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Home » Italy's Regions » Piedmont-Piemonte

Published: Mar 24, 2023 · Modified: Mar 24, 2023 by Jacqui

Homemade Meat Ravioli (Agnolotti)


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Beautiful traditional homemade Italian ravioli or agnolotti with a typical meat and spinach filling. You can serve this meat ravioli in different ways. Cook and eat these delectable pasta parcels in broth, or just a delicate but rich sage and butter sauce. Also delicious with a simple tomato sauce and grated cheese.

Homemade meat ravioli (agnolotti).

A Northern Italian meat ravioli recipe.

This recipe for homemade meat ravioli comes from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte (Piemont). There, they refer to the local ravioli as agnolotti.

In fact, you can find Italian ravioli called by a number of different names depending on the region the recipe comes from and the shape. For example, in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, they often call filled pasta squares tortelli.

Homemade meat ravioli (agnolotti) recipe from Piemonte.

Two types of Agnolotti.

In Piemonte, there are two types of agnolotti. The first is small squares of usually meat filled pasta like in this recipe. The other is agnolotti del plin, although many people refer to these pasta parcels as just agnolotti.

Agnolotti del plin has a unique shape. This filled pasta is slightly rectangular because each raviolo is pinched at both ends. In fact, the word ‘plin’ means pinch.

Homemade meat ravioli (agnolotti) served with melted butter and crispy sage in white bowl.

If you want to try making pinched agnolotti yourself, you can check out my recipe on how to make agnolotti del plin. I filled this pasta with a cheese fondue, but you can also use the filling in this classic agnolotti recipe as well.

What’s the difference between agnolotti and ravioli?

Classic agnolotti and ravioli are practically identical. What differs in most versions is the filling and the shape. Ravioli isn’t always square. Italians also make rectangular, round or half-moon shaped filled pasta and call it ravioli.

Filling and pasta dough ingredients for meat ravioli (agnolotti) on marble work top.
Step 1 Gather the ingredients for the filling and pasta dough.

Nowadays, agnolottis are mostly always small, filled pasta squares, except when pinched. However, in the past, people also made them round.

The filling for classic Italian ravioli can be made with a number of different ingredients. Ricotta with or without a green leaf vegetable such as spinach or chard is a popular and very traditional ravioli filling. Some ravioli is filled with meat and others with fish. 

Finely chopped onion and celery in oval white bowl. Finely chopped carrot in food processor.
Step 2 Start with the filling. Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery.

Piemontese agnolotti filling is nearly always a combination of 2 to 4 different meats such as pork, veal, rabbit, chicken and sausage. The meat is often braised or pot roasted beforehand and then combined with vegetables such as spinach, chard or escarole. The filling also usually includes grated Parmigiano, egg and nutmeg.

Sautéed onion, carrot and celery in frying pan with uncooked ground pork and veal on top.
Step 3 Sauté the chopped veg with olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Then add the meat.

How to make the meat filling the traditional way.

To make the filling for this meat ravioli (agnolotti), the traditional way would be to first braise each type of meat separately! So, you would have a pork pot roast, a beef pot roast and maybe a rabbit pot roast going on the stove! Once each type of meat is ready, the cooking juices are mixed together to make the sauce for the agnolotti.

Wine being added to cooked ground meat, vegetables and herbs in large frying pan.
Step 4 When the meat has browned, add the herbs and wine. Simmer until most the liquid has evaporated.

The meat is than removed from the bone and puréed in a food processor along with the precooked greens some parmigiano and sometimes an egg! Pretty time consuming and lots of pots to wash!

How to make the meat filling the easy way.

Here in Italy, as in other countries, these days home cooks often like to make dishes in easier ways than how they were prepared in the past. When looking for recipes for this meat filled agnolotti, I came across a number of versions that call for ground meat instead of cuts that need braising.

cooked meat, chopped spinach and a raw egg in a large white bowl.
Step 5 Wilt the spinach, then drain and chop it. Put the meat, spinach, some grated nutmeg and an egg into a large bowl.

The original version is out of this world, but to make this ravioli at home, it’s far easier to use ground meat. So, this version of meat filled agnolotti calls for ground pork leg meat and ground veal shoulder.

Puréed ravioli filling in white bowl with immersion blender.
Step 6 Purée the filling ingredients using an immersion blender.

Of course, you can also use other cuts of pork and veal or replace the veal with beef. You can also add sausage meat and even ground chicken.

Other filling ingredients.

Apart from the meat, this filling calls for spinach, an egg, Parmigiano, an onion, carrots, celery, white wine, a bay leaf and fresh rosemary.

Ravioli filling in white bowl with grated parmigiano cheese on top.
Step 7 Add the grated Parmigiano to the filling and mix it in well.

How to make this meat filling.

  1. The first step to making the filling is to cook the meat in olive oil with finely chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Then simmer everything in some white wine, after adding the herbs, salt and pepper.
  2. While the meat is cooking, wilt the spinach in a little water. Then drain it very well and chop finely.
  3. Once the spinach and meat have cooled put them in a bowl with an egg and some grated nutmeg . Next roughly purée everything together using an immersion blender.
  4. Lastly, add some grated Parmigiano and mix it into the filling.

Soft wheat flour and 3 raw eggs in a white bowl.
Step 8 Start making the ravioli dough. Put flour and eggs in a large bowl.

How to make the agnolotti dough

The dough for this meat filled agnolotti contains, soft wheat flour, eggs, a little olive oil and salt. I used 300g (10.5oz) of flour and 3 large eggs. This was enough to make around 90 small raviolis.

Flour and beaten eggs in white bowl.
Step 9 Beat eggs and mix them into the flour with a fork

Traditionally, a serving of small, filled pasta is about 20-24 pieces per person. But obviously the actual size, how the pasta is served, and personal taste make a difference to how many each person has.

The dough in this meat ravioli recipe is made in the same way as most egg pasta dough.

Flour and eggs mixed together in white bowl and olive oil being poured in.
Step 11 Add a little olive oil and a pinch of salt to the flour and eggs. Mix together with a fork.
Ball of ravioli (agnolotti) dough in white bowl.
Step 12 When the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl, turn it out onto a floured pastry board and knead.
  1. First mix the eggs, flour, olive oil and salt together. I do this in a large bowl using a fork. Many Italians start the dough on a wood pastry board.
  2. Once the dough starts to come together, I continue mixing and then kneading with my hands until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
  3. Finally, I turn the dough out onto a floured wood pastry board and knead for about 10 minutes until it’s quite soft, smooth and pliable.
  4. The final step is to roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film or a damp tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

You can also make the dough in a stand mixer.

A rough ball of pasta dough on wood pastry board.
Step 13 Knead the dough as you would for bread until it's soft, smooth and quite elastic.
A balll of freshly made ravioli dough.
Step 14 Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in cling film or a damp tea towel. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

How to make ravioli with a mold/press.

Once the dough has rested, cut off about ¼ of it. Flatten this piece using the palms of your hand or a rolling pin and then pass it through a pasta machine until it’s the right thickness. (see the recipe instructions for details). You can also roll the pasta sheets out using just a rolling pin.

One piece of ravioli dough cut off from the dough ball and flattened.
Step 15 Cut of about a quarter of the dough. Flatten it so you can pass it through a pasta machine.

I used an aluminium ravioli mold/maker to make my agnolottis. But, they can also be made without. However, the mold makes it easier to produce small pasta parcels and get them all the same size. The mold I used makes 24 agnolotti at a time each measuring 2.5cm x 2.5cm (just over an inch).

Ravioli dough sheet in pasta machine.
Step 16 Pass the dough through your pasta machine until you have the right thickness and length.

The idea is to lay a rectangular sheet of rolled out pasta dough over the whole mold after dusting the latter with flour. The sheet needs to be a bit bigger than the ravioli maker.

Dough sheet on ravioli mold with filling in each depression.
Step 17 Lay a sheet of pasta dough over the ravioli mold and fill each depression with filling.

Then press down slightly into each depression. Add a teaspoon or two of filling to each one and then cover with another pasta sheet. Use a rolling pin to crimp and seal the edges.

Second pasta sheet covering the first pasta sheet and filling in the ravioli mold.
Step 18 Cover the first pasta sheet and filling with a second pasta sheet. Use a rolling pin to crimp and seal the edges.

Finally, turn the mold upside down and all the agnolotti should come out easily. Remove the extra dough from around the edges and separate the filled pasta pieces from each other.

Meat ravioli (agnolotti) out of the ravioli mold but still stuck together.
Step 19 Turn the mold upside down to release the meat ravioli. Remove the extra dough around the edges.

Place ready meat ravioli on a floured tray while you repeat the process with the rest of the dough. I like to place a sheet of baking paper on a tray, dust it with flour and place the ready agnolotti there until it's time to cook it.

How to serve your meat ravioli (agnolotti).

Because we were only two people, I served my pasta two ways on two different days. The first was cooked and served in a clear beef broth with some Parmigiano grated on top.

Ready fresh meat ravioli (agnolotti) on tray.
Step 20 Place ready ravioli (agnolotti) on a flour dusted tray.

The second time, I still cooked the pasta in broth but removed it with a slotted spoon and served with melted butter and crispy sage.

Ravioli or agnolotti cooked in broth even when served in a sauce is really delicious. You can use a ready made broth or make it yourself.

Italian homemade meat ravioli (agnolotti) in broth.

What to do with leftovers.

You can keep any leftover meat filled agnolotti in broth sealed in the fridge for a day or two. Just reheat quickly on the stove or in the microwave. If you have leftover uncooked pasta, you can freeze it for another day and then cook from frozen!

The best way to freeze uncooked ravioli or agnolotti is to place the pasta on a tray that will fit in the freezer. Once frozen, you can transfer your ravioli to a freezer bag.

homemade meat ravioli (agnolotti) recipe from Piemonte.

Let me know what you think.

Whether you serve your meat ravioli in broth, with butter and sage or in your favourite sauce, I'm sure you'll love this agnolotti recipe. Ready-made ravioli are nowhere near as delicious as when you make it at home yourself.

If you do try this recipe, I’d love to know what you think. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.

Your feedback means a lot to me!

Buon Appetito!

Homemade meat ravioli (agnolotti)

Homemade Italian Meat Ravioli (Agnolotti).

Jacqui
Beautiful traditional homemade Italian ravioli (agnolotti) with a typical meat and spinach filling. You can serve these meat raviolis in different ways. Cook and eat them in broth, or just boil and serve with a delicate but rich sage and butter sauce.
5 from 44 votes
Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Course Homemade Pasta, Main Course
Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean, Northern Italy, Piedmont-Piemonte
Servings 4
Calories 820 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the ravioli filling

  • 7 oz ground pork leg (200g)
  • 7 oz ground veal shoulder or beef
  • 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 carrots washed and finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks washed and finely chopped
  • 1 spring rosemary leaves chopped
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • 2.5 floz white wine (½ glass)
  • nutmeg freshly grated
  • Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
  • 1 egg large
  • 7 oz fresh spinach (200g) cooked
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the ravioli dough

  • 10.5 oz Italian 00 soft wheat flour (300g) or all purpose flour
  • 3 eggs large
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.

To serve and cook

  • 8.5 cups beef broth (2 Lt) homemade or store bought
  • 3.5 oz butter (100g)
  • fresh sage leaves
  • Parmigiano Reggiano grated as required

Instructions
 

Make the filling

  • Wash and finely chop the carrot and celery. Peel and finely chop the onion. Wash the spinach. Chop the rosemary.
  • Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in olive oil until soft. Add the ground meat and let it brown.
  • Add the rosemary and bay leaf to the meat with the wine. Simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated.
  • While the meat is cooking, wilt the wet spinach in a pan. Drain really well. I like to squeeze it in a tea towel to remove all the water. Then chop roughly.
  • Allow the meat and spinach to cool. Then put them in a large bowl. Add nutmeg and an egg. Purée using an immersion blender.
  • Add grated Parmigiano to the filling and mix in well.

Make the ravioli dough.

  • Sift the flour into a large bowl. Break the eggs into the bowl and beat them with a fork while mixing with the flour. Add salt and olive oil and continue to mix first with a fork and then with your hands.
  • Once the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, turn it out onto a flour dusted work top and knead for 7-10 minutes.
  • When the dough is soft, slightly smooth and elastic, roll it into a ball and wrap it in cling film or a damp tea towel.

Make the ravioli pasta sheets

  • Cut off about ¼ of the dough at a time. Rewrap the rest so it doesn't dry out. Flatten that piece with your hands or a rolling pin. Pass it through your pasta machine at the widest setting. Fold the dough sheet into thirds and pass it again through the widest setting twice.
  • Next pass the dough sheet through the next 2-3 settings on your machine. It doesn't need to be super thin but should be long enough to make 2 ravioli dough sheets about 32cm x 14cm if using a ravioli mold for 24 ravioli of 2.5cm x 2.5cm. (12.5"x 5.5" for 1"x1" ravioli)

Make your meat ravioli

  • Dust the ravioli mold with flour. Place one sheet of dough on top. Press the dough gently into the depressions. Put 1-2 teaspoons of filling into each depression.
  • Place a second dough sheet on top of the first and the filling. Use a rolling pin to slightly flatten the second dough sheet and crimp the edges of the meat ravioli.
  • Turn the ravioli mold upside down and release the ravioli (agnolotti). Remove the extra dough from the outside edges and gently separate the ravioli.
  • Place ready ravioli on a flour dusted tray while you finish the rest and are ready to cook it.

Cook and serve your meat ravioli

  • Bring the beef broth to a boil in a large sauce pan. Cook the ravioli in the broth for about 5 minutes. Test taste to be sure the pasta is ready.
  • Serve the meat ravioli with the broth or remove the pasta with a slotted spoon and serve with some melted butter in which you have fried fresh sage leaves.
Prevent your screen from going dark

Notes

If you prefer you can make the filling without spinach. Just increase the amount of meat slightly. You can use ground beef instead of veal and add sausage meat or use it instead of pork.
You can keep any leftover meat filled agnolotti in broth sealed in the fridge for a day or two. Just reheat quickly on the stove or in the microwave. If you have leftover uncooked pasta, you can freeze it for another day and then cook from frozen!
The best way to freeze uncooked ravioli or agnolotti is to place the pasta on a tray that will fit in the freezer. Once frozen, you can transfer your ravioli to a freezer bag.
To make ravioli without a mold check out this Sardinian ravioli recipe for instructions.

Nutrition

Calories: 820kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 39gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 293mgSodium: 2263mgPotassium: 1150mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 10627IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 158mgIron: 8mg
Keyword agnolotti pasta, homemade ravioli, meat ravioli
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More homemade pasta recipes to try.

Ligurian potato and mint ravioli

Fried rye flour ravioli from Trentino-Alto Adige

Baked fish ravioli from Liguria

Ricotta ravioli from Marche

Tortellini alla Panna

Tortellini with ham and peas.

Robiola cheese ravioli

If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of my autumn/winter pasta recipes cookbook!?


More Piedmont-Piemonte

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    Creamy Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce Recipe.
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    12 Pasta Recipes from Piedmont
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    5 from 44 votes (24 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Gabrielle says

    December 15, 2024 at 3:15 pm

    The recipe is great! My filling turned out a little gritty. I believe it's due to the carrots. I used a food processor to finely chop them but they may have needed to cook a bit longer than the onions and celery. Next time I will try cooking without the carrots. I did freeze them for later use so maybe this will help some.

    Reply
    • Jacqui says

      January 04, 2025 at 10:57 am

      Hi Gabrielle, thanks for your comment. I'm pleased your meat ravioli turned out well. Yes maybe the carrots needed more cooking. Do let me know if freezing some makes a difference. I'm always looking for tips to pass on to my readers!

      Reply
  2. Gloria says

    September 27, 2023 at 7:56 pm

    Homemade pasta is the best. This meat ravioli is a classic that is always a hit with the family. Time to get into the kitchen and make some this weekend.

    Reply
  3. Nigel B says

    August 07, 2023 at 4:19 pm

    Quite delicious. I've got my sister-in-law coming up from that-there London next week and have put a batch in the freezer to serve as primo with the recommended sage butter. We've had to taste a few beforehand - purely for quality control purposes you understand - and they are lovely. I used a 24 portion ravioli tray and got the 4x24 serving out of the pasta but my-oh-my that's a lot of filling! I've enough left to do another 2 full batches so into the freezer it will go.

    Reply
    • Jacqui says

      August 11, 2023 at 8:43 am

      So glad you like this agnolotti recipe Nigel. I also had leftover filling. I used it to make fagottini. You can see that recipe on the blog too.

      Reply
  4. Joseph says

    April 04, 2023 at 4:26 pm

    Very nice , Mom always made hers from scratch , I have her old mold my dad made for her. , My garden is busy have 3 kinds Spinach. one from Italy Gigante Inverno. also chard is starting to produce I love Chard so will try both , thank you Ya brought back old times to Me

    Reply
    • Jacqui says

      April 07, 2023 at 10:13 am

      Sounds like you have a great vegetable garden Jospeh. Happy that this recipe brought back good memories for you! Do let me know how your agnolotti turn out when you make them!

      Reply
  5. Hayley Dhanecha says

    April 03, 2023 at 10:09 am

    Thank you for posting an information about agnolotti pasta and ravioli pasta. Loving the spices you have used in this homemade pasta dish.

    Reply
  6. Enriqueta E Lemoine says

    April 03, 2023 at 6:35 am

    I love ravioli, but I have never made homemade pasta. You're tempting me, though, because all your pasta recipes and sauces that I have tried in the past have become staples in my kitchen.

    Reply
  7. Tammy says

    April 03, 2023 at 5:51 am

    Nothing beats homemade ravioli! This sounds absolutely scrumptious! Such a comforting meal...now you've inspired me to make ravioli this week!

    Reply
  8. Amy Liu Dong says

    April 03, 2023 at 2:48 am

    Wow! Amazing!
    I have never thought how easy this dish is and it's really delicious.
    My family loves it!

    Reply
  9. Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says

    April 03, 2023 at 12:42 am

    Ravioli is such a classic dish that I make a few times a month. This was truly exceptional!

    Reply
  10. Enriqueta E Lemoine says

    April 02, 2023 at 10:36 pm

    I love ravioli, but I have never made fresh pasta. Your blog is so inspiring. All the pasta and Italian sauce recipes I've tried became staples in my kitchen. Thank you so much for the inspiration!

    Reply
  11. Dennis says

    April 02, 2023 at 10:03 pm

    Your ravioli recipe was easy to make with your instructions and everyone loved them!!

    Reply
  12. Jamie says

    April 02, 2023 at 4:09 pm

    Oh my, this ravioli recipe looks so yummy and very delicious! I totally love the minimalist vibe of this dish!

    Reply
  13. Veronika says

    March 31, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    Ravioli is my favorite pasta shape! So many variations for fillings. Making them at home is always fun and so rewarding, we loved these meat ones!

    Reply
  14. Kathryn says

    March 29, 2023 at 5:30 pm

    These are my favorite raviolis and the filling is so flavorful and satisfying. Thanks for your easy step by step instructions, it was so easy to make! I made a double batch to freeze.

    Reply
  15. Bernice says

    March 27, 2023 at 8:49 pm

    I always learn so much when I read your posts. Who knew there was so much to know about agnolotti. Now that I think of it, I have had the small square version and pinched version. I am all for using ground meat for the filling, it seems much easier than the old school way.

    Reply
  16. Cathleen says

    March 25, 2023 at 8:25 pm

    My husband just looked over my shoulder while I was looking at the photos and said "we're having that for dinner, right?" . So I guess I know what I'm doing tonight. Can't wait to try this!

    Reply
  17. Dannii says

    March 25, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    You can't beat homemade pasta and this meat ravioli was amazing.

    Reply
  18. Natalie Marie says

    March 25, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    This ravioli looks incredible! I've always wanted to try making my own but have never actually tried it yet. But this gave me the motivation I needed. Can't wait to report back!

    Reply
  19. Nathan says

    March 25, 2023 at 7:26 pm

    I've never made homemade pasta before but this recipe has given me the confidence to give it a try! I'm adding it to my list to make for dinner next week, can't wait to try it out!

    Reply
  20. Erik says

    March 25, 2023 at 6:11 pm

    So loving all the spices and flavors here! Very satisfying.

    Reply

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Buon giorno and welcome to my pasta project! My name is Jacqui. I’m originally a Londoner but in 2003 life’s journey brought me to the beautiful Veneto region of Italy where…

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