Vegan Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter and Mushrooms

As a regular vegan home chef without any special training, the idea of making my own ravioli was a little intimidating not too long ago. But since I've managed to create beautiful, delicious ravioli at home, I know that you can too! And when you taste the results, I'm sure you'll agree that this vegan butternut squash ravioli recipe is worth all the work.

For the butternut squash filling, I really wanted to let the flavor of the squash shine, so I didn't add any tofu or vegan cheese. Instead, I added garlic, almonds, lemon juice, and seasonings to enhance the creamy sweetness of the squash. I also used a basic sage-butter sauce with mushrooms to complement the ravioli filling without overpowering it.

While the creamy filling and the sage sauce are pretty simple to make, the homemade ravioli dough and assembly are a little more complicated. So I'm going to add some more detail here in the post that won't quite fit in the recipe itself, including some alternate methods that you might want to use. If you are already comfortable with your own methods for rolling out the dough and assembling the ravioli, you can use the "skip to recipe" button above to go straight to the recipe. However, if this is your first time making ravioli, I encourage you to read through the post before attempting the recipe.

Making your own pasta may be a bit of a challenge, but it's worth the effort!

How to Make Vegan Ravioli Dough

Making the dough itself is fairly simple, especially if you have a stand mixer. If you don't, it's not a problem, but you'll have to knead the dough by hand for a while until it becomes smooth.

If you have a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix the dry ingredients (00 flour and salt), then add in the water and olive oil. Mix the dough on speed 2 or 3 for a minute or two, until the dough comes together in a rough ball. Then switch to the dough hook and knead on speed 3 or 4 until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes.

If you don't have a stand mixer, start by mixing your 00 flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and salt mixture, then pour the water and olive oil into the well. Mix until the dough comes together, then knead by hand until the dough is smooth, around 10-15 minutes.

Once your dough is formed, shape it into a ball and place it in a bowl to rest with a damp kitchen towel over the bowl. You can also wrap it in plastic wrap (the goal is to keep it from drying out), but I personally prefer to use a kitchen towel because it creates less waste. You'll want to let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. You can also put it in the refrigerator if you won't use it right away, but you should wrap it in plastic wrap instead of a kitchen towel. It should last several days there until you're ready to use it.

Cover your ravioli dough with a damp towel so it doesn't dry out as it's resting.

Rolling Ravioli Dough

Depending on how much space you have for rolling, you may wish to cut the dough into 2 or 4 pieces before rolling. You'll need a longer length of space (3 to 4 feet) for 2 large pieces than for 4 smaller pieces. Either way, you should roll your dough in a long strip that's about 5 to 7 inches wide. If you're cutting the ravioli using a stamp, knife, or cookie cutter, do your best to ensure you have pairs of dough that match closely in size and shape, since one strip will be going on top of the other. If you're using a ravioli mold, make sure that each strip is long enough and wide enough to cover the entire mold, if you're using 4 strips (for 2 strips, each strip should be able to cover the mold when folded in half).

Divide your ravioli dough into 2 or 4 approximately equal-sized balls before rolling.

Rolling out the dough may be the most difficult part, since it takes quite a lot of time and muscle to get as thin as it should be for ravioli. (Feel free to use a pasta maker instead to make it easier!) The dough likes to bounce back to its original thickness once the rolling pin has passed over it. I've found it helpful to hold one end of the dough while I use the rolling pin to push the rest of the dough in the opposite direction. Then I hold it in place on both ends for a few seconds before I let it go.

When you're finished, the dough should be around 2-3 mm thick or 1/16" to 1/8" (which is thinner than you think when you're rolling the dough). When you hold it up to the light, you should be able to see light through the dough, and you should be able to see an equal amount of light on all parts of the dough (dark spots will show you where the dough has not been rolled evenly). The dough should feel delicate when you lift it, and you should need to support it with both hands to keep it from breaking or stretching too much.

One sheet of ravioli dough, rolled out.

Assembling and Cutting Vegan Ravioli

There are two methods you can use to assemble the ravioli, depending on the tools you have available. I initially used this ravioli mold, but I decided that I preferred cutting the ravioli using a small drinking glass. The ravioli mold required a lot of flour to get the ravioli to release easily, and I also found it harder to get the air bubbles out of the ravioli using the mold. There are also ravioli stamps available which will seal your ravioli for you and give you pretty-shaped edges.

If you're using a glass, a cookie cutter, or a ravioli stamp, choose the smaller of the two sheets (or use either sheet if they're exactly equal) to use as your base. Dust your glass, cookie cutter, or stamp in flour, then press gently (but don't cut) on your dough to mark the space where your ravioli will be cut later.

Using two spoons or a piping bag, place about 1/2 tablespoon of filling at the center of each raviolo. You may need to use more or less filling depending on the size of the ravioli you're cutting. Then brush water around the inside edges of each raviolo.

Brush water around the inside of the markings to seal the two pasta sheets together.

Take the second sheet and carefully cover the first sheet and the fillings. Work from one end to the other, making sure each ravioli mark is fully covered by the top sheet, and pushing out any air bubbles before pressing the top sheet onto the wet dough of the bottom sheet to seal.

When placing the second pasta sheet on top, work from one side to the other so you can push out any air bubbles as you go.

Once your two sheets have been sealed, start cutting your ravioli, centering the filling mounds inside your stamp or cookie cutter. Don't worry if you don't cut exactly over the markings on the first sheet of dough. As long as your filling is approximately centered in the raviolo, it will work! If you're using a cookie cutter or glass, you may wish to use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Set the finished ravioli on a wire rack to dry for about an hour before cooking. You can re-roll the dough once, but I don't recommend re-rolling more than that, as the dough will become too tough to roll.

If you're using a ravioli mold, start by either spraying the mold with oil, or flouring it. The best way to get enough flour on the mold is to press the surface of the mold into a mound of flour.

If you made 4 sheets of dough, then take one sheet of dough and place it on top of the mold, making sure all the edges are covered. If you made 2 sheets of dough, use one half of a sheet of dough to cover the mold completely, leaving enough dough on the other end to fold on top. Take the plastic shaping mold and press it into the dough to stretch it for the filling.

Fill each well with about 1/2 tbsp. of filling (you can use more or less, depending on the size of your mold). Then brush water on the edges of the ravioli. Place the second sheet (or fold the other half of the sheet) on top of the dough and filling, working from one side to the other and pushing out air bubbles as you go. Roll a rolling pin over the edges of the mold to cut the ravioli (you may need to roll at an angle on the edges to get the ravioli dough to be cut completely). Turn the ravioli mold upside down over a wire rack and gently release the ravioli. Use a knife to separate any ravioli that weren't completely cut by the mold. Let the ravioli dry for an hour before boiling. You can re-roll the dough once, but after that it will probably be too tough to re-roll.

You should let your ravioli dry for about an hour before boiling them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use 00 flour for ravioli? Type 00 flour is preferred for ravioli because it's lighter doesn't overpower the flavor of the filling. But type 00 flour is not available everywhere, and all-purpose flour will work if you can't get 00 flour.

Do I need a pasta machine/pasta maker for ravioli? A pasta maker will help you achieve pasta sheets with an even thickness, and it requires less muscle from you. But you can also make ravioli sheets with a rolling pin, as I've described in this recipe.

Can I knead ravioli dough by hand? Yes, but you'll likely need to knead it for around 10-15 minutes. It's much easier with a stand mixer!

Can I use frozen butternut squash for the ravioli filling? I don't recommend using frozen squash because it's already cubed and it will dry out too much when it's roasting. Then your filling won't be as smooth and creamy.

How many ravioli will this recipe make? It will depend on the size of the ravioli you're making. I was able to make 26 2-inch-round ravioli. You'll get more ravioli if you're cutting them smaller, or fewer if you're making larger ravioli.

Can I make the ravioli dough ahead of time? Yes! You can refrigerate it for a day or two as long as you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.

Can these ravioli be used for fried ravioli or toasted ravioli? Yes, you can coat and fry these ravioli instead of boiling them if you prefer.

How long will these ravioli last in the refrigerator or freezer? You can keep these ravioli in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days; if you want to store them longer, freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking tray, then transfer to a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Mushrooms and sage butter pair perfectly with the slightly sweet butternut squash ravioli filling.