Copycat Olive Garden Ravioli Carbonara Recipe

Some nights I want Olive Garden’s ravioli carbonara without the drive or the wait for a table. This copycat olive garden ravioli carbonara gives me cheese ravioli in a creamy, bacon-flecked sauce in about 20 minutes at my own stove.

At the restaurant, it’s cheese-stuffed ravioli in a rich cream sauce with bacon, and this version keeps that idea with a cream base instead of the egg-based sauce you’d get in a classic carbonara. The trick that makes it work is melting the cheeses into the cream slowly, so the sauce turns silky instead of grainy, and that’s the step I’ll walk you through below.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s on the table in about 20 minutes, because the sauce comes together in the time it takes the ravioli to boil.
• Store-bought cheese ravioli does the hard part for you, so you’re just making a quick sauce.
• The cream, Parmesan, and mozzarella melt into a sauce thick enough to coat every ravioli without any flour or roux.
• Bacon bits stir in at the end, so you get the smoky, salty hit without frying and chopping bacon from scratch.
• It brings the Olive Garden dish into your own kitchen on a weeknight, no reservation needed.
• It serves two as written and scales up cleanly when you’re cooking for more.

Ingredients You’ll Need

A few ingredient notes before you start; the printable card below has the full list with quantities.

• Cheese ravioli. Refrigerated or frozen both work, and this is where the dish gets its body, so there’s no pasta to make from scratch. Cook it to the package directions and no further, since it finishes warming through in the sauce.
• Heavy cream. This is the base of the sauce and the reason it thickens. Milk alone won’t set up the same way, so the cream is doing real work here, not just adding richness.
• Parmesan cheese. It goes in twice, grated into the sauce to thicken and season it and a little shredded over the top at the end. Freshly grated melts smoother than the sandy pre-grated kind from a can.
• Mozzarella. It adds the stretch and helps the sauce cling to the ravioli. A block you shred yourself melts more evenly than pre-shredded, which is coated to stop it clumping.
• Bacon bits. Use real cooked bacon bits rather than the crunchy imitation kind for the smoky, salty edge. Pre-cooked bits keep this to one skillet and cut the time.
• Butter and garlic. Melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook minced garlic for about 2 minutes, until fragrant, to build the sauce’s flavor.
• Milk. A couple of tablespoons loosen the sauce if it tightens up. Keep it handy for reheating leftovers too.

How to Make Olive Garden Ravioli Carbonara

A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

Boil the ravioli

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the cheese ravioli according to the package directions, usually just a few minutes.

Drain it and set it aside while you make the sauce. Don’t overcook it, since it gets another minute in the sauce at the end.

Build the cream sauce

Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the minced garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes, until fragrant. Pour in the cream and milk, then stir in the Parmesan and the mozzarella.

Keep the heat at medium or a touch lower and stir steadily until the cheeses melt into a smooth sauce, then season with salt and pepper.

Take your time, because the cheeses only melt into a silky sauce over gentle heat and turn grainy if you rush them over high heat.

Combine ravioli and sauce

Add the drained ravioli to the skillet and fold it through the sauce gently, so the pillows stay whole and every one gets coated. Let it warm through for a minute.

Finish and serve

Top with the bacon bits, the shredded Parmesan, and a little chopped parsley, then serve it right away while the sauce is still loose and creamy.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

• Keep the heat gentle once the cheese goes in. A cream sauce pushed too hot is the main reason it turns grainy or splits instead of staying smooth.
• Grate the Parmesan fresh if you can. The canned pre-grated kind has anti-caking agents that stop it melting cleanly into the sauce.
• Have a couple of tablespoons of warm milk ready. If the sauce tightens before you serve, a splash brings it back to a coating consistency.
• Season with salt last, after the Parmesan and bacon are in. Both are already salty, so waiting keeps you from overdoing it.
• Get it to the table as soon as it’s combined. Cream sauces thicken as they sit, so this one is at its best straight from the pan.

Recipe Variations

• Fresh or frozen cheese ravioli both work, and I’ve tested it with each, so use whichever you’ve got and just follow its boiling time. Only the timing changes.
• To make it heartier, fold in cooked sliced chicken or some sauteed mushrooms at the end. Both are supported add-ins that leave the sauce alone, though they’ll stretch it across more servings.
• Chopped pancetta, or bacon you crisp and chop yourself, can stand in for the bacon bits. That swap is untested in this exact recipe, but since you’re only adding cooked pork at the end, the sauce behaves the same way.
• Half-and-half is a supported swap for some of the cream when you want a lighter sauce. It’s thinner and won’t coat as heavily, so plan on a looser result rather than the same clingy sauce.

How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, which is the USDA window for cooked leftovers. Get them refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking, and within 1 hour if your kitchen is above 90°F (32°C), since a cream sauce is perishable and shouldn’t sit out.

Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of milk to help the sauce come back together. Heating a cream sauce too quickly, including in a hot microwave, can cause it to break and become oily.

I don’t recommend freezing this one because cream-and-cheese sauces tend to separate and go grainy once thawed, so it’s much better made fresh.

If you want a head start, boil the ravioli earlier in the day, toss it with a little oil so it doesn’t stick, and refrigerate it, then make the sauce fresh when you’re ready to eat. I wouldn’t make the finished sauce ahead, since it thickens and loses its smoothness as it sits.

What to Serve With Olive Garden Ravioli Carbonara

A rich, creamy pasta like this one wants something on the side to balance it. A crisp green salad does the job, and the salami-and-olive punch of my Antipasto Salad gives you the acidity that cuts through all that cream.

For mopping up the last of the sauce, I’d put out Homemade Garlic Bread, or stay on the Olive Garden theme with a batch of Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks. Keep the extras simple, since the pasta is already the star of the plate.

FAQs

More Creamy, Cheesy Dinners to Try Next

If you enjoyed this one, here’s where I’d go next.

• Creamy Chicken Alfredo. When you liked this sauce and want it built into a full chicken-and-pasta dinner, this is the one I’d make next.
• Chicken Alfredo Lasagna. Same creamy, cheesy idea in a baked, feed-a-crowd form, for the nights you’ve got a bit more time and more people at the table.
• Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup. Another Olive Garden copycat from me, for when you want that restaurant favorite in a bowl instead of on a plate.
• Homemade Mac and Cheese. If it’s the cheese pull you’re after, go here; it’s the cheesiest of the bunch.
• Classic Lasagna. For a heartier, meatier Italian night, this layered classic is my pick over the quick pasta.