Today’s Adventures in Bulk Foods selection is one of those items that intrigued me when I was hunting for interesting items to try… cheese ravioli.
Yup, the bulk bin section of my WinCo Foods store offers this in the pasta section of their bulk foods section! In fact, if you look you might find more than just plain spaghetti or elbow macaroni noodles at your store, too. Take a second look.
I was curious to see how shelf stable cheese ravioli would taste. At WinCo, it cost $4.32/lb. So not the cheapest option in dried pasta, to be sure. This is the beauty of bulk foods shopping though, you can always buy just a small sample first to see what you think!
For this preparation, Sarah uncovered a decadent Pesto-Alfredo Cream Sauce at All Recipes. It is GOOD.
Heat olive oil over a skillet and add crushed garlic and pesto sauce. After a minute of cooking, you’ll add heavy cream and raise the heat, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes, and then add Parmesan cheese. So simple.
The recipe also suggests plating with marinara. Now I love a tomato cream sauce, and I loved the idea of combining tomato, alfredo AND pesto in one dish. The idea is mouthwatering.
Here is my final dish. I tried to make it fancy looking, like you’d get in an Italian restaurant (can you tell)? Of course, I felt the need to top it with even more Parmesan.
So how did it taste? Well the sauce was outrageous, but the pasta? Eh…not my favorite. It was alright and would be a fun way to change things up a bit, but I think I would prefer to stick to plain pasta for this recipe. (I will say, I finished the entire plate above!)
Have you ever tried pasta like this in the bulk foods section of your store? Thoughts?
Join me again tomorrow for even more bulk foods love!
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t like the shelf stable ravioli but I keep shelf stable tortellini on hand for quick soup. I throw the tortellini together with, white beans, can or frozen green beans and chicken broth. Or tortellini, tomato soup, chicken stock, and half and half. It’s a nice ingredient for those snowy or stormy nights in the winter when I just don’t want to leave the house.
it is slightly off topic…… I love homemade cheese ravioli (from scratch), but I never, never put any tomato pasta on them. I boil them in salty water for a few minutes until they start floating, drain completely, put some butter in (this way they don’t stick together) and serve them with sour cream. Delish!!! But “shelf stable ravioli”? that does not sound appetizing to me
I just bought some of this and the tortellini day before yesterday, how funny! Thought it would be a change for my kiddos who love pasta and something quick to make for those crazy schedule days.
Will have to see what they think of the taste when I make it…. the smell when I was filling the bag was, um, interesting. 
oops, i meant to say “tomato sauce”, not pasta
This is very interesting. My kids love Ravolis. I don’t know about just cheese, but I can def make it with meat or cheese and potatoes.
I don’t have a store near me that does bulk like this, but I could go to my Bj’s and get the ingredients in bulk. Thanks for the idea.
Thank you for sharing so honestly. I am inspired by your month long series and am thinking of doing something similar for the New Year (jumping off of the resolution to save money and eat at home more). I need to go scope out my Winco store’s bulk food section to check prices and what all they have…
I’m thinking the tortellini would be good in minestrone soup, wondering if the ravioli would be good in the crock pot cooked in sauce…