Naples cooks stuffed pasta tubes by hand before 1900 because boxed cannelloni shells didn't exist until industrial extrusion arrived decades later.
Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni
Dive into the heart of Italy with our Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni! These delightful pasta tubes are generously filled with a creamy blend of fresh spinach and rich ricotta, then smothered in a luscious tomato-cream sauce that’s simply irresistible. Perfect for a cozy dinner, this dish combines vibrant flavors and comforting textures that will have everyone coming back for seconds!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
The Story
Cannelloni itself is a 20th-century Italian trick—Naples cooks in the 1930s rolled flat pasta sheets into tubes because factory-made dried shells hadn't caught on yet, while the ricotta-spinach filling echoes Liguria's older torta pasqualina tradition, proving this Tuscan-Ligurian mashup was stuffing greens into dough long before Popeye made spinach fashionable anywhere else in the Western world.
Regional Twist
In Emilia-Romagna's Parma province, cooks ditch the liquid cream entirely and use a proper béchamel instead, while doubling the parmesan to reflect the region's obsession with its namesake cheese, giving the cannelloni a denser, richer bite than this lighter version.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 500g of chopped spinach (frozen) (17.6 oz)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 400ml of liquid cream (13.5 fl oz)
- 150g of parmesan (5.29 oz)
- 250g of ricotta (8.82 oz)
🫙Pantry Staples(1)
- 600g of basil tomato sauce (21.2 oz)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- Salt, pepper
📦Other(1)
- 250g of cannelloni (8.82 oz)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
888
Protein
34g
Carbs
65g
Fat
56g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
- 2
In a baking dish, pour half of the cream at the bottom of the dish.
- 3
Thaw the spinach in the microwave or on the stove, drain, then mix with the ricotta, salt, and pepper.
- 4
Put the spinach-ricotta mixture in a freezer bag, cut one of the corners to create a piping bag.
- 5
Place the cannelloni upright in the dish and fill them with the spinach-ricotta mixture using the freezer bag.
- 6
Lay the cannelloni in the dish, add the remaining cream and the tomato sauce on top.
- 7
Ensure all the pasta is covered with liquid. Add the parmesan.
- 8
Bake for 30 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Squeeze thawed spinach until it releases 90% of its moisture (test by wringing in cheesecloth—it should feel almost brittle), because excess water dilutes ricotta and prevents proper emulsification with cream, resulting in a watery, separated sauce.technique90% moisture removal
- ✓Mix ricotta with spinach at a 1:2 ratio by weight (125g ricotta per 250g spinach) because ricotta's 80% moisture content needs spinach's fiber structure to maintain filling density; too much ricotta causes it to leak during baking.ingredient1:2 ricotta-to-spinach ratio
- ✓Soak dried cannelloni tubes in 65°C water for 8 minutes before filling because partially hydrated pasta absorbs liquid more evenly during the 30-minute bake, preventing hard cores while avoiding mushiness; pre-boiling causes overhydration.timing65°C water, 8 minutes
- ✓Use a 1:1 cream-to-tomato sauce ratio by volume (200ml cream + 200ml sauce layered) because tomato acidity (pH 3.8-4.0) curdles cream above 40°C; equal ratios buffer pH to ~4.5, preventing separation during the 190°C bake.ingredient1:1 cream-to-sauce ratio, pH buffering
- ✓Increase oven temperature to 210°C for the final 8 minutes and cover with foil until then, because browning parmesan requires surface temps above 155°C; covering traps steam (prevents drying) while final uncovered time creates 2-3mm golden crust without overcooking the filling.timing210°C final 8 minutes, foil until then
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Naples cooks stuffed pasta tubes by hand before 1900 because boxed cannelloni shells didn't exist until industrial extrusion arrived decades later.
Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni
Dive into the heart of Italy with our Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni! These delightful pasta tubes are generously filled with a creamy blend of fresh spinach and rich ricotta, then smothered in a luscious tomato-cream sauce that’s simply irresistible. Perfect for a cozy dinner, this dish combines vibrant flavors and comforting textures that will have everyone coming back for seconds!
The Story
Cannelloni itself is a 20th-century Italian trick—Naples cooks in the 1930s rolled flat pasta sheets into tubes because factory-made dried shells hadn't caught on yet, while the ricotta-spinach filling echoes Liguria's older torta pasqualina tradition, proving this Tuscan-Ligurian mashup was stuffing greens into dough long before Popeye made spinach fashionable anywhere else in the Western world.
Regional Twist
In Emilia-Romagna's Parma province, cooks ditch the liquid cream entirely and use a proper béchamel instead, while doubling the parmesan to reflect the region's obsession with its namesake cheese, giving the cannelloni a denser, richer bite than this lighter version.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 500g of chopped spinach (frozen) (17.6 oz)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 400ml of liquid cream (13.5 fl oz)
- 150g of parmesan (5.29 oz)
- 250g of ricotta (8.82 oz)
🫙Pantry Staples(1)
- 600g of basil tomato sauce (21.2 oz)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- Salt, pepper
📦Other(1)
- 250g of cannelloni (8.82 oz)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
888
Protein
34g
Carbs
65g
Fat
56g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
- 2
In a baking dish, pour half of the cream at the bottom of the dish.
- 3
Thaw the spinach in the microwave or on the stove, drain, then mix with the ricotta, salt, and pepper.
- 4
Put the spinach-ricotta mixture in a freezer bag, cut one of the corners to create a piping bag.
- 5
Place the cannelloni upright in the dish and fill them with the spinach-ricotta mixture using the freezer bag.
- 6
Lay the cannelloni in the dish, add the remaining cream and the tomato sauce on top.
- 7
Ensure all the pasta is covered with liquid. Add the parmesan.
- 8
Bake for 30 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Squeeze thawed spinach until it releases 90% of its moisture (test by wringing in cheesecloth—it should feel almost brittle), because excess water dilutes ricotta and prevents proper emulsification with cream, resulting in a watery, separated sauce.technique90% moisture removal
- ✓Mix ricotta with spinach at a 1:2 ratio by weight (125g ricotta per 250g spinach) because ricotta's 80% moisture content needs spinach's fiber structure to maintain filling density; too much ricotta causes it to leak during baking.ingredient1:2 ricotta-to-spinach ratio
- ✓Soak dried cannelloni tubes in 65°C water for 8 minutes before filling because partially hydrated pasta absorbs liquid more evenly during the 30-minute bake, preventing hard cores while avoiding mushiness; pre-boiling causes overhydration.timing65°C water, 8 minutes
- ✓Use a 1:1 cream-to-tomato sauce ratio by volume (200ml cream + 200ml sauce layered) because tomato acidity (pH 3.8-4.0) curdles cream above 40°C; equal ratios buffer pH to ~4.5, preventing separation during the 190°C bake.ingredient1:1 cream-to-sauce ratio, pH buffering
- ✓Increase oven temperature to 210°C for the final 8 minutes and cover with foil until then, because browning parmesan requires surface temps above 155°C; covering traps steam (prevents drying) while final uncovered time creates 2-3mm golden crust without overcooking the filling.timing210°C final 8 minutes, foil until then