Priano Lobster Ravioli + Priano Crab Ravioli

Pasta and seafood are some of my favorites, so if the two are combined, it’s typically a recipe for a winning combination. I love a good shrimp alfredo, or the shrimp and crab ravioli Aldi sometimes sells, or the pasta dish a local restaurant used to sell that included shrimp, scallops, and imitation crab. I’m very likely to choose a pasta dish with some type of shellfish when I eat at restaurants, but I love when I can serve restaurant-quality meals at home for a fraction of the price.

When I spotted some lobster ravioli and crab ravioli at Aldi, I had to try them. These are sold under the Priano brand, which is not a company but instead is the private label Aldi uses for various Italian-themed foods.

Priano Lobster Ravioli and Priano Crab Ravioli cost $3.89 each at the time of publication.

These look like they might be Seasonal Items at Aldi. I found them in the refrigerated aisle where they were marked with a “New” sign, but I also found them in the Aldi Find freezer aisle where they were marked with a “Seasonal Item” sign. Seasonal Items tend to stick around for several months but aren’t available all year. However, I seem to see these a lot at my local stores, so it’s possible they could be Regular Buys that are sold all year, but it’s not clear at the store where I bought these. (Feel free to leave a comment below if you’ve noticed different signage at your local store.)

The packages have directions for boiling the ravioli. Boil 4 quarts of water, add salt, and add the contents of the package to the boiling water. Boil for 4 minutes if the ravioli are thawed, or boil for 5 minutes if the ravioli are frozen. Stir occasionally, then drain, allowing a bit of cooking water to remain before tossing with sauce. Do not rinse the ravioli.

Each package contains about 2.5 one-cup servings. Glancing through the ingredients lists for both of these, they are better than I expected for a ready-to-heat meal. They’re made with a lot of whole, easily identifiable ingredients such as lobster or crab, various cheeses, white wine, butter, breadcrumbs, cream, and seasonings. Some components include natural flavoring, and these contain glycerin (a sugar alcohol) that acts as a moisture retainer and preservative, but otherwise these seem to contain minimal processed ingredients.

Nutrition information and ingredients for lobster ravioli (left) and crab ravioli (right). (Click to enlarge.)

Keep reading for more information on each type of ravioli.

Priano Lobster Ravioli:

Some lobster ravioli with alfredo sauce added, ready to serve.

The lobster ravioli package describes it as “tender ravioli filled with pieces of lobster, rich ricotta and mozzarella cheese.”

The package suggests serving it with creamy alfredo sauce and chopped fresh parsley. I served this with half a bottle of Rao’s alfredo sauce I purchased from Aldi, and this was more than enough. These are the most striking-looking of the two types of ravioli, with their red and light orange stripes. Their color comes from tomato paste, annatto, paprika, and beta-carotene.

This was probably my family’s favorite of the two types of ravioli. It has a somewhat sweeter filling compared to the crab ravioli. This lobster ravioli had some tiny bits of lobster in it if we looked closely, but the filling has a pretty smooth paste-like consistency that seems to be mostly cheese. These are good on their own merits, but they don’t scream “lobster.” Given their low price tag, I’m not surprised that they aren’t all that heavy on the seafood.

Cross section of lobster ravioli.

If you’re watching out for allergens, this contains wheat, milk, eggs, and shellfish (lobster).

One 1-cup serving (without sauce) has 240 calories, 7 grams of total fat (9% DV), 3.5 grams of saturated fat (18% DV), 270 mg of sodium (12% DV), 32 grams of total carbohydrates (12% DV), 1 gram of total sugars, and no added sugar.

Priano Crab Ravioli:

Some crab ravioli with added alfredo sauce, ready to serve.

The crab ravioli package describes it as “tender ravioli filled with crab meat and creamy ricotta cheese.”

The package suggests serving it with pesto rosso (a tomato pesto sauce) and chopped fresh parsley. I opted to just serve this with alfredo sauce, using the other half of the jar of Rao’s sauce that I used with the lobster ravioli. Half a jar of sauce was plenty, with lots of sauce left on my plate for swiping garlic bread in.

These have a somewhat more savory or slightly saltier flavor compared to the lobster ravioli. Similar to the lobster ravioli, we didn’t see many noticeable pieces of crab in these. The filling is smooth and cheesy. These taste good, but they don’t seem all that generous with the crabmeat.

Cross section of crab ravioli.

If you’re watching out for allergens, this contains wheat, milk, eggs, and shellfish (crab).

One 1-cup serving (without sauce) has 220 calories, 6 grams of total fat (8% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (13% DV), 310 mg of sodium (13% DV), 30 grams of total carbohydrates (11% DV), 1 gram of total sugars, and no added sugars.

The Verdict:

Priano Lobster Ravioli and Priano Crab Ravioli feature tender pasta and lots of ricotta and mozzarella cheese filling. You’ll have to add your own sauce. These seem to be light on the lobster and crab, but they still taste good. Just don’t expect to see a lot of seafood in these.