Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni Recipe (Ready in 115 Min)

A comforting Italian vegetarian built around chopped tomatoes, basil leaves and mascarpone — roughly 115 minutes start to finish, and rated involved to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 17 steps.

You'll mainly reach for oven and frying pan / skillet. At involved difficulty across 17 steps, it's worth setting aside proper time for. As written, it's meat-free.

How to make it

First make the tomato sauce.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min.
Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick.
Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below).
Set aside.
Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches).
When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water.
Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta.
Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes.
Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce.
Top with Parmesan and mozzarella.
You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze.
Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.

You'll use: Oven · Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Saucepan

Ingredient substitutions

Red Wine: beef stock + 1 tsp red wine vinegar · grape juice + vinegar
Mascarpone: cream cheese softened with a little cream
Milk: any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Parmesan: pecorino · grana padano · aged asiago

Tips & common questions

How long does Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni take to make?

About 115 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 17 steps and 15 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.

What can I use instead of red wine?

Try beef stock + 1 tsp red wine vinegar. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.

Is Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni vegetarian?

Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.