Sweet Potato + Kale Ravioli – Make your own homemade pasta with a delicious sweet potato, kale, and ricotta filling. Top the ravioli with an easy pan sauce made with lemon, thyme, and cream. This homemade ravioli recipe is the perfect date night or weekend dinner.
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This sweet potato ravioli recipe was born from procrastination because I'm a very last-minute type of person. My mom loaned me her pasta roller and when I knew I was just about to have to give it back, I made ALL. THE. PASTA.
And what better to start with than homemade ravioli! If you haven't tried making your own pasta before, I totally recommend it. You get better and quicker as you go and the thing is, it's actually quite forgiving and fun to do. Also, super rewarding.
My first ones looked good and then the next ones just kept getting better, but once the ravioli are swimming in the lemon and thyme cream sauce, nothing else matters.
If you want a shortcut, you could use ready-made sweet potato ravioli and then just whip up the lemon + thyme cream sauce for a super quick and tasty dinner. But these homemade ravioli are honestly so good!
Did you know March 20th is considered National Ravioli Day?
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact amounts.
Substitutions
Instructions
Prep Tips
How to Make the Pasta Dough
- To make the dough, add two cups of flour in a mixing bowl and whisk in a half teaspoon of salt.
- Use your measuring cup and make a little well in the center of the flour. Crack the three eggs in and stir with a fork until it comes together.
- Once it's too hard to mix with the fork, knead the dough by hand, turning it out onto the counter. Knead until it's a smooth ball. It'll take about 5-10 minutes. This develops the gluten.
- Once it's smooth, set it back in the bowl, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for about an hour.
Pasta dough doesn't rise but it needs to rest because the gluten has been developed - resting the dough gives the gluten a chance to relax and makes it easier to roll out.
How to Make the Sweet Potato Filling
- Peel and then chop a sweet potato into large chunks and drop them into a large pot of water. Salt the water and bring it to a boil. Boil until fork tender and then drain and mash the sweet potato. Measure ½ cup for the filling. Save the rest for another use. Let cool.
- In a sauté pan, cook the onion and kale in some olive oil and then season with dried thyme and some salt and pepper. Let cool.
- Once all of the ingredients are cooked and cooled, mix them with the cheeses and season to taste. The ravioli filling is done.
The filling can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
How to Use a Pasta Rolling Machine
When you're ready to roll the pasta sheets, divide the dough in half or into quarters. Keep the rest covered with plastic wrap.
I use a pasta rolling machine to make my ravioli sheets - you can use the pasta roller attachment for your stand mixer if you have it. I've tried with a rolling pin but it's hard to get the pasta to a uniform thickness.
- Taking your portion of dough, run it through the roller at setting "1". Do this about five or six times, until the pasta is the width of the roller.
- Put the dough through twice each on settings "2" and "3". You can fold it in half and roll it through if the dough is getting really misshapen.
- Send the pasta through once on settings 4-7 or 8.
I liked the pasta better rolled on 8 - the thinnest setting.
The pasta dough gets easier to handle the more you do it. And you can trim off any uneven bits later.
How to Fill and Shape Ravioli
- Once the pasta is rolled into a sheet, lay it on a floured work surface.
- Mentally divide your sheet into 2-inch squares with two rows. You'll place filling on the bottom half of the sheet and the top half will be folded over to make the ravioli pockets.
- Place 2-3 teaspoons of the filling along the bottom of the sheet, about an inch or so apart until you run out of room.
- Use your fingers or a pastry brush to swipe some water along the open parts of the pasta sheet. So - all along the bottom of the sheet, at the middle just above the filling, and then between each ball of filling.
- Fold the top of the sheet down over the filling.
- Gently press the dough together, making sure to push any air out before sealing each ravioli.
- Use a sharp knife and cut between each ravioli. Trim any edges you want to.
You can use a fork and crimp the edges together if you want to. You can also use a round, fluted cookie cutter to cut out the ravioli shapes instead to get a really pretty edge.
As each ravioli is ready, place it on a piece of parchment paper or lightly floured surface (a cookie sheet works) and then cover it with a towel.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
How to Cook Fresh Ravioli
- Boil a large pot of salted water as you get to the end of shaping the ravioli.
- Once all of your ravioli are ready, carefully drop the finished ravioli into boiling water and boil them for 2-3 minutes, or until they float.
Fresh pasta takes only a fraction of the time dried pasta takes to cook.
Tips for Making Homemade Pasta
How to Serve Sweet Potato Ravioli
Fresh pasta is great served on it's own but a little side of garlic bread or cheese toast is always a bonus.
Try adding some roasted green beans or roasted broccoli and carrots for some more vegetables. To add some protein, add a super simple Herb-Roasted Turkey Tenderloin.
If you don't want to use the cream sauce try my Oregano Pesto or my Pepita Pesto sauce recipes. If you're a seafood fan, try lobster ravioli sauce.
Storage
Store leftover ravioli and sauce in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat the sauce in a saucepan over gentle heat.
Reheat the ravioli in the microwave by splashing water on and adding a lid. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring, until heated through.
FAQs
Yes you can make the filling 2-3 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge until needed.
Yes, this recipe is easy to customize using your favorite ravioli filling and pasta sauce.
Recipe
Sweet Potato and Kale Ravioli with a Lemon and Thyme Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
Sweet Potato + Kale Filling
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ cup mashed sweet potato about half a small potato
- ¼ cup chopped kale
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cup milk + more to thin, as needed
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Mix the flour and salt. Make a hole in the center of the flour and mix in the eggs with a fork, gradually adding in more flour until it comes together as a dough. Knead the dough on a counter for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Cover well and let rest for 1 hour.
Sweet Potato + Kale Filling
- Boil and mash the sweet potato and measure out ½ cup. Let cool.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and drizzle with oil. Add the red onion and kale. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until softened and cook through.
- Add the salt, pepper, and thyme and heat through, then let the mixture cool.
- Mix together the mashed potato, the kale and onion mixture and then add the Parmesan and ricotta. Set aside while you roll the pasta sheets.
Roll the Dough
- Prepare a lightly floured cookie sheet to set the formed ravioli onto.
- Cut the dough in half and begin feeding it through the pasta roller. Roll at setting "1" about five or six times until you have a smooth sheet of pasta the same width as the pasta roller.
- Feed the dough through settings "2" and "3" twice each.
- Feed the dough through settings "4" to "8" one time each.
- Cut the dough in half and cover the portion you're not using.
- Set a sheet of pasta dough in front of you. You'll place the filling on the bottom half of the dough and then fold the top over. Place 2-3 teaspoons of filling along the bottom of the sheet, about an inch apart.
- Wet the dough all around the filling and then fold over the top of the sheet. Press out all air bubbles and stick the dough together. Trim edges and cut each ravioli out by dividing dough into squares with a knife. (You can also use a cookie cutter)
- Let the ravioli sit on a parchment lined sheet or floured sheet, under a towel while you repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Boil a large pot of well-salted water and boil the ravioli for 2-3 minutes, or until they float.
Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until sizzling. Add the flour and whisk together and then let cook for a minute or so until you can't see any raw flour.
- Add the milk slowly while whisking. It'll turn into a ball and then into a paste until it finally thins out a bit. Add the cream, lemon, thyme, salt, and pepper and whisk until heated through. Set aside until the ravioli is ready. (You can leave it on low heat) Use additional milk to thin it out, as needed.
To Serve
- Plate the ravioli and drizzle with the sauce. Or toss the ravioli in the sauce. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, fresh ground black pepper, and chopped fresh herbs like basil, thyme, or parsley.
Equipment
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
This post was originally posted on March 19, 2019.
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Jodee Carlson says
How do you make the filling with kale...this is something new I'm trying
Thanks
pipercooks says
Hi Jodee,
To make the filling with kale, I make sure to chop the kale up really small. I boil and mash the sweet potatoes. Then I saute the onion with the kale. Then I add the thyme, salt and pepper. Add the mashed sweet potato, plus the Parmesan and ricotta cheese. And that's the filling done! It's really easy. Let me know if you have any more questions. The process is in the recipe card as well, which you can print if you like.
Thanks
Jacqueline