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Can I freeze ravioli filled with goat cheese and caramelized onion, even when the package advises not to?

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Christine P
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  • I’ve never frozen goat cheese, but if it undergoes syneresis (the liquid being squeezed out), it’s possible that the cooked ravioli would be more like cottage cheese instead of nice and creamy. I think that ones that are intended to be frozen use starch as a stabilizer – Joe Jan 30 '23 at 14:25
  • I'd like to see the label, or at least the exact warning & ingredients list. It seems people are not considering all the possibilities when answering this. – Tetsujin Jan 30 '23 at 18:17

2 Answers2

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It's not going to make it dangerous if you're sensible. The texture might suffer a bit, but it will still be edible - better than wasting it. Defrost in the fridge before cooking, not at room temperature. I have frozen similar products in the past, and honestly don't think they deteriorated at all - certainly less than overcooking.

Mostly when manufacturers say products aren't suitable for freezing, they're worried about 2 things:

  • trying to cook something (probably raw) from frozen that will seem done when it's not, and risking food poisoning. Defrosting before cooking, under safe conditions, solves that.
  • the quality suffering, and customers complaining. A few foods suffer badly, like cream, but most don't
Chris H
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    I feel that goat cheese does suffer a bit from being frozen. I doubt that it'll be anything major given it's already worked into a ravioli but that might be why it's on the package – Hobbamok Jan 31 '23 at 10:11
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    @Hobbamok quite possibly, especially if the cheese is in one lump. Harder cheeses freeze better than soft, IME, and goat tends to be soft. I've frozen home made goats cheese varenyky (pierogi), which are similar (though of course a different dough) but I mixed the cheese with the other ingredients and found no issues on cooking. Anyway, just a texture/quality thing. – Chris H Jan 31 '23 at 10:17
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Based on tons of experience with freezing premade ravioli from Costco, New Seasons and Lucca:

Most ravioli can be frozen. It's pretty much the best way to keep them if you're not going to eat them within a few days. The only exception would be ravioli that have an exceptionally wet filling, because those may burst -- but goat cheese and onion ravioli would not normally be that wet. If the ravioli have very thin pasta shells, that might also be a problem.

If you've frozen them, you should boil them directly from frozen when you cook them. Cook them for around 3 minutes longer than you would fresh. Like usual, you can tell they're done because they're vigorously floating.

This means that you might want to repackage them before freezing if they're not well-separated or well-floured, just to make sure you can get them apart. I recommend making layers with sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap, and maybe dusting them with a little extra flour. Some brands, like Costco, oil their ravioli before packaging and can therefore be thrown straight in the freezer.

You do not want to thaw them in the fridge. On thawing, the ravioli will tend to become clammy, and may stick to the packaging and each other and be inseparable without tearing.

Michael Mior
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FuzzyChef
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  • Of course the ones you get may be a little different to mine, but if I was going to cook them from frozen I'd *really* want to freeze them spread out rather than having one big lump, probably using one of the methods you suggest, or oiling them myself. But cooking from frozen the pasta tends to overcook, IMO – Chris H Jan 30 '23 at 10:00
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    The problem is that pasta dough that's been frozen and thawed becomes both stickier and more fragile. – FuzzyChef Jan 30 '23 at 16:32
  • Yes, but the alternative of overdone pasta so the filling is hot through, seems worse to me – Chris H Jan 30 '23 at 16:59
  • Has not been my experience. – FuzzyChef Jan 30 '23 at 18:12
  • @ChrisH you can finish it in the sauce, so the center has a chance to warm through. I wouldn’t use it for an uncooked meat filling, but it might be okay for less risky fillings – Joe Jan 30 '23 at 18:53
  • @Joe good plan if you're going for a proper sauce. With a tasty cheesy filling I sometimes just put a little olive oil over, with garlic, herbs, bkack pepper or similar – Chris H Jan 30 '23 at 19:40