Freezing homemade ravioli

(Sorry if the answer to my question is buried in an existing thread. I did a quick search and didn't turn up anything.)

I was going to make a batch of beet-ricotta ravioli this weekend. Whenever I've made this ravioli, I've cooked and eaten it right away. However, if it has a decent life in the freezer, this time I'd like to make a giant batch to save. How long will it keep in the freezer?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Sharon

I assume you mean freezing before cooking rather than after cooking. After making, I would dust with flour to keep them from sticking and freeze in wax paper put into a freezer zip lock. I think they should keep for quite a long time.

lougord99 wrote:I assume you mean freezing before cooking rather than after cooking. After making, I would dust with flour to keep them from sticking and freeze in wax paper put into a freezer zip lock. I think they should keep for quite a long time.

I would dust with flour, but put them on a sheet pan in the freezer, individually freeze them, then place in a ziploc bag. I would guess that they'd keep up to 3 months, maybe longer.

I agree - it will keep for a long time. Whether that means 6 months or more, I can't say. The main thing that will happen over time is that the taste and quality will deteriorate, rather than some type of spoilage.

happy_stomach wrote:(Sorry if the answer to my question is buried in an existing thread. I did a quick search and didn't turn up anything.)

I was going to make a batch of beet-ricotta ravioli this weekend. Whenever I've made this ravioli, I've cooked and eaten it right away. However, if it has a decent life in the freezer, this time I'd like to make a giant batch to save. How long will it keep in the freezer?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Sharon

Sharon,

I have frozen ravioli many times, in some cases for as long as 6 months or so. I would not store your ravioli for more than about 6 weeks though, as dairy products do continue to degrade in the freezer. There are two things that commonly go wrong with frozen ravioli: cracks in the dough, and ravioli that stick together. To combat the first problem, just be certain not to overfill your ravioli. Nothing thicker than your thumb. To combat the second problem, line a big freezer-safe container with flour, and place each raviolo on the flour bed, with flour in between each one to prevent sticking. Freeze the whole batch in the flour.

Kenny

aschie30 wrote:

lougord99 wrote:I assume you mean freezing before cooking rather than after cooking. After making, I would dust with flour to keep them from sticking and freeze in wax paper put into a freezer zip lock. I think they should keep for quite a long time.

I would dust with flour, but put them on a sheet pan in the freezer, individually freeze them, then place in a ziploc bag. I would guess that they'd keep up to 3 months, maybe longer.

Thanks! Very helpful. I knew the dusting and freezing on baking sheet first, but I wasn't sure if they'd keep a week, a month or what. I'm about to make A LOT of ravioli.

Kennyz wrote:I have frozen ravioli many times, in some cases for as long as 6 months or so. I would not store your ravioli for more than about 6 weeks though, as dairy products do continue to degrade in the freezer. There are two things that commonly go wrong with frozen ravioli: cracks in the dough, and ravioli that stick together. To combat the first problem, just be certain not to overfill your ravioli. Nothing thicker than your thumb. To combat the second problem, line a big freezer-safe container with flour, and place each raviolo on the flour bed, with flour in between each one to prevent sticking. Freeze the whole batch in the flour.

Ooh. This is interesting. I do have a tendency to overfill, so I will be extra careful this time. Just to make sure I understand the bed of flour advice... So by "line" a container, do you mean a lot more than dusting? I'm having a hard time picturing the filled storage vessel. I'm imagining a deep container filled with a bag's worth of flour with my ravioli buried throughout.

happy_stomach wrote:

Kennyz wrote:I have frozen ravioli many times, in some cases for as long as 6 months or so. I would not store your ravioli for more than about 6 weeks though, as dairy products do continue to degrade in the freezer. There are two things that commonly go wrong with frozen ravioli: cracks in the dough, and ravioli that stick together. To combat the first problem, just be certain not to overfill your ravioli. Nothing thicker than your thumb. To combat the second problem, line a big freezer-safe container with flour, and place each raviolo on the flour bed, with flour in between each one to prevent sticking. Freeze the whole batch in the flour.

Ooh. This is interesting. I do have a tendency to overfill, so I will be extra careful this time. Just to make sure I understand the bed of flour advice... So by "line" a container, do you mean a lot more than dusting? I'm having a hard time picturing the filled storage vessel. I'm imagining a deep container filled with a bag's worth of flour with my ravioli buried throughout.

Yeah, that's it. Dusting and freezing in a ziploc probably works fine too, but I like to take out extra insurance. Big tupperware container, maybe 1/2 a bag to a whole bag of flour, and each ravioli buried at least 1/2 way into the flour.

Kennyz wrote:Yeah, that's it. Dusting and freezing in a ziploc probably works fine too, but I like to take out extra insurance. Big tupperware container, maybe 1/2 a bag to a whole bag of flour, and each ravioli buried at least 1/2 way into the flour.

I always need extra insurance when I'm cooking, so I'll do that. I have the perfect container and a lot of flour. Besides, it sounds way more fun than just unzipping a freezer bag--a month from now digging out my ravioli?! Must make room in my freezer.

Thanks all for your ideas.

BTW, Kennyz, lots of people praise Twitter for being a way to get instantaneous responses to a question. This was pretty darned fast and way more helpful than had it come in 140-character spurts.

please call me @kenny from now on.

Kennyz wrote:please call me @kenny from now on.

Hi At-Kenny.

When I make potstickers, I put the fresh ones on a Silpat lined tray and freeze them before packaging them in a Ziplock. That way I don't have to deal with cornstarch or flour to prevent them from sticking to the tray.

There are two things that commonly go wrong with frozen ravioli: cracks in the dough, and ravioli that stick together. To combat the first problem, just be certain not to overfill your ravioli. Nothing thicker than your thumb.

I've frozen homemade ravioli a number of times and have had consistent problems with them cracking while freezing. I'm putting a lot less than a thumb's worth of filling in too, although my ravioli are on the small side. Doesn't it also have to do with how thin you roll the pasta?