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Spinach and ricotta cannelloni, a classic, foolproof recipe and a family favourite. Cannelloni pasta tubes filled with a creamy spinach and ricotta filling, baked in a super simple and delicious tomato sauce and topped with melting mozzarella cheese.
Like other classic Italian recipes such as lasagne and beef ragu, spinach and ricotta cannelloni is one of those recipes I will always go back to. It’s classic, comforting and surprisingly simple to make!
Since living in Italy, I have seen so many cannelloni recipes. A more rustic and traditional way of making them is with fresh lasagna sheets (homemade). Dollop some of your filling, be it spinach and ricotta or ragu and roll it up to create the cannelloni.
The other option is to use pre-made cannelloni pasta tubes. I love using these because they are so easy to fill and ensure each tube is evenly filled, that way everyone gets an even portion. You should be able to buy cannelloni pasta tubes in most stores/supermarkets, they’re pretty common and they save so much time.
Table of Contents
Visual walk-through of the recipe
Finely chop a shallot and garlic and saute in a pan with a little olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato passata (pureed tomatoes) with some torn basil leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for around 5 minutes, set aside (photos 1 & 2).
Tip: Making a simple tomato sauce with shallot, garlic and basil will give this spinach and ricotta cannelloni an extra punch of flavour and it’s so worth the extra 5 minute effort.
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Pin ItAdd some washed raw, fresh spinach to a large pan and wilt on a medium heat. Tip: Add a splash of water (around 1 tbsp) to stop the spinach from burning and to help wilt it all. Leave to cool and then squeeze out as much water as possible (photos 3 and 4).
To make the spinach and ricotta filling: add the ricotta, parmesan, chopped spinach, egg, nutmeg and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and mix everything together until creamy and thoroughly combined (photos 5 and 6).
To assemble the spinach and ricotta cannelloni: add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish. Transfer the spinach and ricotta filling to a piping bag or a disposable freezer bag with the corner cut off and pipe the filling into the cannelloni pasta tubes. Add each filled cannelloni tube in an even layer in the baking dish (photos 7-9).
Top the cannelloni with the remaining tomato sauce then top with torn mozzarella and grated parmesan. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes then uncovered for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
Recipe Tips
- Use a piping bag – although it’s not necessary, using a piping bag to pipe the spinach and ricotta filling into the cannelloni tubes makes things so much easier.
- No cannelloni tubes? If you don’t have cannelloni tubes you can blanch store-bough or homemade fresh lasagna sheets. Make sure to blanch them in boiling salted water for about 30-40 seconds before filling and rolling.
Cannelloni fillings and variations
- Pesto provolone cannelloni (vegetarian)
- Italian beef ragu (replace the tomato sauce with bechamel sauce)
- Lentil ragu (vegetarian): replace the tomato sauce with bechamel as above.
- Tuscan sausage ragu
- Ricotta mixed with grated smoked scamorza cheese (this would also be good with spinach)
If you’ve tried this easy cannelloni recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
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Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 shallot
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 1/2 cups (700g) passata/pureed tomatoes
- 1 small bunch basil
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
For the filling
- 12.3 oz (350g) ricotta cheese
- 8.8 oz (250g) raw fresh spinach
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp parmesan, grated
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper
To assemble
- 12 cannelloni pasta tubes
- 4.4 oz (125g) ball of mozzarella
- Extra grating of parmesan
Instructions
To make the sauce
- Finely chop the shallot and garlic and saute in a pan with a little olive oil for around 1-2 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the tomato passata (pureed tomatoes) with some torn basil leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for around 5 minutes, set aside.
To make the filling
- Add the washed raw, fresh spianch to a large pan and wilt on a medium heat. Add a splash of water (around 1 tbsp) to stop the spinach from burning and to help wilt it all. Leave to cool or rinse under cold water then squeeze out as much water as possible and finely chop.
- To make the spinach and ricotta filling, add the ricotta, parmesan, chopped spinach, egg, nutmeg and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and mix everything together until creamy and thoroughly combined.
To assemble
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4.
- To assemble the spinach and ricotta cannelloni, add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish. Transfer the spinach and ricotta filling to a piping bag or a disposable freezer bag with the corner cut off and pipe the filling into the cannelloni pasta tubes. Add each filled cannelloni tube in an even layer in the baking dish.
- Top the cannelloni with the remaining tomato sauce then top with torn mozzarella and grated parmesan. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes then uncovered for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
Notes
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this, so simple and delicious. I sometimes also sneak in there a layer of sliced figs in the summer.
Would chopped frozen spinach be good or would fresh spinach be better?
Yes, you can use chopped frozen spinach, it works just as well!
I was a bit nervous about making this for the first time but the recipe was so easy to follow that it felt straightforward and fuss free when assembling. The finished cannelloni was so tasty & moreish. Definitely will be a crowd pleaser the next time that I have friends over for dinner.
Hopefully this is not a dumb question- do you boil the canneloni noodles before filling them, or do they just cook in the oven?
No, I don’t pre-boil them as they cook in the sauce in the oven. Check your packet instructions just in case 🙂
Can I use “ready for the oven” cannelloni tubes??? If so, should I change anything in terms of sauce qty and time???
Yes, those will work, no need to change anything!
Made this for the first time a few weeks ago, it’s absolutely delicious. Making it again tonight
Love it, very easy to follow receipt thank you, even my daughter loved it and she’s a meaterian
So happy you enjoyed it!
Yumm! Really tasty and easy to follow. Only thing I’d change next time is I’d cook the pasta for 40 minutes, rather than 30 as it was slightly too al dente for my liking. Overall 5 star! Thank you 🙂
So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
The flavours of this dish are simply amazing. I would give 6 stars if I could. A minor point but something I will try differently in future is to sprinkle grated mozzarella on top rather than torn mozzarella. I found the torn mozzarella did not melt evenly and I had to bake longer to let the cheese melt properly.
So happy you enjoyed it and thank you so much for the lovely comment. That’s a great tip, you can definitely get an even coverage with grated mozzarella! Have a great weekend.
I enjoyed making this but as a very amateur cook the twenty minutes preparation is way off the mark. The list of ingredients doesn’t include an egg so that was a surprise. Anyway, it’s in now so the proof of the pudding as they say…..
Hi Errol, oops sorry about the egg I’ve added that into the ingredients list now. I totally understand it may take longer to prep also so I’ve adjusted the timing to 35 minutes which should be more manageable for everyone. Hope you enjoyed it!
This dish is sooo beautiful and I love how there are other fillings to try. I can have this all week every day!!!
I think I could too, soo yummy. Thanks Tiffany!