There are few foods that I love more than ravioli and pasta… I mean, who doesn’t? These ravioli are rich and creamy just like they should be– and, of course, they are also vegan!

I hadn’t gotten the chance to try out Violife’s 100% Vegan ‘Just like Feta’ Block until recently, but I’ve quickly become obsessed with it. While, personally, I think it tastes more like goat cheese than feta, that is not a complaint! In these ravioli, I use a bit of Cinnamon in the filling, as well as make a special creamy pesto with Rosemary, so the sweetness in this plant-based cheese comes out just spectacular.

This recipe yields the perfect amount of pasta for a very impressive dinner for two,
and it is an absolutely perfect dinner for an at-home date night!

These ravioli are the perfect semi-difficult dinner to make for a date or special night for two; especially because a few elements are from-scratch, such as the filling and the pesto, but the actually time-consuming elements like the plant-based cheese and wraps are just simple cheats.

For these ravioli I used Gyoza Wrappers as the ‘pasta’, which saved me an hour or two of pasta-making; plus, using the Violife saved me a whole night of soaking cashews (or whatever.) You know, I’m not even sure I could actually make a cheese as good as theirs, actually!

The other major bonus of this recipe is that all of the prep can easily be done earlier in the day – or even the day before – and then saved in the refrigerator to just fry when ready! Not to mention that these fry up in just about half-an-hour, so it can be a very quick dinner to make if you save yourself the time!

The insides of these ravioli are super sweet and creamy, so it only makes sense to make the pesto especially creamy, too.

I use Almonds and Rosemary in this pesto – as opposed to Walnuts and Basil – to make it much sweeter and lighter in flavor, which pairs great with these ravioli. Also, the ravioli filling includes a bit of Rosemary as well, so the flavors end up being the perfect match.

Are you ready to impress your vegan crush, or enjoy a romantic meatless Monday night? Or show your vegan self some love?

Vegan Fried Ravioli with ‘Feta’ & Pesto

Prep for 1 ½ hours

Cook for 30 minutes

Ready in 2 hours

Serves 16 ravioli, 2-3 people

It’s Vegan! ✌🏻

Ingredients

Pesto:

Bulk:

Spinach
Pine Nuts
Sliced Almonds
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Vegan Mozzarella Shreds
Filtered Water

Seasonings:

Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic, fresh
Rosemary

Ravioli:

Veggies & Bulk:

Spinach
Violife 100% Vegan ‘Just like Feta’ Block
Gyoza Wrappers

Seasonings & Extras:

Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic, fresh
Rosemary
Cinnamon

Preparation

First, start by making the pesto. You’ll need quite a bit of minced garlic for the pesto, as well as the ravioli, so get it all out of the way by shelling and mincing about ½ of a head of garlic. Seriously.
Now, grab a food processor, and put a little more than half of your Minced Garlic into the bowl.
With the garlic, include:
- 2 cups of Fresh Spinach
- ½ cup of Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup of Olive Oil
- ½ cup of Pine Nuts
- ½ cup of Sliced Almonds
- ¼ cup of water
Blend until smooth.
You’re not done! Now, add:
- 1 cup Vegan Mozzarella Shreds
- Salt (to taste)
- Black Pepper (to taste)
- Rosemary (to taste)
Blend until smooth again, and then set aside in your refrigerator for later.
You’re ready to make the ravioli! Start by getting out a medium-sized skillet, and placing it on low heat.
Throw in about two spoonfuls of plant-based butter, as well as the garlic you have set aside from earlier. Stir occasionally.
Chop one bunch of Green Onion, and include in the skillet. Turn the heat up slightly to medium-low, and continue to stir occasionally.
Get yourself a large surface ready, either a counter top or a large baking sheet, and lay out 16 Gyoza Wrappers face-up.
Take out your Violife 100% Vegan ‘Just like Feta’, and place a small spoonful onto one side of each wrap.

Make sure you’re still stirring the onion and garlic in the skillet, too! Those little bits of garlic will burn quick!

When your wraps are all ready with cheese, just quickly add a few handfuls of Spinach into your skillet, top with a dash of Salt and Olive Oil drizzle. Lightly stir, then cover and allow to quickly wilt.
Once the Spinach has wilted fully, stir it lightly and add a bit of Rosemary and just a dash of Cinnamon. Stir again, and remove from heat.
Now, add about one (1) tablespoon of Spinach into each wrap, placing it on top of the feta.
Once each one is ready, simply use a bit of filtered water on your fingers to moisten the edges of each wrap, and then seal ‘em up!
If you are making these for later, then simply place these into a Tupperware container with a bit of cooking oil on each, and store in the refrigerator briefly, or in the freezer for a few days.
If you are making these for now, then just rinse out the skillet you used for the spinach (or not, no one’s watching…) and place a bit of cooking oil in it, place on medium-high heat, then throw the ravioli in there.
Fry the raviolis lightly by cooking them in the oil on the medium-high heat setting for about five or six (5-6) minutes on each side, allowing them to become golden brown and slightly crunchy.
Once the ravioli is finished cooking, turn the heat down to medium-low and then include as much pesto as you’d like– I used the whole batch! Stir lightly until serving temperature.
Top with extra Vegan Mozzarella Shreds, if desired, and allow to melt.
Serve, and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

~ Chef G.