Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni
Cannelloni tubes piped full of a seasoned spinach and ricotta filling, baked in a generous homemade tomato sauce and finished with melted mozzarella and parmesan.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bay leaf, fresh (sub dried)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 800 g / 28 oz canned crushed tomato
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth, low sodium
- 1/3 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine (sub more stock)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- 2/3 cup basil leaves, roughly torn
- 250 g / 8 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 500 g / 1 lb ricotta, full fat
- 1/3 cup parmesan, finely shredded
- 1 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, colby, cheddar, tasty, gruyere, or swiss)
- 1 egg
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- grated fresh nutmeg, just a sprinkling (or 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder, optional)
- 3/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 18-22 dried cannelloni tubes (250 g pack), or 14 manicotti tubes (8.8 oz)
- 1/3 cup parmesan, finely shredded
- 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella
- more basil and parmesan, for garnish (optional)
- Warm the olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat, then add the garlic, onion, bay leaf, thyme, and oregano. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns soft and translucent, then stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute to deepen its flavor before moving on.
- Pour in the wine, bump the heat up to high, and let it bubble rapidly for about 2 minutes until it's mostly evaporated. This quick reduction cooks off the raw alcohol taste while leaving behind the wine's flavor to build the base of the sauce.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, stock, sugar, salt, and pepper, then bring everything to a simmer over medium-low heat and let it cook gently for 20 minutes. This gives the sauce time to concentrate and the flavors to meld into something rounder and more savory than the sum of its parts.
- Remove the bay leaf, then blend the sauce with a stick blender directly in the pot until it's completely smooth. Let it simmer for one more minute, then take it off the heat.
- Stir the torn basil into the finished sauce and cover the pot to keep everything warm while you move on to the filling.
- Place the thawed spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid with the back of a spoon — it doesn't need to be bone dry, just enough that it won't turn the filling watery.
- Transfer the spinach to a bowl with the ricotta, parmesan, shredded cheese, egg, minced garlic, nutmeg if using, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together until evenly combined, then taste and adjust the salt and pepper, since different cheeses bring different levels of saltiness to the mix.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C, or 160°C fan), and choose a baking dish roomy enough to comfortably fit all the cannelloni in a single layer — about 20 tubes worth of space works well.
- Spread about 1 cup of the sauce over the base of the dish; this thin layer keeps the cannelloni from sliding around once you add them. Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle (a sturdy ziplock bag with the corner snipped off works too) and pipe it directly into each dried tube.
- Arrange the filled cannelloni in the prepared dish, then pour the remaining sauce over the top, making sure every tube is fully covered — this is what allows the dried pasta to cook through as it bakes.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes so the pasta can soften and absorb the sauce around it.
- Remove the foil, scatter the parmesan and then the mozzarella evenly over the top, and return the dish to the oven uncovered for another 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and lightly golden.
- Let the cannelloni rest for a few minutes before serving, garnished with extra basil and parmesan if you like.
Chef's Note: The trick to this dish is the sheer volume of sauce — since the dried cannelloni tubes go into the oven without being pre-boiled, they rely entirely on the surrounding sauce for moisture and cook time. That's also why blending the sauce smooth matters more here than in a typical pasta bake: an ultra-smooth sauce flows into every gap around the tubes far more evenly than a chunky one would.
This recipe freezes beautifully, which makes it a great make-ahead option for busy weeks. Assemble the cannelloni unbaked, cover with sauce and cheese, then freeze; bake straight from frozen covered for about 35 minutes, then uncovered for another 10, or thaw first and bake as written. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to three days and reheat nicely, covered, in the microwave.
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