Butternut Squash Ravioli with Kale Pesto
These Butternut Squash Ravioli are the perfect dish to serve with you want to impress! Creamy puréed butternut squash is wrapped in Zucchini ribbons, baked until tender and topped with a chunky kale pesto. This Paleo Ravioli is Whole30, Vegan, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Gluten Free, and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
If you are a ravioli lover like me, then you are going to absolutely love this healthy spin on the traditional dish and unlike other low carb recipes, you wont feel like you are missing out on the real thing. The butternut squash filling is deliciously rich and creamy and holds together so well when wrapped with strips of zucchini.
Zucchini is a vitamin rich veggie that’s low in calories, so you can eat more pasta and sauce without getting filled up on carbs and suffering from a food coma for hours after.
Assembling the paleo ravioli looks daunting, but it’s incredibly easy to do, and once the ravioli are cooked, they hold together well so you don’t need to worry about them self destructing in the dish.
The Paleo ravioli is topped with a kale and almond pesto that has a great zesty flavour which helps cut through the rich butternut squash filling. This is a dish that I wouldn’t hesitate to serve to guests with or without a food intolerance, as its delicious and looks really good on a plate.
You can make the pesto a few days in advance and even assemble the ravioli a day ahead so all you have to do is bake and serve. These ravioli can also keep for a few days in the fridge, just be sure to store the pesto separately so the ravioli doesn’t get mushy.
Here are a few more veggie pasta dishes that you might enjoy:
- Creamy Tomato Sauce with Zucchini Noodles
- Butternut Squash Pasta with 3-Ingredient Alfredo
- Classic Beef Lasagna
- Spaghetti Bolognese Casserole
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto with Roasted Veggie Pasta
- Eggplant Cannelloni
- Crab, Roasted Tomato & Basil Spaghetti Squash
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Kale Pesto
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash approximately 1 medium sized butternut squash
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Kale Pesto
- 2 cups shredded kale
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Pasta
- 2 zucchini
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- freshly grated parmesan optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Cut the butternut squash into cubes and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with the 2 tsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the butternut squash is tender and lightly browned.
- Once cooked remove from the oven and place the cooked butternut squash in a blender or food processor. Add in the parmesan/nutritional yeast, nutmeg, dried sage and pepper and blend until its a thick purée. Make sure that there are no chunks of butternut squash.
- Cut the ends off of the zucchini and then cut each zucchini in half length wise. Using a vegetable peeler cut very thin slices of zucchini (you can also use a knife for this but make sure the slices are very thin).
- On a cutting board lay out 3 slices of zucchini, overlapping in the center to form a star. Place approximately 1 1/2 tbsp of the butternut squash filling in the center of the strips where they overlap and then fold each slice of the zucchini overtop to cover. (Watch the video above to see how to fold the ravioli). Flip each ravioli over and place in a baking dish so that the loose ends are on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining zucchini slices.
- Bake the ravioli for 20-25 minutes until the zucchini wrappings become tender.
- While the zucchini is baking make the pesto. Place the kale, almonds, garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil in a food processor and blend until it forms a paste.
- Once the ravioli is finished baking I quickly microwave the pesto (or heat on the stove) until its warm and then serve on top of the ravioli and sprinkle with pine nuts before serving.
- The zucchini ravioli and pesto are best stored separately in the fridge.
Nutrition
Great recipe, a little labour intensive, but well worth the effort. This one definitely gets added to my list of favorites. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome!! So happy to hear that they were a hit Roch! Thanks for the comment
Incredible! Since my family is not vegetarian, I added 1 pound of ground beef (cooked before adding it to the butternut squash mixture) and it was delicious. Thanks so much for sharing
I was afraid to make this at first bc I didn’t think I’d be able to slice the zucchini that thin. But after watching your video it looked so easy! I ended up making a rosemary arugula pesto that was delicious on top!
I’m so happy to hear that the video gave you the confidence to make this dish! It’s actually so much easier to make then it looks! Love the sounds of rosemary arugula pesto, I bet it was delicious with the ravioli
My son, his girlfriend (who is a vegetarian), and I made this delicious recipe this past long weekend. (We live in Canada and had Monday off.) We had a wonderful time with the prep work. I have tried many and will keep looking out for more of your unique recipes. Thank you.
Thanks for such a kind message Shirley! Hopefully you found the ravioli easy to prepare. I always love hearing which recipes you make and how they go.
The puree from the butternut squash raviolis was absolutely delicious, I liked it a lot more on it’s own, prior to going in the oven as raviolis. I found the flavors disappeared once cooked in the oven. I ate the puree on its own and alongside the Asian meatballs… somehow the mix of taste worked great! Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I have made many! Their delicious flavors are helping me enjoy SCD meals a lot more!
I am so happy to hear that you liked the butternut squash puree Aude, I had to double the recipe because I was eating it by the spoonful 🙂 The asian meatballs are one of my favourite recipes from the site and the flavour combination with the butternut squash sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed it!