What constitutes the “best” ravioli—cheese, meat, or otherwise—is different for everyone. Some people want the pasta to be thick and chewy, others want it thin and noodly. Others prefer their ravioli to consist of peanut butter and jelly inside of squishy white bread (lookin’ at you, Uncrustables). But most people can agree that the best ravioli has a flavorful filling, doesn’t turn to mush when you cook it, and works well in everything from marinara sauce to alfredo sauce, or even on its own. The best ravioli gets points for having a fun shape, too. And when we are talking the best meat ravioli—particularly, the best beef ravioli—we better taste actual meat.
We’ve already ranked the best cheese ravioli, so for this taste test we zeroed in on finding the best meat ravioli at the grocery store. To be perfectly honest, there aren’t as many options as we’d hoped there be; cheese ravioli really rules the frozen-food roost. But we ordered what we could, cooked the ravs according to their package instructions, and then tried them, sans sauce, to rate their flavor, consistency, and overall tastiness. Here’s the best meat ravioli—including the best frozen beef ravioli—at the grocery store.
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- Signature Select Beef Ravioli
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We liked these frozen beef ravioli before we even tasted them. You can see minced herbs in the pasta (oregano, apparently), and they contribute just a touch of additional flavor. The filling tastes a lot like beef stew, or at least the herbs and aromatics you would find in a slow cooker American beef stew or a pot roast—rosemary, celery, onion, garlic, and a bit of oregano, but it’s subtle. Essentially, these beef ravioli from Albertsons tasted very beefy and less distinctly Italian, so I think this is the best beef ravioli to pair with either a beefy bolognese or rustic red sauce—something acidic and with a lot of depth to complement and cut through that rich beefiness.
Credit: Liv Averett / Albertsons
- Armanino Beef Ravioli
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These frozen beef ravioli taste unlike any beef product I’ve ever had. The filling, which consists of “seasoned ground beef blended with spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella,” has a slight gamey funk to it I wasn’t expecting and didn’t know how to place other than to say it tastes a bit like duck liver paté—not in a bad way, by any means, and that particular flavor did get a bit milder as the ravioli sat. In general though, these were complex and flavorful and tasted like something you might get at a snazzy restaurant—good al dente pasta and a good, rich, complex flavor that’s perfect to pair with vodka sauce or a brown-butter-sage situation.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Rana Italian Sausage Ravioli
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These are the only meat ravioli on our list that aren’t specifically beef ravioli (they’re made with pork sausage). They’re also the only ravioli on this list that come fresh rather than frozen. Hey, we love to give you options. When I first took a bite of Rana Italian Sausage Ravioli, I got a big hit of fennel, that licorice-y, tell-tale Italian sausage flavor. The sausage is very savory and slightly sweet, and even though the filling is a bit pasty, the flavor does a lot of heavy lifting. The pasta is nice and thin, but it isn’t mushy. Even without sauce, these were bursting with Italian sausage flavor and would be great along with a bright, fresh tomato-basil sauce and some seafood. The mezza luna shape is a nice touch, too.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Celentano Beef Ravioli
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These frozen beef ravioli surprised me. They look like the beef-filled love children of pierogi and UFOs. That is to say, these “savory beef, parmesan, creamy ricotta, parsley, garlic and onion”-filled pockets are round rather than square and have no frilly ruffled edges of which to speak. I didn’t know this at the time, but Celentano, the brand that makes these ravioli, also makes the best cheese ravioli we found in our taste test. So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they’re the best beef ravioli you can buy. These are made with thick, chewy pasta that reminds me of homemade ravioli, and while they don’t have a ton of filling, the filling that is in there is bold, herby, and delicious. It’s bursting with oregano, parsley, and garlic, all of which taste like they were freshly plucked from the garden. For frozen beef ravioli, you won’t find anything that tastes more like home cooking. Plus, they look like UFOs, and who doesn’t love a little astronomical mystery mixed into their pasta sauce? The truth is out there, and the truth is that these are the best meat ravioli you can buy.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Best TK
Best TK
Best Not-Beef
Best of the Best
