Ravioli substitutes
Ravioli substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Tortellini or tortelloni
Same amount by weight as the ravioli
Tortellini and tortelloni are the closest substitutes for ravioli, one for one by weight, and any other filled pasta such as agnolotti, cappelletti or mezzelune works the same way. Ravioli is doing two jobs at once: it is the starch that makes the meal, and it is a pocket of soft creamy filling that gives each bite a burst of richness a plain noodle cannot. That is why swapping in plain pasta is not enough on its own. If plain pasta is all you have, cook it and stir ricotta, grated parmesan and a little nutmeg into the hot sauce so the filling becomes the sauce instead.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- butter and sage sauce
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of ravioli | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tortellini or tortellonibutter and sage sauce | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 2 | Agnolotti, cappelletti or mezzelunebutter sauces | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 3 | Wonton wrappers with your own fillinghomemade ravioli | 1 wrapper folded per ravioliYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Gnocchibrown butter and sage | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Frozen pierogi or other potato dumplingsbrown butter and onion | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Short pasta plus a ricotta sauceweeknight cooking | Same total weight of pasta, plus about half a cup of ricotta per servingTweak it | Tweak it |
Tortellini or tortelloni
similar taste and texture
Filled pasta folded into a ring, tortelloni simply being the larger version.
- Best for
- butter and sage sauce, tomato sauce, brothy soups, baked pasta
The most seamless swap of all. Because of the folded seam, tortellini has more pasta per parcel than ravioli, so the bite is chewier and the filling less prominent, and the dish tastes a shade less rich. Check what is inside: cheese tortellini stands in for cheese ravioli, but a meat filling will fight a delicate butter and sage sauce.
Agnolotti, cappelletti or mezzelune
similar taste and texture
Regional Italian filled shapes: little folded pillows, little hats and half-moons.
- Best for
- butter sauces, cream sauces, sage and brown butter, light tomato sauce
Functionally the same food in a different outline, and no adjustment is needed. Agnolotti tend to be thicker-walled with a denser filling, so they eat more substantially; mezzelune are usually thin and delicate and can split if you boil them hard. All of them cook in the same few minutes as fresh ravioli.
Wonton wrappers with your own filling
different taste and texture
Cheap, thin square wrappers from the chilled aisle, filled and sealed at home.
- Best for
- homemade ravioli, butter sauces, cheese fillings, cooking with children
A genuinely good shortcut. The wrappers are thinner and more slippery than pasta dough and taste milder and less wheaty, so the filling comes through more strongly. They cook in two to three minutes and the seams leak if you rush: brush the edges with water, press out all the air, and simmer rather than boil.
Gnocchi
different taste, similar texture
Soft potato dumplings, not filled at all, but the same kind of pillowy starch.
- Best for
- brown butter and sage, tomato sauce, pesto, baked dishes
Honest about what changes: there is no burst of filling, so every bite is uniform. What you keep is the soft, tender, dumpling-like quality that makes ravioli feel comforting, and any sauce built for ravioli works unchanged on gnocchi. The dish is denser, more filling and more potato-sweet. Cook them until they float, then a minute more.
Frozen pierogi or other potato dumplings
different taste and texture
Filled dumplings from a different tradition, usually potato and onion or potato and cheese.
- Best for
- brown butter and onion, sage butter, pan-fried dishes
You keep the filled-parcel structure and lose the Italian flavour: the potato filling is starchier and heavier than ricotta, so a brown butter or tomato sauce still tastes good but the plate reads Eastern European. They are also thicker-skinned and much more filling, so serve fewer per person. Pan-frying them after boiling is the best use.
Short pasta plus a ricotta sauce
similar taste, different texture
The least-bad option when you have no filled pasta at all and cannot make any.
- Best for
- weeknight cooking, using pantry staples, cheese ravioli recipes
Cook any short shape, warm the sauce, then stir in ricotta with grated parmesan, salt, black pepper and a scrape of nutmeg off the heat so it turns creamy rather than grainy. This is not ravioli, and the filling is spread through the sauce rather than concentrated in pockets, but the flavour balance of the dish comes out remarkably close for very little effort.
Questions
5 questionsCan I use tortellini instead of ravioli?
Yes, and it is the best swap available. Use the same weight and cook to the tortellini package time. The only real differences are that tortellini has slightly more pasta per parcel, so the filling is less prominent, and the fillings on offer are often meat-based, so read the packet if the sauce is delicate.
What is the difference between ravioli and tortellini?
Only the construction. Ravioli is two flat sheets of pasta sealed around filling into a square or round; tortellini is a single round of pasta folded over the filling and then wrapped into a ring. Both cook in a few minutes and take the same sauces.
Can I make ravioli with wonton wrappers?
Yes, and it is the best answer if you want real filled pasta tonight without a pasta machine. Put a spoonful of filling on one wrapper, brush the edges with water, press out the air, seal firmly and simmer for two to three minutes. The wrappers are thinner than pasta dough, so handle them gently and eat them straight away.
Can I just leave the ravioli out?
No, because it is the entire main component rather than a seasoning. The closest thing to leaving it out is cooking whatever pasta you do have and stirring ricotta and parmesan into the sauce to make it creamy, which gets you the same flavours without the pockets of filling.
How much ravioli is a serving?
Around six to eight ounces of fresh or frozen filled pasta per person as a main course, which is roughly double the weight of dried pasta you would use, because the filling is heavy and much of that weight is not pasta. Weigh it rather than counting pieces, since sizes vary enormously between brands.
Tips for substituting ravioli
5 tips- Never boil filled pasta hard. A rolling boil batters the seams open and you end up with cheese in the water and empty pasta on the plate. Bring the water to the boil, then drop the heat to a lively simmer before the ravioli goes in.
- Ravioli and its stand-ins are done when they float and then hold there for about a minute. Floating alone is not the finish line, because the filling in the middle is often still cold.
- Lift filled pasta out with a slotted spoon instead of tipping the pot into a colander; the drop into a colander is what breaks most ravioli. Then fold it gently into the sauce rather than tossing it.
- Cook frozen ravioli straight from the freezer. Thawing lets the moisture in the filling soak into the pasta from the inside, and the parcels tear as soon as they hit the water.
- When you swap between filled pastas, match the filling to the sauce, not just the shape: cheese fillings suit butter, sage, cream and simple tomato, while meat and mushroom fillings need a sauce with enough body to stand up to them.