Think of these grain free and keto ravioli as pillowy-soft bites from heaven! Filled with spinach, ricotta and toasted pine nuts, they’re then fried in a garlic and thyme-infused brown butter for a killer result.
Spinach & Ricotta Keto Ravioli
Pillowy-Soft!
I looove to fill up these keto ravioli with spinach, ricotta and toasted pine nuts. Simple, yet ridiculously tasty. They’re then cooked in a garlic and thyme-infused butter; which browns as the ravioli cook, yielding a delicious dipping sauce.
Just don’t forget the cherry tomatoes, as they lighten up the dish beautifully!
Fun fact: since the recipe was first published (back in January ’18), many of you have informed me that there’s such a thing as toasted ravioli up in St. Louis (and that these are not far off!). How neat is that?!
p.s. These guys are super awesome for meal-prepping! Simply whip up a large batch, freeze, and cook straight from the freezer as needed.
The Flours
These keto ravioli are a spinoff of our grain free keto tortillas (i.e. nowadays known as our famous Crazy Keto Dough!).
Think almost the same ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour and a touch of xanthan gum (minus the baking powder). But slightly wetter, so you’re able to get it nice and thin (think almost translucent).
p.s. click through for specific brands I use personally (i.e. they work best!).
Allergic to nuts? I’ve heard great things about substituting the almond flour with sunflower seed meal or pumpkin seed meal from readers. Color and taste will be different though.
Otherwise, no substituting flours here and the xanthan gum is absolutely necessary. And, if possible, weigh your ingredients for consistent results.
The Method
The real trick here is to get the keto pasta dough nice and thin. This way you’ll end up with pillowy-soft ravioli, as opposed to doughy ones. In the end, you want the filling-to-dough ratio to be much greater.
1. Roll out the dough between parchment paper
This is easiest done using either a tortilla press (cast iron ones are the best) or an actual pasta machine. But a rolling pin (with some patience) will work too. The dough should end up translucent when held up against natural light.
2. Add filling
Heap roughly a tablespoon of filling onto the dough. Drape a second piece over it and press around the edges to seal, removing any air bubbles. The dough will sticky, so no egg wash is needed.
3. Trim
I simply used a cookie cutter here, but feel free to use whatever floats your boat. Just keep in mind that you’ll want to trim the edges close to the filling.
4. Freeze
You’ll want to freeze the ravioli for 15 minutes prior to cooking. And yes, you can go ahead and freeze them too, but thaw them out slightly before cooking. You’ll also want to cook these guys always in a little olive oil or butter, never in water (they’ll just be mushy). But they’re absolutely killer fried.
Pillowy-Soft Spinach & Ricotta Keto Ravioli
Think of these grain free and keto ravioli as pillowy-soft bites from heaven. Filled with spinach, ricotta and toasted pine nuts, they're then fried in a garlic and thyme-infused brown butter for a killer result.
Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.
Ingredients
For the keto pasta dough
- 96 g almond flour
- 24 g coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt depending on whether sweet or savory
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3-5 teaspoons water
For the ricotta & spinach filling:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil for cooking
- 2 cloves garlic grated or ran through a press
- 400 g spinach
- 250 g ricotta cheese
- 40 g Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 30 g pine nuts lightly toasted
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper freshly ground to taste
- 1 egg yolk
To serve
- 56 g grass-fed butter as needed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic slivered
- 4 thyme springs
- cherry tomatoes to taste
- Parmesan cheese slivered
Instructions
For the keto pasta dough
Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum and salt to food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined.
Pour in apple cider vinegar with the food processor running. Once it has distributed evenly, pour in the egg. Add water teaspoon by teaspoon, as needed, until the dough forms into a ball. The dough should be firm, yet sticky to touch and with no creases (which mean the dough is dry and you need to add a little more water).
Wrap dough in cling film and knead it through the plastic for a couple minutes. Think of it a bit like a stress ball. Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature and place in the fridge for 45 minutes (and up to five days).
For the ricotta & spinach filling:
Heat up olive oil in a skillet or pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté briefly until golden. Add spinach and turn down the heat. Once wilted, squeeze out excess liquid, transfer it to a board and roughly chop it. Allow to cool.
Mix spinach with ricotta, grated Parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts and freshly grated nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Mix in egg yolk.
To assemble the keto ravioli
Roll out the pasta to its thinnest point using a pasta machine or a tortilla press (between parchment paper). You can also use a rolling pin, but it'll take a little longer. The dough should end up translucent when held up against natural light.
Heap roughly a tablespoon of filling onto the dough (see pictures in post). Drape a second piece over it and press down around the edges to seal, removing any air bubbles. The dough will sticky, so no egg wash is needed. Trim the edges close to the filling using a cookie cutter (or pizza cutter/knife/glass). Place all the ravioli on a baking tray and freeze for 15 minutes prior to cooking.
For the thyme-butter sauce
Heat up butter and oil in a skillet or pan over low heat. Once warm, add in garlic slivers and thyme. When the garlic begins to brown, add in chilled ravioli.
Cook ravioli in the butter until golden all over, a minute or two on each side. If the garlic slivers begin to brown too much, you'll want to pull them out (do not discard).
Serve right away over a bed of cherry tomatoes and topped with slivered parmesan and the crispy garlic slivers (opt out if garlic isn't your thing).
Recipe Notes
Feel free to go ahead and freeze the ravioli, but you’ll want to thaw them out slightly before cooking.
This recipe yields 20 x 2 1/2 inch ravioli. Nutrition facts below were estimated per ravioli with the filling, so a serving of four pieces is 6g net carbs.
Hi Paola! I just made these. Based on everyone’s comments I made a double batch of the dough so I had room to play. Pasta roller definitely didn’t work even if I floured the top of the dough. Even at the largest setting the dough won’t go through and just crumbles (it would be nice if you could let us know if you know if someone has used the pasta roller successfully). What really worked well for me was 2 silicone baking sheets. I flattened the dough a bit with my hand on one sheet then put the other one on top and used my roller to smoothen out the dough underneath. I found out over time that it’s much easier to make very thin pieces of you flatten less of the dough at a time. Also for me the method to put the filling in then press with the cookie cutter was very very messy. I ended up using the cutter to cut the shapes then put the stuffing in the middle, leaving the sides clean where I could easily pinch them together. Once I pinched the first half I would push the filling more in so the second half was clean too and it would seal shut. If there is a problem sealing using a fork to press the corners worked well for me (not just press down but outward towards the edge). By the end of the second batch I was able to make pretty decent ravioli! I ended up making 34 out of the 2 batches. So much yum! Thank you so much for sharing at always!
REALLY LOVE THIS RECIPE, COULD I MAKE THE DOUGH INTO LASAGNA SHEETS?.
Recipe is great. Would like to know how many servings with one recipe to read the label correctly?
Thanks
Jf
Noticed the last paragraph refers to a serving of 4.
Hello, I am new to keto pasta making. Could I use this dough to make lasagna? Any thoughts about accomplishing this? Tamar Noel said that she baked it. Tamar, could you describe how it turned out? Thank you!
I cannot wait to try this, but I am curious … Can this dough recipe be used to make pasta as well? Like, make it in a big batch and make spaghetti noodles from it?
can i substitute xantam gum with tapioca or something else maybe? thanks
I prepped and froze this yesterday to cook tonight and IT WAS INCREDIBLE! I had a lot of trouble rolling the dough out on parchment paper (most of it stuck to the paper and was impossible to remove). But I salvaged what I could and rolled it in between cling wrap which was SO easy. I rolled out the dough, filled it, and used a pizza cutter to create each piece. I pinched the sides down with a fork. They fried up so nicely and my whole family loved them! Thank you for such an easy, delicious recipe!
Do you think I can hand mix this? I currently am away from my home, and do not have food processor…could it work?
I have a vita mix but I’ve never done a dough in it…and can’t imagine it working…your thoughts please!
Love the site for sure … I bought the ebook, but do you have hard copy cookbook also? I like books, cookbooks to be exact!!
💕
Stuck in house with up to -50 wind chill so going to give this a try! Any word of advice for newbies?
As an experienced cookies and baker as well as a pasta maker since the age of 10, I found this”pasta difficult to make. The dough was beautiful and moist but difficult to roll out even with a pasta machine. I rolled between parchment to get it paper thin. Once friend in the Olive oil and butter it became very hard and crispy. Not very appetizing. Also the garlic burned, it should be added later. I will not be making these again. 👎
These worked out great. Have you tried just freezing the dough by itself and using it later?
I’ve loved the recipies and had fun. Wife from Guatemala so your take on some dishes has been very much appriciated.
I have no clue what I’m doing wrong with the dough. It cracks apart when I try to run it thourgh pasta machine. After going through seveal batches, I rolled it out. While worked well enough, I’d love to get it thin as I can only imainge how much better it would be.
Have you actually had success running this through a pasta roller? if so, any tips to keep this dough together as you run it through a machine?
I made these raviolis with the 3-cheese filling and they were a big hit! Even my picky husband liked them. I made BIG ravioli so I only got 10 and there are leftovers for tomorrow. They are very filling.
I attempted to put the dough through my pasta roller but it kept breaking apart, even on the highest setting, so I resorted to the rolling pin; labor intensive but successful. After frying, I added a mama-jama-sized meatball and marinara to finish the dish.
REALLY LOVE THIS RECIPES!, ESPECIALLY THIS ONE!.
THIS IS SO GREAT!, I CAN NOT WAIT TO MAKE THIS,
This might be a silly question but here it is… I just made a batch of these, and put them into the freezer in serving sized portions to have for weeknight meals. When I go to prepare 8 of them, 4 for myself and 4 for my bf, that will be 8 Ravioli from the full 20 in the batch. Will I need to adjust the number of Servings to 2 when I go to make the oil and butter herb “sauce” for 2 dinners? Are the measurements for the “sauce” the amount required to cook all 20? Please advise…
Is there any way to substitute the xanthan gum? like, use cornstarch instead???? PLEASE respond
Cornstarch is not Keto, and is used as a thickener, not as a binder. The xanathan gum binds the dough, I would not recommend using cornstarch
Heavenly nice. <3
Had 4 pieces with some lemon and thyme chicken on the side.
Didn't have a pasta maker and although I rolled as thin as I could, didn't quite make it to 20.
One thing to note, When I entered the ingredients into MFP, each ravioli came to 208 cals, not 88.
Anyway, looking forward to my next meal of them, without all the prep.
I am SO incredibly excited to have found this recipe, and your blog! Picked up some chicken of the woods mushrooms from the farmer’s market this weekend and will be making my own mushroom-y twist on this keto ravioli tomorrow night. CANNOT wait to try! Thank you for sharing!
This was delicious but had trouble with the dough in our pasta maker. Tried to roll out with parchment paper and could get it off the parchment paper. Ended up flattening by hand which worked ok, but they were a lot thicker than they should have been. I don’t know if the dough was too wet or to dry. Was thinking of getting a tortilla press but not sure if that’s the problem, the tool or the cook!!! Lol
Any suggestions? Followed recipe exactly…
Hi Michele! It just sounds like your batter was a bit too wet (different size eggs and absorbency, particularly of the coconut flour, can vary a lot form brand to brand). I would say to just add less water next time, the dough will be sticky but sturdy xo!
Thank you, I will try again. On a side note…can I pre-grind my psyllium husk and golden flax meal and store so it’s ready to use? I wasn’t sure if it would ruin it if it wasn’t used for a couple of weeks.
Yeah def I do that to save a bunch of time! If you don’t use them that often I would suggest keeping them in the freezer (flaxseed is notorious for going bad quickly) xo!
Do you know another substitute for the coconut flower? I am highly allergic to coconut. This looks so good.
Even though I couldn’t get the dough to work with me, I rolled it out and made a log and baked it in the oven. It was so good. This keto diet is for my husband but for dinner we support him by eating keto. This is a recipe that I could make without the family realizing they’re eating healthy. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Hi Paola! I have been cooking your recipes and loved every one of them!
Do you have a recipe for a keto spanakopita? I’m craving those right now, maybe the ravioli will help me with that!