Homemade basil pesto is spread over fresh cannelloni pasta and baked in a luscious cheesy provolone bechamel sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese, comfort food heaven!
This is proper cheesy comfort food heaven and is a fabulous vegetarian meal that will soon be a family favourite. This delicious pasta dish is fairly simple to make and to put together. It's a great weekend meal that can be eaten as a traditional Italian starter or main course.
This pesto provolone cannelloni pasta is something I've been making for quite some time now. I decided to combine my love for pesto, cheese, and pasta all in one cheesy baked comfort food dish and it's SO damn delicious!
The cannelloni is fairly easy to make, it requires homemade pesto (this is a must) homemade cheese (bechamel) sauce and fresh lasagne sheets which you can either make yourself or use store bought fresh lasagne sheets which are what I used to make this recipe.
Ok so let's back up and talk about pesto for a second.
I have to say pesto is one of the best sauces in the world (for me anyway). Every time I make it I can't help but lick the bowl clean afterward as if I was a child again baking something chocolatey and delicious (I still do this btw).
I prefer to add a little more parmesan than you normally see in recipes and I do prefer parmesan to pecorino in my pesto because it adds more tang. Also in most pesto recipes, you will see they will tell you to toast the pine nuts. I prefer not to, I like the creaminess that the un-toasted pine nuts give the pesto.
Homemade pesto is a must here, it's the most important part to this recipe and the jarred stuff you get in the supermarket really shouldn't be called pesto. It tastes nothing like the homemade stuff and will not taste anywhere near as gorgeous as this.
To make this cannelloni pasta, simply make a basic cheese sauce (see recipe below) with lots of provolone cheese then add a couple spoonfuls to the bottom of an oven proof dish.
The luscious pesto is mixed with a little cheese sauce before being spread over the cannelloni pasta (lasagne sheets) with an extra sprinkling of cheese. Then it's rolled up and placed in the baking dish. The provolone cheese sauce is poured over the cannelloni and topped with mozzarella before being baked in the oven until it's bubbling, melted and delicious.
Easy as that, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, It's truely a comfort food favourite of mine.
Ciao until next time!
If you've tried this or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTERESTto see more delicious food and what I'm getting up to.
For more pesto recipes try;
- sour cream pesto dip with prosciutto dippers
- chicken pesto ciabatta
- gnocchi with walnut and chili pesto
- pea pesto and goats cheese bruschetta
Pesto Provolone Cannelloni Pasta
Ingredients
For the pesto:
- 2 cups (50g) Basil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup (60g) finely grated parmesan
- 6 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper , to taste
For the white sauce:
- 2 oz (50g) butter
- 2 oz (50g) plain flour
- 19 fluid oz (550ml) milk
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 7 oz (200g) provolone picante , grated
- 1 tablespoon parmesan ,freshly grated
- 3.5 oz (100g) ball of mozzarella
- 9 lasagna sheets ,fresh
- salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4.
- To make the pesto add the basil, garlic, lemon, parmesan, pine nuts, olive oil and a little salt and pepper in a bowl. Blitz until completely smooth with a hand blender. This will make an extra smooth pesto, set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to the boil. Meanwhile, make the white sauce. In a pan on a medium heat add butter until melted. Then add the flour and stir until it has formed a thick paste. Cook the flour out for a minute then gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. stir slowly until it starts to thicken. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and ⅔ of the provolone cheese. Continue to stir until thick and set aside.
- Add 5 tablespoon of cheese sauce to the pesto, stir and set aside. Add two small spoonfuls of cheese sauce to the bottom of an oven proof baking dish and spread out evenly, set aside.
- Add one lasagna sheet to the boiling water for a couple seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean work surface. Spread 1 tablespoon of pesto over the lasagna sheet then sprinkle with a little provolone cheese. Roll the lasagna sheet up and place in the baking dish. repeat with the rest of the lasagna sheets.
- Pour the remaining white sauce over the top of the cannelloni and top with the mozzarella. Put the cannelloni into the oven and bake until bubbling and golden, around 20 minutes. Leave for 5/10 minutes to cool slightly and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Angela
Oops! Too eager to comment on this delight! 5 stars of course!😁
Angela
Oooh!! Pesto AND cheese!!My favourite things together in one dish! Cannot wait to try this!! Looks absolutely scrummy!!😋😋
James | Thyme to Mango
These photos are giving me all the comfort-food-vibes, and now I'm hungry beyond words. Agreed there is nothing better than homemade pesto, I always have a jar sitting in my fridge right next to my unbelievably large collection of cheese!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Haha it sounds like we have identical fridges. Thanks so much James 🙂
Christina | Christina\'s Cucina
I love anything with besciamella, so bring it on!! Looks fabulous!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Me too it's so good, thanks so much Christina!
Nayna Kanabar
I adore pasta in any form or shape , this recipe looks super delicious and tasty. Does it freeze well???
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thank you Nayna. I've never frozen this before but I don't see why it wouldn't freeze well, let me know if you try it.
Brandi
Pesto and Provolone are a great combination! This looks like an amazing recipe I must try.
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thanks so much Brandi, hope you enjoy!
Cricket Plunkett
This has my name all over it! Love the you use provolone instead of mozeralla!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thanks Cricket the provolone is soo delicious!
Teri
This looks divine. I've been looking for a pesto recipe to try, too and I am going to try yours. Amazing recipe.
Inside the rustic kitchen
Aw thanks so much Teri, I hope you enjoy!
alifemoment
This recipe is delicious and very interesting, amazing photography!
insidetherustickitchen
Thank you. You can never go wrong with pesto 🙂
alifemoment
Totally agree, love it 🙂
Julie
Oh, wow, that looks amazing 🙂
insidetherustickitchen
Thank you Julie!