I made these for a Halloween pasta bar because normal ravioli felt a little too polite for October.
The black dough does most of the creepy Halloween food work, which is helpful because I am not sculpting tiny nightmares all day.
These colored ravioli turn a spooky dinner into something slightly unhinged but still edible. That is basically the goal.
Ghostface Ravioli
EQUIPMENT (PAID LINKS)
- Piping bag
- Ghost-shaped cookie cutter
- Small knife
- Slotted spoon
- Serving plate
Ingredients
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon beetroot powder
- 2 sheets black fresh pasta dough about 8 by 12 inches each
- ¼ cup water for brushing and sealing
- 1 sheet plain fresh pasta dough about 8 by 10 inches
- Black pasta scraps from trimming the ravioli
- ¾ cup warm marinara sauce
Instructions
- Make Filling: Stir the ricotta cheese with the beetroot powder until the filling turns bright pink and smooth.
- Pipe Filling: Transfer the pink ricotta filling to a piping bag. Pipe small rows of filling onto one sheet of black pasta dough, leaving enough space around each mound for sealing and cutting.
- Seal Ravioli: Lightly brush around the filling with water. Lay the second sheet of black pasta dough over the filling, then gently press around each mound to push out air and seal the edges.
- Cut Ravioli: Press the ghost-shaped cutter around each filled section. Remove the extra dough and save a few black pasta scraps for the face details.
- Make Masks: Cut small ghost mask shapes from the plain pasta dough. These will sit on top of the black ravioli.
- Add Faces: Cut small black pasta scraps into eye and mouth shapes. Press them onto the plain pasta masks to create the Ghostface look.
- Attach Masks: Brush the top of each black ravioli with a little water. Press one decorated mask onto each ravioli so it sticks.
- Boil Ravioli: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the ravioli float.
- Sauce Plate: Spoon the warm marinara sauce onto a serving plate and spread it into a messy red base.
- Serve Ravioli: Lift the cooked ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon. Arrange them over the marinara sauce and serve warm.
Ghostface Ravioli Without Losing Your Mind in the Pasta Dough
This is one of those recipes that looks dramatic, but the secret is mostly patience and a willingness to make tiny pasta masks like a person with very specific priorities.
Keep the Filling Thick
Ricotta can be watery, and watery ricotta is how ravioli starts betraying you. Drain it first if it looks loose, then mix in the beetroot powder until it turns pink and smooth. The filling should pipe, not run for its life.
Do Not Overfill the Ravioli
I know, more filling feels generous. It is also how the ravioli explodes in the pot and turns into haunted cheese soup. Keep each mound small enough that you can seal the dough around it without wrestling it like a fitted sheet.
Use Store-Bought Pasta Dough if Needed
Fresh homemade pasta is great, but this recipe already has little horror movie faces involved, so nobody needs extra suffering. Store-bought fresh pasta sheets work if they are soft enough to seal, and that shortcut is not a moral failure.
Make the Black Dough Easier
If you do not want to make black pasta from scratch, look for squid ink pasta sheets or use black food coloring in fresh dough. Activated charcoal can also color pasta, but skip it if medication interaction is a concern. Pretty pasta is not worth turning dinner into a health footnote.
Fix Cracks Before Boiling
If the dough dries out while you are cutting masks and faces, brush it lightly with water before sealing or decorating. Not soaking wet, just damp enough to behave. Pasta dough is basically a toddler: too dry, it cracks; too wet, it becomes everyone’s problem.
Keep the Face Details Simple
The Ghostface look works because the shapes are obvious, not because every ravioli deserves a museum label. Cut simple eyes and a long mouth from black pasta scraps, press them onto the pale mask, and move on with your life. Tiny perfectionism is where fun recipes go to die.
Use Warm Marinara, Not Fancy Sauce Drama
A plain marinara works best here because the red sauce gives the whole plate that messy Halloween look. Jarred sauce is fine. Truly. You already made creepy ravioli faces, so the sauce does not need to audition for a cooking show.
Make Them Ahead Without Regret
You can assemble the ravioli a few hours ahead and keep them on a floured tray in the fridge, loosely covered. For longer storage, freeze them flat first, then move them to a freezer bag. Boil from frozen and add another minute or two, because frozen pasta likes to pretend it needs attention.
Serve Them Right Away
These are best when the pasta is tender, the sauce is warm, and the little masks still look creepy instead of tired. They are party food with a short attention span. Get them on the plate before they start looking like sad craft projects.
