Man, I love me a kitchen shortcut! This spinach and ricotta cannelloni is one of my favourite cheats although I cannot remember where I got the idea. I’ve never stuffed cannelloni, I’ve never piped anything – instead, I roll the filling in fresh lasagna sheets and tip the sauce all over the top. Tastes the same for half the effort!
Now if you want to make fresh lasagna sheets yourself, go right ahead. I may do the same one day. But for now, I’m all about the refrigerated ones at the shops.
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The cheat’s way to make spinach and ricotta cannelloni – the same taste for half the effort!
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Ingredients
- 500g fresh baby spinach, or one packet of frozen
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 1 bunch basil
- 300g ricotta
- 1 cup grated cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
- A smidgen of lemon zest
- One packet of fresh lasagne sheets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- One onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 400g can tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon of sugar… don’t forget this! very important.
- Extra cheese for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- In a saucepan, saute the chopped onion and garlic gently in the olive oil and butter until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, sugar, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
- Bring to the boil and then simmer until flavours mingle.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the spinach, ricotta, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and the lemon zest.
- Take the lasagne sheets and spoon a line of filling along the shortest edge.
- Roll the lasagne sheet up and place in a large oven-proof dish, seam-side down.
- Continue with the rest of the lasagne sheets and filling.
- When the tomato sauce is done, pour it over the rolled-up lasagne
- Top with extra cheese and bake in the oven 20-30 minutes until the lasagne is cooked through, the filling is hot, and the sauce is golden and bubbling.
Keywords: spinach and ricotta cannelloni, cannelloni with lasagne sheets, cheat's cannelloni, easy cannelloni
A nice, simple mid-week, no-fuss dinner. I love ’em.
Kelly says
August 26, 2013 at 9:37 amYum! I love a good cannelloni but haven’t made it in a while. I usually add a pinch of nutmeg as well, goes so well with ricotta. And I do pipe filling into the dry cannelloni tubes – using a plastic sandwich bag with the corner cut off, so the cleanup is easy, straight to the bin 😉
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:22 amI have no dexterity whatsoever, I’d have that stuff squirting everywhere BUT the cannelloni haha! I should try it one day though 🙂
Liz @ I Spy Plum Pie says
August 26, 2013 at 11:34 amLove the no-fuss approach, right up my alley for mid-week meals! Can’t go wrong with spinach and ricotta either!
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:21 amI rarely fuss these days, I must be getting old 🙂
Lisa Mckenzie says
August 26, 2013 at 12:34 pmYum I have never made cannelloni but I might give it a try since my Dad gave me lots of spinach on the weekend ,Thanks Stacey x
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:21 amspinach is excellent with cheese 🙂
Lizzy Allan says
August 26, 2013 at 4:16 pmlove ricotta, love spinach and especially love short cuts … awesome recipe Stacey 🙂
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:21 amhaha I’m kicking all the goals this week!
MotherDownUnder says
August 26, 2013 at 8:10 pmI love ricotta!
And speaking of shortcuts, I did that Martha Stewart pasta and sauce all cooked together in one pot thing last week…it worked and was quite tasty!
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:21 amFor real? I’m too scared to try that! So doing it now.
ClaireyHewitt says
August 26, 2013 at 11:22 pmGenius. Never thought to do the sheet roll.
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:20 amBorn of extreme laziness 🙂
Stacy says
August 27, 2013 at 3:46 amOh how I love ricotta – on stuff, in stuff, and just right off the spoon. YUMMORAMA. Thanks for hosting! 🙂
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:20 amOoh I’ve never done that!
Kelley @ magnetoboldtoo says
August 27, 2013 at 4:44 pmalmost the same as my recipe (will try with parsley) and so very glad you didn’t put nutmeg in it. Nutmeg has no place in cannelloni. x
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:20 amTBH nutmeg doesn’t really have a place anywhere. Sometimes I’m like “is that… do I…. that’s sort of… not bad” but I don’t use it very often! I don’t know if the parsley does anything really, but I do have a shitload of it and surely there must be some underlying flavour boost there somewhere. I think.
GourmetGetaway says
August 27, 2013 at 6:57 pmThanks for letting me join your meatless Monday link up, I hope you like my recipe 🙂
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:19 amThank YOU for sharing! I bet I will 🙂
Lisa @ Greek Vegetarian says
August 29, 2013 at 8:04 amHello from Greece! Not trying to rub it in or anything but the ricotta here is amazing. Made locally on the island where we’re staying (Limnos) and so fresh and creamy. I think a Limnian cannelloni might be on the cards for our next family lunch 🙂
Veggie Mama says
August 29, 2013 at 11:18 amI’m not crying, there’s something in my eye….