Craving a comforting, Italian-inspired dish without spending hours in the kitchen? These Spinach and Ricotta Rolls are surprisingly simple to make, bursting with flavor and perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Get ready to ditch the takeout menu and impress yourself with this easy-to-follow recipe.
Ingredients Spotlight
Let's explore into what makes these Spinach and Ricotta Rolls so yummy—the ingredients! For the cannelloni sauce, you're gonna need olive oil, two cloves of minced garlic, and half an onion—finely chopped, please! I like tossing in finely chopped carrot and celery. Trust me, it adds a little somethin' somethin'. Grab an 800g can of crushed tomatoes, two cups of chicken broth, and spices—oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and a pinch of chili flakes if you're feeling brave. The sauce for these rolls is quite similar to a classic tomato sauce often paired with cannelloni.
Now, for the spinach beef filling—more olive oil, garlic, and onion. Half a kilo of lean beef mince comes next, along with thawed spinach (don't forget to squeeze excess water out!). A crumbled beef bouillon cube, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce will bring it all together. Finally, you gotta have your cannelloni tubes and mozzarella cheese!
Preparation Instructions
Okay, now let's get our hands dirty! First, I'm gonna direct you to grab a big saucepan—we're about to make a killer cannelloni sauce. Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. You're gonna wanna toss in some minced garlic and chopped onions; cook 'em for about two minutes. Throw in finely chopped carrots and celery and cook five more minutes, until they're nicely softened.
Next, it's beef time! Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Add that garlic and onion again, cooking for two minutes! Now, add your beef mince and cook it, breaking it up as you go, till it's brown—I'm talking no pink! Finally, stir in your spinach, crumbled beef cube, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. To mimic the baked rotolo, we're creating robust flavor layers. Add one cup of that awesome Cannelloni Sauce! Cook for two minutes—flavor explosion!
Assembly Guidelines
Now comes the fun part – assembling these flavor-packed rolls! I like to transfer the beef filling into a piping bag – trust me, it's way easier! Wide nozzle is key. Stand the cannelloni tubes upright in a container, then pipe that yummy filling right in. Don't have a piping bag? No sweat! You can totally use a teaspoon, your finger, or even a dinner knife.
Next, grab your baking dish – a 9×13" one is perfect. Spread about 1 1/4 cups of the sauce on the bottom. We don't want those rolls sticking! Lay the filled cannelloni on top, nice and snug. Now, pour the remaining sauce all over them, making sure they're nicely coated!
Finally, sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese. Don't be shy! Loosely cover the dish with foil. We're almost there; time to bake!
Baking Summary
Time to get baking – this is where the magic happens! We're gonna preheat that oven to 180°C/350°F, so it's nice and toasty for our spinach beef cannelloni!
Spread about 1 1/4 cups of sauce in your 23x33cm dish, lay the filled cannelloni on top, and then drown those babies with the remaining sauce – they're thirsty, trust me on that!
Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella – like, make it rain cheese–then loosely tent it with foil. Into the oven it goes for 25 minutes. After that, remove the foil – let the cheese turn brown and get bubbly!
Finally, slide them back in for 10 more minutes, until the cheese has gorgeous golden spots! Once it is done, pull 'em out, sprinkle with parsley if you're feeling fancy, and voila – dinner is served, enjoy!
Short Recipe Version
Spinach and Ricotta Rolls
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt, and pepper.
- Spread a thin layer of ricotta mixture onto each lasagna noodle.
- Roll up each noodle and place seam-down in a baking dish.
- Pour marinara sauce over the rolls.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Nutrition Information (per serving, approximate):
- Calories: 350-400
- Protein: 25-30g
- Fat: 15-20g
- Carbohydrates: 30-35g