I always look forward to finding the latest issue of Clean Eating magazine in the mailbox, and March 2012’s issue did not disappoint! I was immediately drawn to Julie O’Hara’s “Classics, Only Cleaner” column featuring her “not-so” fried ravioli. Any cleaned-up bar food favorite is sure to be a hit with me and I couldn’t wait to try this one out.
I picked up the ravioli at Fairway and made these on a Friday after work. They only took about half an hour to make, from start to finish, which makes this recipe even more delightful. The final result was a deliciously cheesy, crispy bite-sized appetizer that hit the spot at a fraction of the calories of its fried counterpart. They could even be a stand-in for mozzarella sticks when the craving strikes!
I’ve included the recipe for the ravioli from the magazine below (but I ended up using pre-made marinara sauce to save some time and keep things simple). Enjoy!
Clean baked ravioli
Ingredients
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ tsp seal salt, divided
- 1/8 tsp. plus ¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper, divided
- ½ cup fine whole-wheat bread crumbs*
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1 oz)
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- Dash ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 9-oz package bite-sized whole wheat cheese ravioli
- Marinara sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a shallow bowl, combine egg whites and 1/8 tsp. each salt and 1/8 tsp. black pepper.
- In a separate shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 tsp. thyme and cayenne.
- Dip ravioli into egg mixture and then bread mixture, shaking off excess.
- Transfer to baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining ravioli, adding to sheet in a single layer.
- Bake, turning once, until lightly browned (or 12-16 minutes).
- Serve with marinara sauce.
*Fine whole-wheat bread crumbs do work best, but I didn’t have any so I took regular whole-wheat bread crumbs and ground them a bit with the pestle & mortar.
