Craving Italian food? Then try this rich and creamy Cannelloni!
Baked pasta dishes are just so comforting and nourishing. Italian cuisine is chock-full of them: from lasagna to baked ziti to cannelloni, there is no shortage of recipes to try if you’re craving a big pan of delicious comfort food! Cannelloni, not to be confused with the Italian dessert cannoli, is a great example of baked pasta that sometimes gets overlooked. But it’s worth a shot if you’ve never tried making it at home. Italian cooks have been making it for centuries, and some say it was originally a dish served in taverns and inns where travelers needed a hearty, filling meal.
A basic definition of cannelloni is pasta tubes stuffed with a cheese mixture and covered with red sauce and white bechamel sauce. However, did you know that the famous opera composer, Rossini, loved this dish so much that there is a version named in his honor? Cannelloni Rossini varies in that the pasta tubes are stuffed with a mixture of crumbled sausage, onions, marsala wine and tomato. Decadent! But then again, a composer who wrote The Barber of Seville or the exciting William Tell (google the overture: you definitely know it!) would like nothing less than a rich, sumptuous dish like that.
This traditional cannelloni is simpler but no less tasty. The pasta tubes are filled with a mixture of spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. It makes for a filling main that is not heavy. If you’re looking for a meat-free baked pasta, this is a great option! Additionally, like many other baked pasta dishes, cannelloni is a great make-ahead option, and leftovers taste amazing.
In the ingredients below, you need both a marinara sauce and a bechamel sauce. Unlike the more common marinara sauce, bechamel sauce is not typically sold premade in bottles. If you don’t have a recipe for bechamel sauce, try making the one used in Homemade White Sauce Lasagna. You can definitely make it ahead to have on hand for recipes like this one.
What’s the Difference between Manicotti & Cannelloni?
It depends where you are. Here in the U.S., not much. Most pasta manufacturers label any large, dry pasta tubes “Manicotti.” You may have trouble finding dry pasta tubes labeled “Cannelloni.” Technically, manicotti is a ridged pasta, and cannelloni is smooth. In Italy, cooks parboil the manicotti and then fill them. For cannelloni, they make rectangles of fresh pasta, fill them, and then roll them up. Here in the States, for this recipe, you can use any type of large, tubular pasta you can find, whichever way it’s labeled.
Ingredients
- 12 dry cannelloni tubes
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup bechamel sauce
- Extra mozzarella and Parmesan for topping
How to Make Cannelloni
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 2: In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix until well blended.
Step 3: Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook cannelloni tubes for 2-3 minutes, then drain and let cool slightly.
Step 4: Stuff each cannelloni tube with the cheese and spinach mixture using a teaspoon or a piping bag.
Step 5: Spread half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
Step 6: Arrange the filled cannelloni in a single layer over the sauce.
Step 7: Cover the cannelloni with the remaining marinara sauce and then drizzle the bechamel sauce on top.
Step 8: Sprinkle additional mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the sauces.
Step 9: Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly.
Step 10: Let the cannelloni rest for 5 minutes before serving.
FAQs & Tips
How to Make Ahead and Store?
To prep in advance, assemble the cannelloni through Step 8, cover it tightly, and you can refrigerate the unbaked dish for up to 48 hours before baking. If you want to bake it then store in the fridge, just let it cool, and store covered for up to 3 days. When you want to serve it, splash with a little water and reheat by portions in the microwave. Alternatively, you can freeze the unbaked cannelloni. Simply cover tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, thaw overnight. You may need to place the dish on the counter for an hour or so to let it thaw completely. Bake as directed once it’s thawed. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Squeeze that Spinach!
In order to get all of the moisture out of the frozen spinach, you need a clean dishtowel. Put the thawed spinach in the dishtowel and hold it over your sink. After wrapping the dish towel around the spinach, squeeze the water out in a wringing motion. You may be surprised at how much water you can get out after repositioning the spinach a few times! Doing so will help your filling maintain the right texture.
Help! My Cannelloni Tube Ripped.
Piping the filling into the pasta tubes is the trickiest part of this recipe. If at all possible, pipe it vs. using a spatula. As pictured above, standing the tube upright helps – you can even place it in a cylindrical drinking glass to stabilize while you pipe in the filling. If you do get a rip, just stop filling from that particular end and try to insert filling in the other end as gingerly as possible. In general, let the tubes cool after cooking and gently pat them dry so they’re not so slippery to handle. This tip will help with the filling process as well.
Serving Suggestions
A big dish of baked cannelloni, a steaming hot loaf of garlic bread, and a green salad make for a perfectly lovely meal. However, if you want a more substantial side dish, consider Easy Sautéed Broccoli or Kale Caesar Salad with Parmesan Crisp Croutons. And don’t forget dessert! Top off your Italian feast with the make-ahead Tiramisu Cake or something light like Easy Lemon Bars. The lemon is a refreshing, zesty way to end your meal.
Cannelloni
Ingredients
- 12 dry cannelloni tubes
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 10 oz frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup bechamel sauce
- Extra mozzarella and Parmesan for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix until well blended.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook cannelloni tubes for 2-3 minutes, then drain and let cool slightly.
- Stuff each cannelloni tube with the cheese and spinach mixture using a teaspoon or a piping bag.
- Spread half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Arrange the filled cannelloni in a single layer over the sauce.
- Cover the cannelloni with the remaining marinara sauce and then drizzle the bechamel sauce on top.
- Sprinkle additional mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the sauces.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly.
- Let the cannelloni rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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