Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli Copycat

Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli are one of the famous restaurant's most popular appetizer. Flavor packed meat ravioli are coated with Italian seasoned bread crumbs and pan fried until golden brown. Served with marinara and alfredo sauce to dip and topped with grated parmesan cheese. They are a fun and unique appetizer you will devour!

a white platter is filled with toasted ravioli, a bowl of marinara sauce, and a bowl of alfredo sauce. it is all topped with parmesan cheese and parsley

Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli Recipe

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We haven't met an Olive Garden dish that we didn't like! They have so many classic Italian dishes on their menu and lots of unique and innovative menu items too. Their toasted ravioli have been one of our favorite appetizers for years! What's not to love about a crispy ravioli topped with parmesan and dipped in pasta sauce. Yum! These are a fun and easy appetizer for game days, family get togethers, and holiday entertaining.

What is Toasted Ravioli

These are a copycat recipe of the Toasted Ravioli appetizer from Olive Garden. Meat ravioli (or cheese ravioli) are coated in Italian breadcrumbs and pan fried until crispy. They are garnished with lots of parmesan cheese (the more the better!) and fresh parsley. Served with marinara or alfredo sauce to dip they are a fun appetizer you will be making on repeat.

What to Serve with

Ingredients

Meat Ravioli - Olive Garden makes their toasted ravioli appetizer with meat filled ravioli. You can use cheese or really any variety you like! It's a fun and versatile appetizer.
- Pro Tip - you can use frozen or fresh ravioli. We love to keep a bag or two of frozen ravioli in the freezer, they just need to be thawed and then you can make the recipe. This makes it a quick and easy appetizer for entertaining.
Italian Bread Crumbs - this is the final coating layer of the ravioli. They are pre-seasoned making this a super easy appetizer to make with pantry staple ingredients.
Egg - used as the second step to coat the ravioli. This ensures a nice even layer of Italian breadcrumbs will stick to each ravioli.
Flour - the first step to coat the breadcrumbs. This helps the egg bind to the ravioli to ensure they get a thorough breadcrumb coating. If you just dipped the ravioli right into the egg it would just drip right off, you need to add a layer of flour first.

How to Make Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli

Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of page

a three step cooking photo showing coating the ravioli first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

Prepare your dredging station using 3 medium sized shallow bowls.
In one bowl, whisk the eggs well.
In another bowl, place the flour.
In the last bowl place the breadcrumbs.
Tip: use one hand for the dry ingredients and one hand for the wet ingredients.
Working with one ravioli at a time, coat the ravioli in flour and shake off the excess. Then dip the ravioli into the egg and shake off the excess. Lastly, coat the ravioli in the breadcrumbs. Use your hand to pack the breadcrumbs onto the ravioli and ensure there is an even coating the whole ravioli.
Repeat the process for all the ravioli.

a three step photo first showing pan frying ravioli, then flipping them, then draining on a plate with a paper towel

DEEP FRYING METHOD
Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer, skillet, or pot for deep frying. After the raviolis have been breaded, carefully place them one by one in the hot oil (working in batches being careful not to overcrowd the pan). Deep fry for approximately 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Carefully remove them and place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil or on a wire rack.
AIR FRYER METHOD
Preheat air fryer to 375°F. Spray both sides of the coated ravioli with cooking spray and place in a single layer in the air fryer. Do not over crowd or stack so that they can cook evenly. Air fry for 6-8 minutes, or until golden and crispy, flipping halfway through.
OVEN BAKED METHOD
Preheat oven to 375°F degrees. Place ravioli in a single layer on a foiled lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the tops of ravioli with cooking spray to help brown and keep crispy. Bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Garnish the cooked ravioli with grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley. Serve with warm marinara sauce or alfredo sauce to dip and enjoy!

Tips for the Best Toasted Ravioli

Flavor Variations - this recipe is so fun and versatile because you can use any flavor of ravioli you like! We love to use meat, cheese, chicken and garlic, or spinach and ricotta filled ravioli. You can also use your favorite pasta sauce to dip. All kinds of sauce from marinara, alfredo, rose, all the way to vodka sauce are perfect!
Battering - when coating the ravioli in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs try to keep one hand for the dry steps and one for the wet. This way the breadcrumb mixture won't build up on your fingers!
Cooking - it is important not to over crowd the pan when deep frying or over fill the air fryer. You want each ravioli to be able to cook evenly so don't stack them in the air fryer or add too many to the pan of oil when frying.

FAQ

How to reheat?

Air Fryer – Preheat Air Fryer to 350˚F. Add to the air fryer basket or tray and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through.
Oven – Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until warmed through.
Microwave – microwave for 15-30 seconds. Note this method will not make them crispy again. Allow to cool for a few seconds as the filling will be very hot.

How to store?

Refrigerate in an air tight container in the fridge up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Can I freeze this recipe?

Cooked toasted ravioli can be frozen for up to 3 months in an air tight container or Ziploc bag. If freezing in a container, add a piece of parchment paper between layers to prevent them from sticking together. Allow ravioli to thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat with the above steps, or reheat from frozen (add 2-3 minutes to the reheating time).

Can I make this ahead?

I recommend only making this recipe up to 2 days in advance. Reheat in the oven or air fryer before serving and enjoy. You can already batter all of the ravioli and keep them in the fridge for 2-3 hours before cooking them.

Is this recipe gluten free?

For a gluten free recipe use gluten free ravioli, gluten free flour and gluten free breadcrumbs for the coating.

More Easy Appetizers

Enjoy!

- Sab