When you're in the mood for pasta but fancy whipping up something special without too much effort, this spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe is just the ticket.
The tubular cannelloni pasta shells are filled with a mixture of creamy ricotta, garlicky spinach and salty parmesan.
The filled cannelloni are then nestled on a base of herby tomato sauce and drenched in a smooth white sauce with a blanket of cheese, then baked until bubbling and gorgeous.
This recipe makes a large tray full of tender spinach and ricotta cannelloni, enough for six hungry people.
Here’s my spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe in full, with lots of step-by-step photos to help you at every stage.
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 brown onion finely chopped
- 800 g (28 oz) canned chopped tomatoes
- salt and black pepper
For the cannelloni filling
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 30 g (2 tbsp) salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 180 g (6.5 oz) fresh spinach washed drained and dried
- 500 g (18 oz) ricotta cheese
- 165 g (1⅔ cups) Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese alternative
- salt and black pepper
- 250 g (9 oz) dried cannelloni shells
For the white sauce topping
- 20 g (1 tbsp) salted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 80 g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) plain white flour (all purpose flour) all purpose flour
- 800 ml (3⅓ cup) whole milk
- salt and black pepper
- 150 g (1¼ cup) grated/shredded mature cheese
Instructions
To make the tomato sauce
Heat the oil in a large pan over low-medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 10 minutes until soft.
Add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Simmer for 5 mins until thickened a little. Set aside.
To make the cannelloni filling
In another pan, warm the oil and butter over a medium heat.
Add the nutmeg and garlic.
Fry for 30 seconds.
Add the spinach.
Cook gently until just wilted
Tip into a bowl to cool.
Once cool. finely chop and return to the bowl.
Add the ricotta and grated hard cheese.
Mix, season to taste and set aside.
To make the white sauce
Melt the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat
Add the flour and milk.
Whisk over the heat until the sauce is thickened.
Season and set aside.
To assemble
Grease a large roasting tray, then pour the tomato sauce into the base, spreading evenly.
Fill a piping bag with the spinach and ricotta mix and then snip off the end. Use to fill the cannelloni shells.
Lay the filled cannelloni on top of the tomato sauce in a single layer.
Pour the white sauce all over, aiming for an even coating that should just cover the pasta.
Scatter the grated cheese over the top.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 200C (180C fan, 390F) for 30-35 minutes until the pasta is tender, which you can check by pushing a skewer into the centre of a cannelloni shell.
Serve and enjoy!
Print this spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni Recipe
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 brown onion finely chopped
- 800 g (28 oz) canned chopped tomatoes
- salt and black pepper
For the cannelloni filling
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 30 g (2 tbsp) salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 180 g (6.5 oz) fresh spinach washed drained and dried
- 500 g (18 oz) ricotta cheese
- 165 g (1⅔ cups) Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese alternative
- salt and black pepper
- 250 g (9 oz) dried cannelloni shells
For the white sauce topping
- 20 g (1 tbsp) salted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 80 g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) plain white flour (all purpose flour) all purpose flour
- 800 ml (3⅓ cup) whole milk
- salt and black pepper
- 150 g (1¼ cup) grated/shredded mature cheese
Instructions
To make the tomato sauce
- Heat the oil in a large pan over low-medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 mins until thickened a little. Set aside.
To make the cannelloni filling
- In another pan, warm the oil and butter over a medium heat, then add the nutmeg and garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the spinach and cook gently until just wilted, then tip into a bowl to cool.
- Once cool. finely chop and return to the bowl.
- Add the ricotta and grated hard cheese, mix, season to taste and set aside.
To make the white sauce
- Melt the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat
- Add the flour and milk and whisk over the heat until the sauce is thickened.
- Season and set aside.
To assemble
- Grease a large roasting tray, then pour the tomato sauce into the base, spreading evenly.
- Fill a piping bag with the spinach and ricotta mix and then snip off the end. Use to fill the cannelloni shells.
- Lay the filled cannelloni on top of the tomato sauce in a single layer.
- Pour the white sauce all over, aiming for an even coating that should just cover the pasta.
- Scatter the grated cheese over the top.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake at 200C (180C fan, 390F) for 30-35 minutes until the pasta is tender, which you can check by pushing a skewer into the centre of a cannelloni shell.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Steph (@imcountingufoz) says
Ooooh I make this quite a lot. There is something deeply satisfying about filling canneloni tubes.
Sarah says
*drool*
I'm always too lazy to dig out the piping bag so try and fill the cannelloni with a spoon, which usually results in me wanting to throw the entire dish across the room, and takes longer than it would have taken to just find the bag. [/rant].
Shall add this to my menu for next week :)
Coombemill says
Love the filling the pasta bit!
clairejustineoxox says
Looks great and soooo tasty :)
jenny paulin says
i love this dish sadly my man being a bit of a carnivore always insist i add bacon to make up his meat allowence! *tuts* still, when he is away i can omit the meat!
sorry for the waffle there.
it looks really yummy x
Bex @ The Mummy Adventure says
Going to try and make some of this and freeze some as it is my favourite and will be a great one to get out when baby is here and I don't want to cook! x
michaela britton says
No! not fair at all. My 2 favourites, spinach and ricotta and I don't have the ingredients to try this recipe. Oh man! Just looking at your photos is making me hungry, I'll be trying this out and letting you know how I get on.
I seriously love getting your emails as they give me so many different recipes to try :-)
http://www.adventuresofayorkshiremum.co.uk/
Colleen, The Smart Cookie Cook says
Oh man, talk about drool-worthy! This looks like creamy heaven, and so pretty too!
Mum in a Hurry (@mum_in_a_hurry) says
Wow. That looks AMAZING. I wouldn't be confident enough to try that. Im a rubbish cook.
Helen says
Ooh this looks lovely! I've got some cannelloni shells so I might have to try this!