Ravioli is one of my favorite easy pasta dinners, but I found myself searching for the best sauce for them! I always wanted something a little more than just a traditional red sauce, so that’s why I created this mushroom sherry cream sauce! A savory blend of sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and a sherry cream sauce provides a rich sauce perfect for ravioli!
Cooking with Sherry Wine
So for this recipe I used cooking sherry. This is the kind you find in the grocery store down the aisle with the other cooking wines. You can also cook with the sherry wine that you’d find in a liquor store, however I really don’t need a large bottle of it so I’ve always used the grocery store cooking wine.
Sherry has a slightly sweet smell, sweeter than a typical white wine like a Pinot Grigio. It also adds a distinct flavor to dishes that’s a bit richer and deeper than a white wine. I love adding it to a cream sauce since it will help cut the richness of the sauce. It helps balance a heavy dish and add a layer of flavor.
You might be wondering if Sherry and Marsala are similar in taste. They’re similar in that they’re both fortified wines, but in my opinion Marsala has a deeper warmer flavor and sherry is more of a sweeter wine flavor. They aren’t interchangeable in recipes. For example, if a recipe called for sherry and you didn’t have any, I’d recommend using a white wine instead of reaching for a Marsala.
Want to learn more? Check out this Wine 101 all about Sherry on Tasting Table.
So we know the sherry is one of the stars of this dish, but we need to talk about these mushrooms.
These sautéed rich brown and slightly crispy mushrooms are going to be your new favorite thing.
I’m not really a huge mushrooms fan, but found a way to cook them where I absolutely love them. Seriously these are so good I snack on them like little chips as I’m finishing the rest of the dinner.
By slicing the mushrooms very thin and saute them in oil for 15-17 minutes you create these slightly crispy extra rich in flavor mushrooms slivers. After they’re done, spoon them onto a paper towel lined plate then sprinkle them with a little salt. Seriously, SO good. I also use these in my Marsala Cream Sauce Pasta…it’s one of my most popular recipes!
Cooking Tips
- If you don’t have Sherry wine, you can use a white wine you have on hand. The flavor won’t be quite the same, but you can use it in a pinch.
- I use frozen spinach here. If you prefer fresh spinach you can use them too, but you’ll need to increase the quantity since fresh spinach shrinks a lot when you cook it.
- Make sure you slice your mushrooms really thin! It’s how you’ll get their deep brown color and get them slightly crunchy. We don’t want soft mushy mushrooms, we want them to be adding some texture to this dish.
- I used Giovanni Rana 4 cheese ravioli. In my opinion this is probably the best store bought ravioli I’ve tried! In my store it’s found in the refrigerator section of my grocery store.
- The leftovers are just as good as the first night! I had leftovers of this for lunch and the sherry wine flavor was even more pronounced. So good!
If you like cream sauces for ravioli and pastas, I have a few more recipes you might like.
Pesto Cream Sauce is an easy sauce and you only need 5 ingredients. Easy, quick, and affordable ingredients!
Creamy Sun-dried Tomato sauce blends a jar of sun-dried tomatoes until completely smooth then adds those into a cream sauce.
Alfredo Tomato Cream Sauce is a rich and warm blend of Alfredo sauce infused with nutmeg combined with a tomato sauce. Perfect for cold weather days!
PrintSherry Cream Sauce
Sherry cream sauce is a rich and comforting sauce perfect for ravioli! This recipe blends the cream sauce with sauteed mushrooms and chopped spinach for a delicious and filling dinner.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
10oz container of mushrooms like cremini, white, or baby bella (if you can’t find a 10oz just get as close as you can)
10oz bag of cheese ravioli (if you can’t find exactly 10oz just get as close as you can)
4 cloves of garlic, grated
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of cooked frozen chopped spinach
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups half and half or light cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sherry cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
1. Slice your mushrooms into thin slices. Heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a medium pan. Add the mushrooms and saute for 15-17 minutes until they are a deep rich brown color. Then, add the grated garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Spoon onto a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle lightly with salt.
2. While the mushrooms are cooking, cook the frozen spinach. You’ll be using 1 cup of the cooked spinach for the sauce.
3. In a medium sauce pan, add the 1 tablespoon of butter and heat over medium heat until melted, then add the 1 tablespoon of flour and combine it into the butter. Cook for about 30 seconds then pour in the cream. Whisk so that the flour butter mixture blends into the cream. Add the 1/2 cup of cooking sherry, raise the heat to medium high and cook for 3 minutes. Lastly, add the Parmesan cheese, spinach, salt and pepper and cook on medium for about 5 minutes.
4. While the sauce is cooking, boil the ravioli according to package directions. Then, add into the cooked sauce.
5. To serve, spoon the sherry cream sauce onto a plate or in a bowl. Add as much as the mushrooms as you’d like and a little more Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
I make this very similar but I cook small mushrooms then add garlic and onion. Then do the same with butter and flour then cream. Then I par cook in pan the portobello stuff with the mushroom spinach mix top with Gruyère and pan sauce. Bake till bubbly. It’s fabulous
yum sounds amazing!