Looking for the best sauce to go with lobster ravioli? Then look no further than this easy and delicious recipe that tastes much fancier than the effort involved. This restaurant-quality dish can be on the table in under 30 minutes!
Buying a package of pre-made lobster ravioli is one of the best, not-too-pricey indulgences for dinner at home. Once your water is boiling, all you need to do is open the package and boil for somewhere between 4-6 minutes, usually just a minute or so extra if your ravioli is frozen.
The only decision left is to figure out a sauce. Traditional marinara sauces don't exactly mesh well with lobster's more delicate flavor, and sometimes you want a sauce with more oomph than what a mixture of melted butter and garlic can provide.
Taking cues from the cream/butter/garlic trifecta in my recipe for tortellini alla panna, a few additional ingredients pair with the flavor of lobster to take this lobster ravioli cream sauce recipe to the next level.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fast and easy: This is fancy food made quick. This recipe is prepped and cooked in around 25 minutes. There's no need to brown butter or wrangle lobster shells or lobster tails for a truly restaurant-quality dish. Let your store-bought lobster ravioli do all of the heavy lifting on that front.
- No fussy ingredients: Simple ingredients come together to form a luxe-tasting sauce with a perfect balance of flavors: cream, butter, garlic, onion, white wine, lemon, and a smidge of tomato.
- Versatile: Lobster ravioli comes in a variety of package sizes. Never one to skimp on sauce or condiments, I made sure this pink lobster ravioli sauce recipe yields a generous amount for one 13-ounce package, but also two smaller (8-ounce) packages without needing to make any adjustments.
Recipe Ingredients
- Lobster ravioli: Either refrigerated or frozen ravioli work here, and I'd imagine homemade lobster ravioli would be fine, too. This recipe yields enough sauce for a 13-ounce package or two 8-ounce packages, depending upon which size package you can find.
- Garlic: Mincing or pressing whole garlic cloves is recommended for the freshest flavor over the jarred, pre-minced kind.
- Wine: Use a dry white wine variety such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.
- Tomato sauce: This provides this sauce's blush coloring with a smidge of extra flavor. I like to use tomato sauce versus crushed tomatoes or tomato paste as it features a modest amount of seasonings (salt, onion and garlic powders, etc.) without overwhelming the flavor. It also comes in very small cans so you won't have too much excess to use up.
- Lemon juice: Freshly-squeezed is recommended for the brightest flavor.
- Cream: Three-quarters cup of heavy cream (also called heavy whipping cream) is used for a thick lobster ravioli cream sauce base. This type of cream has around 36% milk fat. Do not substitute milk as this can cause the sauce to separate.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pan, then add the onion and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until golden. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Once the onions are going, set up a big pot of water to boil. Once boiling, salt the water then add the ravioli and cook according to package directions.
Tip: Try to sync up the ravioli cook time so that they're ready sometime after the cream has been added to the pan of sauce.
- Deglaze the pan by pouring in the wine and scraping up any stuck-on bits of onion and garlic from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble and cook for a few minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half. Then stir in the tomato sauce and lemon juice and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the cream and let it thicken/cook for 5-8 minutes or until it has thickened to your liking, stirring frequently.
- Drain the ravioli once they're finished cooking, then serve with the lobster ravioli sauce over top.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Lobster ravioli package size: This recipe yields a generous amount of lobster ravioli sauce per serving (just how I like it!). That said, you could absolutely get away with bumping up the quantity of ravioli for convenience and still have a filling, sufficient amount. While I most often make a 13-ounce package of ravioli, you can purchase two 8-ounce packages and make the sauce as-is.
- Go easy on the lemon juice: Do not use more than the listed amount of lemon juice as it runs the risk of overwhelming the flavor. More importantly the excess acidity may also interfere with the cream's consistency and cause curdling.
- Keep the heat low: Similarly, don't crank the heat underneath the pan of lobster ravioli sauce in the hopes of speeding up the process. Cooking over too high heat can cause the cream-based sauce to curdle.
- Variations: You can zhush this recipe several different ways.
- Fresh herbs: Tarragon, chives, parsley.
- Spice: Add red pepper flakes while the onion is sautéing for a well-round spice.
- Cheese: Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or a similar variety, such as Pecorino Romano.
- More seafood: Feel free to add leftover cooked lobster meat to this sauce if you happen to have some on hand. It will certainly complement the flavor, but isn't necessary for a satisfyingly delicious meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
It will be in the refrigerated pasta section if your store has it (one big grocery chain near me doesn't stock it at all). The larger size package I most often use is Rana brand and comes in a two-pack from Costco. I'd imagine Sam's Club and other membership warehouses would have similar. Trader Joe's also reliably has fun striped lobster ravioli, but it's in a smaller package and you may wish to buy and prepare two for this quantity of sauce.
Check with the particular package instructions, but you do not need to thaw it before cooking. Rana lobster ravioli says to boil the ravioli for one extra minute if frozen.
Heat cooked lobster ravioli in sauce in a covered saucepan set over low heat. Add a tablespoon of milk or two to the pan, as needed, as the ravioli is heating to restore the sauce's creaminess and prevent it from separating.
Side Dish Recommendations
What should you serve with creamy lobster ravioli? Since lobster ravioli sauce is on the richer side, I like to keep side dishes lighter, vegetable-based, and simple.
- A side green salad
- Garlic sautéed green beans
- Roasted broccolini
- Sautéed asparagus (omit the spice)
- Roasted frozen broccoli
More Creamy Pasta Recipes
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating in the recipe card and/or a comment review below!
Lobster Ravioli Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- Half of a medium white onion finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced/pressed
- ¼ cup (59 ml) dry white wine
- ¼ cup (61g) tomato sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream
- 13 ounce (370g) package lobster ravioli
- Kosher salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the diced onion and saute until golden, 6-7 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed to prevent the butter/onion from burning.
- Meanwhile, set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once boiling, salt the water generously and add the ravioli. Cook according to package directions and then drain, setting the cooked ravioli aside if the sauce isn't ready yet.
- Once the onion is golden, add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Pour in the wine and scrape up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan as it bubbles. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by about half.
- Stir in the tomato sauce and lemon juice. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the cream and stir to combine. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cream thickens up to your liking. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, as needed, then serve over cooked ravioli.
Notes
- While lobster ravioli often comes refrigerated, you can freeze it to extend the shelf life. If preparing the ravioli from frozen there's no need to thaw, rather follow the package directions, which often state to boil it for an additional minute.
- Refrigerate leftover portions in an air-tight container. Reheat in a covered pan set over low heat, adding a tablespoon or so of milk while heating to help this lobster ravioli sauce become nice and creamy again.
- You can switch up this recipe and serve it with your pick of fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese, etc. If experimenting with the ingredients, do not add more lemon juice than the quantity listed. The extra acidity can mess with the consistency of a cream-based sauce and lead to curdling.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition DisclaimerWould you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Plus receive periodic recipe newsletter emails.
Comments
No Comments