Lemony Shrimp Scampi Ravioli Recipe

Succulent shrimp enrobed in a blanket of homemade pasta and dipped in a vat of lemon, garlic, and white wine sauce is the perfect summery, romantic dinner. It's all of your favorite shrimp scampi flavors wrapped in a delicate package. As a bonus, you don't need a massive amount of shrimp to make this ravioli that's bursting with buttery goodness. Not only is the dish delicious, but it won't break the bank.

You can serve this saucy ravioli with your favorite bread to soak up all of the savory juices. Or, since the ravioli is basically a complete meal (carbs, cheese, and protein) all that's needed is a simple tomato and mozzarella salad to round out this Italian delight.

A surprise ingredient in the filling packs a ton of flavor and gives the perfect texture for the ravioli interior. Buttery crackers add a level of salty, umami flavor while helping absorb the garlic and lemon flavors in the filling. It's an ingredient that's often seen in stuffed shrimp, so it just makes sense!

Homemade ravioli starts with a homemade pasta dough. We use a mix of semolina and all-purpose flour for sturdiness in this pasta dough. Salt, chopped parsley, eggs, and olive oil are also added to the dough ingredients. The eggs give the dough a nice golden color while also providing elasticity.

The filling begins with cooking the raw shrimp in butter with garlic, lemon zest, and more parsley. Then, you'll add crushed cracker crumbs, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan cheese to the cooked shrimp. Salt and pepper are also added, to taste.

The scampi sauce for the ravioli comes together with sauteed lemon zest, garlic, and butter. White wine, chicken broth, and heavy cream finish the sauce. Parmesan cheese adds extra creaminess and a nice salty bite to finish. A blitz of lemon zest and more chopped parsley add color and zing to the dish.

Make the pasta dough: Combine the semolina and all-purpose flour on a clean surface and form a well in the center.

Add the olive oil, salt, and chopped parsley, and crack all of the eggs into the well.

Using a fork, whisk the eggs until well beaten.

Slowly incorporate the beaten eggs into the flour to form a shaggy dough.

Continue combining the dough by hand, adding water if the dough is too dry.

Continue kneading for about 8 minutes, until you form a smooth, elastic ball of dough.

Make the filling: Finely mince 3 garlic cloves and roughly chop the shrimp.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat.

Add the shrimp and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Add the lemon zest to the shrimp and remove from the heat.

Crush the crackers into coarse crumbs and place in a bowl.

Add the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, chopped parsley, and the shrimp mixture to the cracker crumbs. Mix to combine.

Cut the ball of dough into 6 smaller pieces.

On the large setting of your pasta roller, roll a piece of the dough flat.

Fold the dough into thirds and roll again through the largest setting.

Continue rolling the pasta through each subsequently smaller setting until a thin sheet is formed.

Add 2 tablespoons filling onto the dough sheet. Repeat, leaving 1 inch between each mound.

Fold the dough over the filling, press the dough around the filling, and seal.

Using a fluted cookie cutter, cut the ravioli into half moon shapes.

Repeat with the remaining dough sheets, then set the cut ravioli aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Add 6–8 ravioli to the pot and boil for 3 minutes, or until the ravioli float. Repeat until all of the ravioli are cooked.

Make the scampi sauce: Heat the salted butter in a large saucepan with the lemon zest, minced garlic, and chopped parsley until fragrant.

Add the white wine and cook on medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and heavy cream to the pot and cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the Parmesan cheese and the cooked ravioli to the pot. Cook until heated through and the sauce has thickened.

Serve with more Parmesan cheese and lemon zest, if you wish.

Succulent and buttery shrimp scampi ravioli can be complemented by so many different sauces. We're looking to keep the flavor profile in the lemon, garlic, and cream realm, so an Alfredo sauce with a hint of lemon would work especially well. A bright and springy basil pesto will help bring out the flavors of the filling and ravioli dough. Simple browned butter and a shaving of Parmesan cheese are an easy accent to the more complex ravioli.

Red sauces, such as marinara or vodka sauce, can also work with this ravioli but could be a bit overwhelming for the delicate filling. Meat sauces should also be avoided. However, adding more shrimp to any of the sauces above would make for a welcome addition. Additional shrimp can be cooked in the sauce or separately and then added to the sauce. You can't have too many shrimp!

The beauty of homemade ravioli is that although they are a labor of love, many of their components can be made in advance. The filling and ravioli dough can be prepared ahead of time, which will save you a lot of time and decrease the mess in your kitchen on the day you are serving.

You can make the filling and the sauce up to three days in advance and store them in the refrigerator in airtight containers. The pasta dough itself does not last very long in the refrigerator before becoming discolored from the fresh parsley in the dough, so it's best to make this only one day in advance.

Once you have assembled the ravioli and placed them on a semolina-dusted baking sheet, they can be placed in the freezer for a flash freeze. This means that you freeze them for a few hours until they are hard and then place them in freezer bags. This prevents them from sticking together in the freezer. It also makes it much easier to just remove a few ravioli to boil at a time — perfect for dinner for one.