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Easy Ravioli with Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe and Capers

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This Ravioli with Lemon Butter Sauce recipe is a perfect busy weeknight recipe. It’s quick and easy and full of flavor. This piccata-style lemon cream sauce with capers takes store-bought ravioli and makes them extra special. It’s a pasta dinner idea that your whole family will love.

Close up of bowl with a weeknight dinner idea with ravioli.
Let’s make this ravioli with lemon butter sauce recipe.

Why you’ll love this ravioli recipe

If the words lemon butter sauce don’t turn you on we probably can’t be friends. It’s like the best thing ever to serve over ravioli. I mean it.

I’m not a spaghetti kind of gal. But I am a get dinner on the table fast kinda gal.

Pasta is a great weeknight dinner idea but I want something a little more than just noodles and sauce. And I definitely don’t want to get stuck in the kitchen. If that’s you, you are going to love this Ravioli Piccata recipe.

Related: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce

Jazzing up store-bought ingredients is one of my favorite hacks for getting dinner on the table quickly!

Chicken piccata is a classic recipe that is tasty thanks to the lemon and capers. This pasta twist uses the same delicious flavors but makes it even easier to make!

Store-bought ravioli are paired with a simple lemon cream sauce to make a meal that can be on the table in about 20 minutes.

Your family will love it. You will love making it.

Add chicken (baked, shredded or rotisserie chicken), or don’t. It’s a filling meal, that you will make again and again. Because lemon butter sauce. YUM.

Serve it on its own or with a simple vegetable side dish or salad.

Printable pages on top of an image of kitchen gadgets with text next to it.

Ingredients

Labeled ingredients on a counter for ravioli with lemon cream sauce.
What you’ll need to make ravioli in lemon piccata sauce.

See recipe card for quantities.

You can make your own ravioli if you want. But man, that sure would be a lot of extra work.

Store-bought ravioli are filled with all kinds of things and flavors. Since this sauce is lemon, garlic and butter, you’ll want to choose a filling that would play well with these flavors.

You can’t go wrong with simple ricotta-filled ravioli. Although I used some that also had spinach inside.

Ravioli also come in a variety of sizes. I used small, about 1″ square ravioli. Any size will work.

You can find fresh ravioli in the refrigerator section, near the pesto and other refrigerated pasta sauces at your local grocery store.

A dried or shelf-stable ravioli may take a little bit longer to cook. I have not tried this with frozen ravioli but I’m sure those would work too.

Instructions

Bowl with melted butter and garlic and capers.

Step 1

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and capers and saute until fragrant, around 1 ½ to 2 minutes. 

Woman adding ravioli to a bowl with melted butter, capers and garlic.

Step 2

Add the ravioli and fry for 2 more minutes, this gives the ravioli a garlicky and buttery taste. 

Bowl of ravioli with chicken stock being added.

Step 3

Add the chicken stock and toss to combine. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or according to package directions.

Your ravioli should be al dente (they should still have a little bit of a bite to them when chewing and not mushy).

A bowl with ravioli and a woman adding heavy cream.

Step 4

Stir in the heavy cream, lemon zest and salt and pepper and stir once more to combine everything together before removing from heat.

Close up of capers and lemon slices mixed with ravioli.

To Serve

To serve, place in serving bowls and top with grated parmesan cheese.

Hint: Don’t have time to make the lemon butter sauce for ravioli? Add a little bit of pre-made lemon butter sauce. It makes this recipe even faster!

Variations

With this basic recipe, you can make small changes to create even more tasty twists.

  • Add protein – To make it even more filling add cooked chicken chunks or shredded chicken before adding the heavy cream.
  • Spicy – add red chili flakes to bring a little heat to the dish.
  • Kid friendly – swap the capers with green peas if your kids are not adventurous eaters. It will also sneak in a bit of a veggie. SCORE!

Top Tips

  • When adding the cream, make sure you pour it in slowly. If cream gets heated too quickly it can sometimes curdle.
  • For a more pronounced lemon flavor, add the juice from 1/2 of lemon along with the zest. Although this may cause the cream to curdle. Whisk in a little at a time to see if that helps.
  • The lemon slices in the photos include the rind so if you are offended by the bitterness a citrus ring can bring, skip it.
  • Try the same recipe with tortellini or other filled pasta. Or keep it extra simple with spaghetti.
  • The 20 ounce package of ravioli says it will make 5 servings. I feel like my family needs a side to make this a filling meal for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store leftovers?

To store leftovers, let them cool completely then store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Why did my lemon butter sauce curdle?

The acid from the lemon may have caused the cream to create. Next time, you can try adding a smaller amount or add the zest in at the time of sauteing the capers. You may have also added the cream too fast to the dish, or you may have the heat too high.

What is piccata?

Picatta traditionally means cooked in a sauce with lemon, butter and parsley. And usually includes capers and a pan-fried protein. Here, I’ve taken the main flavors, minus the parsley, and skipped the protein in favor of using ravioli as the main component.

Overhead shot of a bowl of raviolis with pieces of lemon and capers.

Ravioli with Lemon Butter Sauce and capers is a crowd-pleasing meal that is ready in under half an hour! Add this to your meal plan immediately!

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Bowl of ravioli in lemon butter sauce.

Ravioli with Lemon Butter Sauce and Capers

This piccata-style lemon butter sauce for ravioli is a great weeknight dinner idea! In about 20 minutes, you'll have a tasty semi-homemade meal ready for your family to enjoy.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes
Calories: 230kcal
Servings: 5 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and capers and saute until fragrant, around 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
  • Add the ravioli and fry for 2 more minutes, this gives the ravioli a garlicky and buttery taste.
  • Add the chicken stock and toss to combine. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or according to package directions. Your ravioli should be al dente.
  • Stir in the heavy cream, lemon zest and salt and pepper and stir once more to combine everything together before removing from heat.

Notes

  • For a more pronounced lemon flavor, add the juice from 1/2 of lemon along with the zest.
  • The lemon slices in the photos include the rind so if you are offended by the bitterness a citrus ring can bring, skip it.
  • Try the same recipe with tortellini or other filled pasta. Or keep it extra simple with spaghetti.
  • The 20-ounce package of ravioli says it has about 5 servings. I feel like my family needs a side to make this a filling meal for everyone.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 379mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 748IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
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5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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