Ravioli comes in all forms, from meat to cheese, square to round and Chef Boyardee to gourmet. But the best kind of ravioli one with a light outer crunch and a warm, oozy, cheesy center. That’s right—breaded ravioli. This is a treat for the comfort food lover in everybody. And just because it’s crispy doesn’t mean it’s fried. This ravioli is baked golden brown and is the perfect vehicle to be smothered by a tangy marinara sauce.

Level: Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 2 hungry college students

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon water
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (finely grated cheese works the best)
1 package refrigerated cheese ravioli (check out Whole Foods for ravioli filled with mozzarella made with buffalo milk)
Cooking spray
Your favorite marinara sauce

Photo by Hannah Lin

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the egg whites and water.
3. In a separate larger bowl, mix the bread crumbs, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.
      Tip: If you have one, use a pie dish because it is shallow and wide and makes it easier to coat the ravioli in bread crumbs.

Photo by Hannah Lin


4. Dip an individual ravioli in the egg white mixture. Make sure to get it as wet as possible.
5. Roll the ravioli in the bread crumbs mixture, coating both sides completely.
6. Spray each side of the ravioli with cooking spray before placing it on a cookie sheet.
      Tip: Make sure to shake the cooking spray well to avoid globs of Pam on your ravioli!
7. Repeat steps 4-6 with each ravioli.
      Tip: It works best to do each ravioli one-by-one, although (depending on how much of a     perfectionist you are) it may take a while.

Photo by Hannah Lin


8. Bake the breaded ravioli for 15 to 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.

Photo by Hannah Lin

9. Serve with marinara sauce and realize you never want normal ravioli ever again.

Of course you can enjoy breaded ravioli a ton of ways. Use spinach or beef ravioli, cover it in alfredo sauce, make ravioli sandwiches, etc. You can’t go wrong!