Ravioli with White Wine Butter Sauce
This recipe for ravioli with white wine butter sauce shows how fresh ravioli is perfect with a delicate sauce and some tender asparagus tips. Elegant and easy!
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Why we love this recipe
Ravioli by itself is pretty dang fabulous – it’s fresh pasta stuffed with cheese, or beef, or spinach and cheese…there’s something for everyone, ravioli-wise.
And my usual route is to serve it with some kind of ravioli tomato sauce, or even just plain butter, but one day I got a hankering for a non-tomato sauce that was nice and light that added to the elegant taste without overpowering the delicious taste of the ravioli stuffing.
I also wanted to be able to use some herbs and veggies to round out the flavor…and so with those two things in mind, I worked up an easy, silky white wine and butter sauce with a handful of fresh thyme and parmesan cheese to give it a little subtle kick.
And just for good measure and to make sure we got our veggies, I added in some asparagus tips (which you can cook for a minute or two right in the pasta pot!).
All of this comes together in less than a half hour, making this an elegant dish for either a festive Saturday dinner party OR a treat at the end of a long regular old Tuesday.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Ravioli: The very very best ravioli is at an Italian specialty shop if you are lucky enough to have one near you. Otherwise head for the fresh pasta section of your supermarket – usually near the dairy section – and pick up a package.
- Butter Cubes: Make sure they are nice and cold – they will make the smoothest sauce that way!
- Asparagus: Not into asparagus, or just want to shake things up a little? Baby spinach can be swapped in for the asparagus, and is just as scrumptious!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch salt and a little olive oil, and then some chopped asparagus. Cook the asparagus until just crisp-tender, about 2 minutes, and then scoop it out with a slotted spoon, leaving the water boiling.
STEP 2: Add one tablespoon of butter to a medium size skillet and melt it over medium heat. Add a peeled and chopped shallot and some minced garlic and stir it up until they are nice and soft, about two to three minutes.
STEP 3: Stir in some white wine and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, about another two to three minutes. Now add some cold butter that you have cut into cubes stirring until each one is melted into the sauce.
STEP 4: While the sauce is cooking, add some fresh ravioli gently to the boiling asparagus water (I like to lower them in with a slotted spoon) and cook according to the package directions until they are just done, usually about 6 minutes.
STEP 5: When all the butter in the skillet is melted, stir in the chopped thyme.
STEP 6: Add the cooked asparagus to the butter sauce and give it a nice stir.
STEP 7: Add the ravioli and give it all a gentle toss so everything is mixed together.
Now divide your glorious ravioli among plates, drizzle on any sauce that is left in the pan, shower with parmesan cheese and serve it up!
Recipe FAQs
It can, although I love it best with plain old cheese ravioli. It’s a great sauce for tortellini and tortelloni as well!
Shallots are a member of the onion family. They are a bit smaller and have a milder taste, making them perfect for a light sauce like this one.
Fresh thyme is usually available year round in supermarkets in nice little bundles in the produce section, but if you just can’t find any, a teaspoon of dried thyme will work in a pinch. Stir it in when you add the butter so it gets the chance to soften up a little.
Pop your question in the Comments section below and I promise to answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
We love kicking this ravioli supper off with some caprese salad skewers! They are fun little nibbles that add a little more veggies and cheese.
If you are looking for a colorful side dish, this recipe for a cherry tomato green bean salad is perfect.
And how about a blueberry crumble cake for dessert? Yes please!
More ravioli recipes we love
Looking for more pasta inspiration? Here is our complete collection of pasta recipes!
Could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Ravioli with White Wine Butter Sauce and Asparagus
This recipe for ravioli with white wine butter sauce shows how fresh ravioli is perfect with a delicate sauce and some tender asparagus.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- One 20 ounce package chilled fresh ravioli
- One bunch asparagus (about 15-20 spears), trimmed and cut into two inch pieces.
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme, plus more for garnish
- Shaved or grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add asparagus. Cook asparagus until just crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes, and remove asparagus with a slotted spoon, leaving the water boiling.
- Add one tablespoon of butter to a medium size skillet and melt over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and stir until soft, 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes. Now add butter, cube by cube, stirring until each one is melted into the sauce. Stir in the chopped thyme.
- While the sauce is cooking, add the ravioli gently to the boiling asparagus water (I like to lower them in with a slotted spoon) and cook according to package directions until just done, about 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the skillet.
- Give everything a gentle stir until it is all combined.
- Divide the ravioli between plates and rizzle a generous portion of sauce over each serving, garnish with fresh thyme and parmesan and serve at once!
Notes
Ravioli: We love this recipe best with fresh ravioli, which you can find near the dairy section of your supermarket, but if you can use frozen instead.
Asparagus: Like the looks of this recipe but don’t love asparagus? You can swap in broccoli florets instead, or baby spinach.
My mother had two dishes that she could make: meatloaf and mashed potatoes and spaghetti and meatballs. Thus, I am a purist and associate spaghetti and meatballs with my dear mother and how she would make it for my birthday and homecomings from camp and assorted special occasions. She made the best meatballs. They were thick and hearty and huge, made from the highest grade of ground beef and rolled with onions and spices and had cheese in the middle. They were first cooked in the oven and then finished on the stove in a pot of marinara. She put them over pasta and generously sprinkled fresh grated parmesan reggiano over the top. It was my mother’s masterpiece.
My favorite pasta dish is SO simple yet SO delicious . . . wide ribbon pasta cooked al dente … swirled (while hot) with some good olive oil, fresh lemon juice squeezed on top with fresh cracked pepper & curls of parmesan. Heaven!
My favorite pasta dish is: sautee sliced garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil. Add in a bunch of Kale. Then Squeeze in a lemon. Toss with spaghetti, chopped olives and feta. Love this!
almonds not olives!
My favorite pasta dish is linguini with red clam sauce, either with fresh clams or, in hurricane-prone Miami, it can be made with all canned ingredients when the power is out.
Portabello marsala sauce over wild mushroom agnolotti and pecorino is my favorite!
I know it’s boring and certainly won’t inspire you- but I love spaghetti and (turkey) meatballs!!!!
Pasta Puttanesca!! It’s got a great saltiness in it from the anchovies and capers. And the recipe comes from one of my old favorite cookbooks – Silver Palate.
My favorite pasta is Spinach Fettucini in a Poblano pepper and Cilantro cream sauce and topped with Gouda cheese.
One of my old favorite pasta dishes is one I had at JMac’s on St. Simons Island, GA, years ago. The restaurant’s still around, but the dish is long gone. It was a bow tie pasta with lobster, asparagus and shiitake mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce – yum!
My favorite pasta dish.. its gotta be mac and cheese (homemade) with oven fried chicken… i put in fresh peas for color (and veggies)…
Favorite pasta dish of all time is blackened chicken alfredo..home made alfredo sauce tossed with tender pasta.. then I blacken flattened chicken breasts and slice them on the bias.. top the pasta with chicken and a sprinkling of fresh diced tomatoes (or if you like tomatoes like I do, more than a sprinkling).. its amazing. Maybe shave some parm on top of that… I think I just figured out whats for dinner tonight!
Favorite pasta? Pasta Positano! I made up the name for a pasta recipe I found using spaghetti, olive oil, garlic (steeped in the oil), lemon juice, lemon zest, fresh basil, roasted grape tomatoes and, of course, parmesan cheese. It’s a lemony, summery delight which reminded me of Positano, the little town perched high above the Amalfi Coast.
I love pasta! My favorite would probably be pasta carbonara, but I love anything with a light/white sauce!
This looks amazing! But one of my absolutely favorite pasta recipes is actually the Naked Ravioli you posted here ages ago! My family loves it and I still make it all the time!
Just made it last night…. Skillet gnocchi with shrimp and asparagus. Love
you daily posts!!
Have you tried the spaghetti alla carettiera, invented by my grandad that he was a caretteriere ( people that yust take the wine from the castelli romani to Rome city by horse and cart!!!)
My absolute favorite pasta dish is pasta carbonara! Although this recipe looks pretty delicious as well!