Aldi Spinach Ricotta Ravioli (Priano) Review
Author’s Note: Totally unbiased, unpaid, unsolicited (and possibly unwelcome?) review. I have no affiliation with Aldi.
The Jason Bourne of the Pasta World
If there is spinach in this ravioli, it is more deeply undercover than a CIA operative. It has left no trace of its existence. Whoever made this pasta should be in charge of National Security.
Seriously, though. Where is it? Where? Look at it. Here’s the inside of a ravioli. It’s grayish-brown paste. It tastes very similar to the Mushroom Tortelloni I previously reviewed, which contained no spinach.
I’ve been catfished. Or spinach-fished? Aaaagh.
Anyway. Looks aren’t everything. That’s what mom said, right? The filling has a rich, salty (but not spinachy) flavor, and a tender-soft texture. It seems to rely heavily on breadcrumbs, with very little evidence of cheese. It’s best to not do what I did, which is peel the pasta-pillows open and inspect the content. The innards look like soggy dog food. Don’t look at it, just eat it.
The actual pasta exterior has an acceptable al-dente texture and pleasant flavor. There was an enticing buttery smell when boiling the pasta, and a whiff of it remained after cooking. The pasta is made with eggs and semolina, which gives it a richer taste.
If you don’t care about spinach, these are decent little pastas. They come in a vacuum-sealed, shelf-stable package. They’re sort of leathery-hard, but not fully dried. Mine were a bit fragile — trying to pry them apart resulted in, err, casualties. So I ended up dumping the entire brick of conjoined ravioli into my pot of boiling, salted water. Eight minutes was perfect.
(I like artichokes on my pasta. Here’s my review of Aldi’s jarred artichoke hearts.)
The package weight is 8.8 ounces, but I weighed the pasta after cooking, and the weight had almost doubled to just over 1 pound total.
While not as sturdy as Aldi’s tortelloni, this ravioli mostly emerged unscathed from its steamy bath. A few starchy packets had popped open, and there was some rebellious filling running amok. But, mostly good.
I served mine with Aldi’s Rossa Pesto, which is made with sundried tomatoes and cashews. The pesto was a little oily, but I loved the flavor, and it had enough tangy sun-dried tomato taste to bring out the blander flavors of the ravioli. It’s fairly salty and concentrated, so a little bit goes a long way. You can read my full review of Aldi’s pesto here.
I mixed my leftover ravioli into the remaining pesto and refrigerated it. The microwaved leftovers were pretty good; the oil in the pesto kept the pasta from drying out too much, and the flavors had soaked in nicely.
Ingredients in Aldi Priano Ricotta & Spinach Ravioli
Here is my best attempt at typing out the ingredients, from the label:
- Egg Pasta: Durum Wheat Semolina, Egg, Water
- Filling: Breadcrumbs (Soft Wheat Flour, Water, Brewer’s Yeast, Salt), Ricotta Cheese (Whey of Milk, Cream, Salt), Sunflower Oil, Spinach, Milk Whey Powder, Salt, Sodium Lactate and Lactic Acid (Acidity Regulator), Provolone Cheese (Milk, Salt, Rennet), Natural Flavoring, Chives(?), Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Nutmeg
This pasta is imported from Italy.
Nutrition Facts
A serving is 1 cup and contains 290 calories. You get 5 grams of fat and 10 grams of protein. There’s an unsurprising 50 grams of carbohydrates, of which 4 grams are fiber and 3 grams are sugar (0 grams “added sugar”). You’ll be getting 26% of your daily value of sodium per serving.
Sorry for the wrinkled picture. Vacuum-sealed packages are a cruel mistress.
Price and Servings
An 8.8 ounce package cost $1.79 at my local Aldi. Since there are 2.5 servings per package, each serving would cost about 72 cents. This is cheaper than Costco’s Five Cheese Tortelloni.
If you aren’t serving meat or vegetables with your pasta, you will likely get just two meals. I ate half the package for lunch. If you are serving it as a wee little side dish, it might stretch further, perhaps 3-4 servings.
Other varieties of Priano filled pasta
Aldi sells two other flavors of this dry, filled Priano pasta:
- Cheese Tortelloni
- Mushroom Tortelloni
You can find this in the dry pasta/rice/sauce aisle with the other shelf-stable products:
To make matters slightly confusing, Aldi also sells a (very similar looking, but much more expensive) refrigerated (not dry) filled pasta under the same “Priano” label. These are located in a different area of the store (usually with the prepared entrees):
Shelf Life
The “best by” date on my package allowed approximately 2 months to consume, which is a much shorter lifespan than I expected for a dry, shelf-stable product. Once opened, the product should be consumed within 3 days.
Cooking Instructions
The label says to boil for 8 minutes, and that’s exactly how long I cooked mine. I suggest removing the ravioli carefully with a slotted spoon to prevent breakage.
Dramatic Conlcusion
My high-tech “Awesome-o-Meter” measures these ravioli between “Meh” and “Maybe.” They are quick and easy to cook, and they taste fine. But there’s no visible spinach, and very little suggestion of cheese. If you don’t care about either of those things, have at it! For $1.79, you can’t really go wrong.
The End.
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