Garlic Cream Sauce for Ravioli (2024)

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Here I’ll show you how to spruce up a packet of store bought ravioli with this dreamy, creamy garlic sauce!

This sauce is made to be drenched over ravioli and compliments so many different fillings. It’s somewhat ‘fancy’ but still ridiculously easy to make. Follow me…

Roasted Garlic

If you’ve never roasted garlic before your life is about to change for the better. By roasting garlic you turn it sweet & sticky and it develops a gorgeous nutty flavour. It takes the pungency out of the garlic. It also fills your kitchen with the most irresistible scent which is always a bonus!

Low ‘n’ Slow

The key to roasting garlic is baking it low ‘n’ slow to tickle out the natural sugars for them to caramelize. Don’t rush this process, or you’ll end up with burnt bitter garlic!

Can I just use fresh garlic?

If you’re short on time you can roast the garlic ahead of time, but if you’d rather just use regular diced fresh garlic you can do so. So long as there’s garlic in some way shape or form I’ll forgive you 😛

Process shots: slice tip off bulb of garlic (photo 1), add to foil (photo 2), drizzle with oil and wrap (photo 3), roast in the oven (photo 4), unwrap foil (photo 5), squeeze out garlic and mash with a fork (photo 6).

Garlic Cream Sauce

Alright, here’s where the fun begins 😋 Garlic roasted – let’s get on with the sauce.

Browned Butter

Just like roasting the garlic, browning the butter adds another layer of flavour to the sauce. Browning butter essentially just means gently frying it until it turns from a yellowy colour, to a more clarified brown colour. By doing this the butter develops a lovely nutty flavour. And when you mix roasted garlic with browned butter incredible things happen!

Do I have to brown the butter?

Like the roasted garlic, it adds another layer of flavour to the sauce. Browning butter is fairly quick and simple to do, and seeing as the butter is already getting fried you may as well. But, if you’re short on time you can just melt in the butter and get cracking on the sauce.

White Wine

The garlic, cream, butter etc are all quite heavy flavours. By adding a splash of white wine you cut through the richness of the sauce and add a very gentle background flavour. Most, if not all of the alcohol will burn off, but if you can’t use it just sub more chicken stock.

Process shots: add butter to pan (photo 1), brown the butter then mix in roasted garlic (photo 2), and wine and simmer to reduce (photo 3), pour in cream and stock then add parsley, nutmeg and s&p (photo 4), simmer then mix in parmesan (photo 5), mix in cooked ravioli (photo 6).

Ravioli Cream Sauce FAQ

What kind of Ravioli to use?

There’s a variety of different ravioli fillings that will pair with a cream sauce really nicely. Fillings will differ from country to country and shop to shop, but generally speaking here’s some fillings that work well with this sauce:

Mushroom
Any sort of Chicken filling
Lobster or any type of Seafood
Cheese/Four Cheese/Spinach Ricotta
Butternut Squash/Pumpkin

Can I use Tortellini?

Yep! Tortellini makes the perfect sub here.

Can I use Pasta?

You can, you’ll just have to use a lower quantity otherwise there will be way too much (more on this in the recipe card notes below).

Serving Ravioli

Ravioli is one of those foods that is deceivingly filling. This recipe will serve 3 hungry people, but 4 regular portions. I recommend plating up with some extra parsley, a good pinch of black pepper (or nutmeg) and some extra parmesan.

For a different sauce for ravioli check out my Rustic Tomato Sauce for Ravioli, Creamy Tuscan Ravioli and Brown Butter Sauce for Ravioli!

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy ravioli sauce shall we?!

How to make a Cream Sauce for Ravioli(Full Recipe & Video)

Garlic Cream Sauce for Ravioli

Here I'll show you how to spruce up a packet of store bought ravioli with this dreamy, creamy garlic sauce! This will feed 3 hungry people, or 4 smaller portions for four.

5 from 11 votes

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Servings (click & slide): 4

Course: Dinner / Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Calories per serving: 556kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £2 / $2.50

Equipment:

Large Pot & Slotted Spoon (for ravioli)
Foil (for roasting garlic)
Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Fine Cheese Grater
See Also
How to Roast Garlic (whole roasted garlic) - The Chunky Chef

Ingredients (check list):

▢ 1lb / 500g Ravioli (see notes)
▢ 1 1/4 cups / 300ml Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
▢ 1/3 cup / 80ml Chicken Stock
▢ 1/3 cup / 80ml Dry White Wine
▢ 1/3 cup / 30g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve
▢ 2.5 tbsp Butter, preferably unsalted
▢ 1 small bulb of Garlic
▢ 1 heaped tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley, plus extra to serve
▢ 1/8 - 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
▢ Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
▢ Olive Oil, as needed

Instructions:

Roast Garlic: Slice the tip off the garlic bulb to expose all the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil then wrap in foil and place in the oven at 180C/356F for 45-60mins, or until knife tender, golden brown and caramelized. Don't be tempted to whack up the temp, low and slow is the aim of the game. Leave for a few minutes to cool down, then peel away the outer layers. Squeeze out as much as you can, making sure the outer peel doesn't mix in. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt then mash with a fork to smooth out any lumpy parts.
Brown Butter (optional step - see notes): Melt 2.5 tbsp butter into a large pan over medium heat. It will begin to foam, just keep gently stirring until the butter starts turning from a lemony yellow to a light brown. After a few more mins the butter will turn a deeper brown colour and will release a nutty aroma. This is when your butter is properly browned.If at any point the nutty aroma smells more like burning, then simply reduce the heat. For speedy option just simply melt butter.
Sauce: Add roasted garlic to pan and stir to combine with the butter for 30 seconds. Pour in wine and simmer for 2-3mins to reduce by at least half (important or the sauce will be too sour). Pour in chicken stock and cream, then add parsley, nutmeg and a pinch of salt & pepper. Simmer for 5 or so mins until the sauce starts to thicken, then mix in parmesan. The sauce should be fairly thick by this point.
Ravioli: Cook ravioli in salted boiling water according to packet instruction. Use a slotted spoon to add the cooked ravioli to the sauce and stir to combine. The excess water will loosen up the sauce.
Serve: Plate up with extra parmesan/parsley (optional)

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) What kind of Ravioli to use? - There's a huge range of ravioli fillings that'll work well with this sauce, and fillings will vary from country to country, but here's my personal favourites with a garlic cream sauce:

Mushroom/Chicken & Mushroom
Lobster or any type of Seafood
Cheese/Four Cheese/Spinach Ricotta
Butternut Squash/Pumpkin

You can use fresh tortellini.

b) Can I use regular pasta? - Yep! You'll want to use around 10-12oz/300-350g dried pasta and just cook until al dente, using the starchy pasta water to thin out the sauce as needed.

c) Browned Butter - By browning the butter you deepen the flavour of the sauce and add a gorgeous nutty flavour. This nutty flavour compliments the roasted garlic really well. You can skip this step if you're short on time though.

d) Do I have to roast the Garlic? - Roasting the garlic turns it gorgeously sweet and nutty, and I highly recommend do it. If you're short on time you can just dice up fresh garlic. 2 cloves will give you a mellow garlic flavour, 3 a more prominent flavour and 4 will give you a good punch of garlic!

e) Calories - based on no extra parmesan, a regular cheese filled ravioli then divided by 4:

Your Private Notes:

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Garlic Cream Sauce for Ravioli

Amount Per Serving

Calories 556Calories from Fat 380

% Daily Value*

Fat 42.26g65%

Saturated Fat 25.504g128%

Trans Fat 0.073g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.972g

Monounsaturated Fat 12.279g

Cholesterol 222mg74%

Sodium 908mg38%

Potassium 192mg5%

Carbohydrates 27.41g9%

Fiber 0.9g4%

Sugar 2.58g3%

Protein 13.96g28%

Vitamin A 1617IU32%

Vitamin C 1.1mg1%

Calcium 237mg24%

Iron 2.02mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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Looking for more?You'll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook 'Comfy'

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