Cannelloni Filled with Ricotta and Spinach is much easier to make than it seems. They will be a hit at the dinner table.
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I like my pasta dishes simple. A few ingredients, some olive oil, toss, serve. If you asked me how to make cannelloni without much complication, This stuffed cannelloni with spinach and ricotta is just the recipe I’d offer. It’s so easy to make, so filling, so rich that I wonder why I just don’t make it more often.
Mother’s Day is coming (in the Dominican Republic it’s the last Sunday of May), so if you are looking for a dish to serve your mami without straining yourself, this is it. You’ll make your mamá proud.
What goes with cannelloni?
Salad, any leafy salad would do, but especially arugula salad. My favorite would be a mixture of arugula, tomato, olives and tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper.
About this cannelloni recipe
If you haven’t, check my favorite lasagna recipe. You’ll notice that I bake the dish without previously boiling the lasagna leaves, and I explain why. This dish follows the same method. This stuffed pasta cannelloni will cook with the liquids from the ricotta cheese and spinach stuffing and the tomato sauce. It’s also much easier to stuff the raw pasta tubes, and you don’t have to deal with noodles that break and stick. The grated parmesan gives it a sharp flavor that contrasts very well with the mild ricotta.
So surprise mom (or your kids) with this dish that looks so hard to make but it’s actually really easy. This is also great to bring to potlucks and fiestas de traje.
Buen provecho!
Cannelloni Filled with Ricotta and Spinach Recipe
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 large white onion , diced
- 3 cloves of garlic , crushed
- 5 lb [2.3 kg] of very ripe tomatoes , peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup of basil , chopped
- 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt , or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper , or more to taste
To make the cannelloni
- 4 cups of fat-free ricotta
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 cup of basil , chopped
- 3 cups of chopped baby spinach
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 18 cannelloni
- 1/2 cup of shaved Parmesan or Pecorino
- 1 teaspoons of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
Instructions
How to make the tomato sauce for the cannelloni
- Heat the oil over low heat.
- Add the onion and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the tomatoes. Cover and simmer over very low heat until the tomatoes are cooked through (around 30 mins).
- Add the basil and season with oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
How to make stuffed cannelloni
- Heat oven to 350 ºF [175 ºC].
- Mix ricotta, garlic powder, basil and spinach in a deep bowl.
- Add the oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the mix into a plastic bag and cut a corner.
- Using the bag as a pastry bag, fill the uncooked cannelloni with the ricotta and place on a baking pan.
- Cover with the tomato sauce.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until cannelloni are cooked through.
- Remove from the oven.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan or Pecorino, serve with salad.
I made this for the first time and it was an éxito!!!!
Can I use a garlic and onion Basil spaghetti sauce??
You can try it, it’ll probably work, but I haven’t tested that substitution.