When I first moved out of home, this spinach and ricotta cannelloni was a staple! It's easy to make, budget friendly and it makes a large batch that can be frozen. I haven't made it in about 5 years, but I thought I would give it a go tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised by just how quick and easy it was to make this family friendly meal.
What I love about cannelloni is you can add just about anything to the filling! It's a great way to use up leftovers like bacon, vegetables and sauces. You can also make it ahead of time and freeze it cooked (hello freezer friendly), so you just have to heat it up.
Ingredients
- cannelloni pasta
- baby spinach ( you can use frozen spinach too, but I couldn't find it in stock anywhere)
- ricotta
- pasta sauce
- grated cheese
- eggs
- minced garlic or fresh garlic
- garlic powder
- onion powder
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Combine ricotta, garlic, onion and garlic powder in a large bowl.
Add eggs, grated cheese, salt and pepper.
Add the bag of fresh baby spinach (you can chop this first to make it easier to fill the cannelloni tubes) and mix well.
Fill the cannelloni tubes with the filling one by one. You can use a zip lock bag with the corner cut or just use your hands to push it in.
Add a layer of pasta sauce to the bottom of the baking dish and lay out each cannelloni.
Top with remaining pasta sauce and cheese. Cover in foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and place it back in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes for the cheese to brown.
Hint: When filling the cannelloni pasta, you can use a zip lock bag with the corner cut off to use as a piping bag or simply use your hands to push the filling in. You can also roughly chop the baby spinach first to make it easier to fill the cannelloni tubes.
Looking for more pasta recipes?
Storage
This spinach and ricotta cannelloni can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days or cooked in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Ingredients
- 1 box cannelloni pasta
- 375 grams ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 120 grams fresh spinach
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 ½ cups grated cheese reserve the ½ cup for the top of the dish
- 700 grams pasta sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 °c
- Mix together ricotta, eggs, garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, baby spinach, salt, pepper and 1 cup of the grated cheese (reserve the rest of the grated cheese for the top).
- Place a layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of the baking tray.
- Fill each cannelloni tube with your filling and lay the tubes out in the baking dish. Keep doing this until you run out of filling.
- Add the rest of the pasta sauce to the top of the cannelloni and top with the remaining grated cheese.
- Cover in foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and place it back in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes for the cheese to brown.
- Serve with a side salad and garlic bread.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is computer generated and is only an estimate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Erin
What sort of pasta souce should I use please
ohsobusymum
any will work.
Maria
Thanks for the recipe prompt , been a while for me too , it’s easy & yum I add shredded ham …. Love it
Jessica
Just wondering which type of grated cheese did you use? So excited to try this recipe!
Sarah
This recipe is fantastic! We’ve had it twice in a week - the second time I made it like a layered lasagne though as I didn’t have the time to fiddle with cannelloni tubes! Now I’m just hoping there’s leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow.
Marianna Tolhurst
I love this dish. I have made it twice and both my husband eat it over two days😍
Keep up the good work! Tastes amazing and so simple and reasonably priced!