingredients and No Thawing or Boiling!)
~ This ultra-easy Mexican Lasagna brilliantly uses ravioli to create delicious layers. It’s awesome for busy nights, since you don’t need to thaw the ravioli first – you just layer and go (and can even assemble the casserole entirely ahead of time)! ~
This Recipe: • Includes Make-Ahead Steps •
My husband is fun x 100. Seriously the funnest person I know. (Funnest? Yup. It’s a word. Trust me … I live it.)
From laboriously putting up holiday decorations to ingeniously turning minor holidays into full-blown events … he makes sure our family doesn’t take celebrations lightly.
Our family festiveness rules-to-live-by include:
- When hosting a Spider-Man party for your three-year-old nephew … after the usual themed plates, napkins, balloons and banners, also be sure to purchase a high-end Spider-Man costume. Why? Because it’s awesome and way more fun! To my husband, this is obvious. Similar logic can be applied to other events, such as princess parties. (He purchased a jester costume for himself and rented a tiny frog-prince costume for our son … no, really.)
- Also – you haven’t decorated properly unless it required schematic drawings, five trips to the hardware store for supplies, and perilous journeys up ladders of any kind or onto the roof during Christmastime snowstorms. (I’m really only joking a little bit.)
- Lastly – when hosting a family reunion, always have a theme and a ridiculous name. This is why our annual fall gathering is called Thanks-o-Weenie. (You know … Thanksgiving smashed into Halloween!) And we can’t just meet up with cousins at the beach (much too straight-forward). No, in our family we have BeaChappeLooza! And our much-anticipated spring to-do is dubbed St. Peaster’s Day. (Did ya figure it out? It’s easy … St. Patrick’s Day mashed with Easter!!)
To support such rampant creation of fun, we have bins in the basement filled with costumes, streamers, and random decorations for occasions ranging from:
- tropical luaus (Life-sized collapsible cardboard palm tree, anyone?)
- to St. Patrick’s Day (My husband absolutely wears a Lucky-the-Leprechaun hat to the office.)
- to the Super Bowl (I mean, why not?)
- to (Uh-huh …. you knew this is where I was headed, right?!?) … Cinco de Mayo!
Yep, Cinco de Mayo. I’m the proud owner of multiple sombreros, festive maracas, tchotchke ponchos, Mariachi vests, and chili-pepper-shaped sunglasses. Everything we need to make Cinco de Mayo memorable … even on a school night. (‘Cause, you know, these celebrations have changed just a wee bit since we had kiddos.)
Gretchen’s jaw hit the floor when she saw the amount of props I pulled out for this photo shoot. Yes, there was a lot of festiveness going on!
With so much decorating and festiving-it-up, I’m lucky to have this killer-good but insanely easy recipe ready to throw together before the Mariachi band shows up. (If you read our post on Mexican Fiesta Black Bean Hummus, you know the band is on its way.)
Just mix up the super-quick sauce and layer everything in the pan, lasagna-style. You don’t even have to thaw or pre-cook the ravioli (total time saver!). And you can prep the whole thing hours ahead!
It bakes up perfectly, family-pleasingly delicious … leaving you with oodles of extra time to dig out the decorations!
And BTW … if you need more great ideas for your fiesta, try kicking it off with our yummy Easy Corn Salsa for an appetizer, or even use our Chicken Burrito Bowl recipe to set up a DIY burrito bar!
Happy Cinco de Mayo, friends! Hope it’s your funnest yet!
Easy Mexican Ravioli Lasagna
A 5-ingredient, layered Mexican lasagna that's extra-easy with frozen ravioli. No need to thaw the ravioli first – just layer and go!
• Includes Make-Ahead Steps •
Ingredients
- 2 (16-ounce) jars mild thick and chunky salsa (see note)
- 1 (10-ounce) can mild enchilada sauce
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (25-ounce) bag frozen beef ravioli (see note)
- 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded, reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend
- optional fillings/toppings: chopped cilantro, black beans, sliced black olives, chopped jalapeños, canned green chilies, thinly sliced green onions, reduced-fat sour cream, Mexican hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Mix salsa, enchilada sauce, corn, and water together in a medium bowl.
- Spread 1 1/2 cups salsa mixture in the bottom of an ungreased 9x13" baking pan.
- Spread about half of the ravioli evenly across the salsa.
- Sprinkle ravioli evenly with half of the cheese, then spread remaining ravioli on top.
- Pour the remaining salsa mixture over ravioli layers, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until ravioli is tender and cheese is bubbly.
- Let stand 10-15 minutes to allow sauce to thicken, if desired.
Notes
Salsa: We found that thick and chunky salsa works best for this recipe because it is much thicker than typical jarred salsas. (We used Chi-Chi's Mild Thick and Chunky throughout most of our testing.) You can certainly substitute your favorite, regular salsa or whatever you have in the pantry. However, your final dish will be much runnier and saucier because of the looser consistency of the salsa.
Ravioli: We used Rosetto brand in testing this recipe. We always recommend whole-grain pasta when possible, but the whole-wheat ravioli available in our local stores is significantly higher in fat than the ravioli we chose to use here. Also, there is a notable difference in the fat content of various brands of traditional, frozen ravioli. Read the labels carefully. We encourage you to choose higher-fiber, organic or all-natural products whenever it's feasible.
Make-Ahead: You can assemble this casserole earlier in the day. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 servings Serving Size: 1 pieceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 218Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 1079mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 14g
Nutrition information does not include optional toppings, as those can vary. Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only, and may additionally vary depending on your choice of ingredients or preparation. No guarantees are made regarding allergies or dietary needs. Always consult a physician or dietician for specific advice and questions.
Oh my goodness Shelley, may I be an honorary member of your family?? All of those celebrations sound like so much fun! My family hasn’t been very good about holidays in the past few years. (Too many work trips for my parents or last-minute visits to see sick grandparents in the hospital. We actually didn’t celebrate Easter this year!) So those costumes and elaborate festivities would totally make up for it! 🙂 And ravioli as a lasagna? Totally brilliant! That’s something my pasta-loving guy would eagerly get behind. Pinned already!
Amy, you for sure can be an honorary! We actually have loads of them! Pretty much any neighbor, nearby friend … or anyone who looks even vaguely fun … has been known to be sucked into the party vortex! That’s basically how our neighborhood parties always roll, too … most of them are completely unscheduled and never started out as a party at all! 😀 You just hop right on that plane and get out here, girl! Sounds like you need to make up for some lost time!
Oh – and definitely you guys should try this mexican ravioli! You’ll both love it! It’s really insanely yummy for something that has only a handful of ingredients and takes almost no active cooking time! Plus, it’s just loaded with more veggies than most people would realize at first glance … lots of tomatoes in the salsa and enchilada sauce, not to mention some peppers and onions … plus sweet, yummy corn! And then, if you’re like me, you’ll pile on tons more nutritious goodness with all the toppings! Yay! 😀 ~Shelley
Just let me pack my bags then here I come! Those unplanned parties are the best kind. It seems like there’s a lot less stressful planning and high expectations involved, so everyone can just relax and have fun! 🙂 Definitely putting the ingredients for this on my grocery list in the near future!
Mexican Ravioli Lasagna really sounds delicious! You are combining three of my favorite things. This is so festive and perfect for the upcoming holiday! 🙂
Thanks, Julia! We totally agree – these are three faves that pretty much everyone loves, even the kiddos! Roll them into one delicious meal, and it’s a sure-fire hit! Mexican + Ravioli + Lasagna = Happy, happy family meals! Yay! 😀 ~G&S
Hahaha I love how your husband goes all out for each holiday! My type of guy! I think we could be friends. And this mexican ravioli… holy guacamole it looks so good! Super creative and I just want to dive head first into the screen!
Lol! After reading about your Cinco de Man-o party with your buds when the girls are away … I think you and my husband must share some sort of extra-fun partying gene! You guys would have a blast together (actually … maybe just way too much fun!!!). 😀 And really, this Mexican ravioli is so, so good, especially for being so crazy-easy! Your Cinco de Man-o buds will love it (just save a little for Asheley to try)! 😀 ~Shelley
Can I come to your house for all your interesting holiday merge events? Sounds fun!
Great combo here and talk about fast! Love this. Love this. Love this. The spring calendar is crammed so I am desperate for a quick meal to get going at dinner hour this week. Done! Thanks, Shelley!
By the way, we have a big bin in our basement too that we throw every ridiculous costume-ish item in there and has that every come in handy!
You’re absolutely invited! The more the merrier! We really do have an awful lot of fun! You’ve got dig through your bin and bring any appropriate costumes, though, ok!?!? 😀
And yeah – I feel your crammed-spring-calendar pain! Between us, Gretchen and I have four out of our four kiddos playing lacrosse, three in a running program, two in band, one in orchestra, two in choir, two in dance, one in Girl Scouts … and on and on from there … Between lax tourneys and spring concerts and recitals … dinner gets mighty challenging! This recipe is absolutely perfect because you can make it earlier in the day or literally in about five minutes (plus baking) during the dinner crunch time. It reheats fabulously, too! Tons of options to jam it into busy evening schedules! And it truly is really everyone-in-the-family-will-love-it good! 😀 ~Shelley
Wow, you guys really know how to celebrate! I love those cactus stirrers. I need some of those 😀 mexican ravioli lasagna sounds like something I end to try ASAP! Sounds so easy and tasty. With all the delicious looking Mexican food I have been seeing we’ll have to celebrate cinco de mayo all month long 😀
Cindy, those cactus stirrers and sombrero were just the tip of the iceberg! Shelley has enough decorations to have the whole town looking festive! It was a super fun photo shoot! 🙂
We had this Mexican Ravioli Lasagna for dinner last night – my whole family loves it! It is SO fast and easy to make! Perfect for those hectic evenings! And … you can take leftovers to school with you … it reheats beautifully!
Love your idea – yes! – let’s celebrate Cinco de Mayo all month!! ~Gretchen