Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is one of my forever recipes — the kind that feels both celebratory and deeply comforting, all at once. I love making it on a Saturday, with a glass of something nice on the go, the kitchen filling with that incredible smell, and absolutely no rush about the afternoon.
I have been making a version of this for years. It lives in that very special category of recipes that I return to again and again — dishes that are beloved by nearly everyone, that can be made ahead, and that never, ever let you down at the table.
This version, though? I want you to know that I have made it the most delicious it can possibly be.
The filling is, of course, everything. Good ricotta, properly drained. Spinach that has been squeezed within an inch of its life — this is genuinely the most important step in the whole recipe. If your spinach still holds moisture when it goes into the bowl, your filling will be watery and won’t hold its shape. Wrap it in a clean tea towel and wring it out properly — really put your back into it, then go again. It feels like overkill, but it’s the difference between a filling that’s rich and one that’s watery, and it’s worth every bit of effort.
From there, the filling gets fresh garlic, finely grated parmesan, a little lemon zest (this is my non-negotiable — it lifts everything), freshly grated nutmeg, and an egg to bind it all together. Taste it before you roll a single cannelloni. It should be well-seasoned and genuinely delicious on its own.
And then there is the tomato sauce. A lacklustre sauce will undo all your hard work, so we are not cutting corners here. We start by gently cooking sliced garlic in good olive oil until it is just turning golden — fragrant, sweet, and full of flavour.
In go the tomatoes (please use a good quality tin here — it makes such a difference), along with a pinch of chilli flakes, salt, and a little sugar if your tomatoes need balancing. We let this simmer gently for a full twenty minutes, uncovered, until it deepens and thickens and smells like something that has been bubbling away on an Italian grandmother’s stove. Fresh basil goes in at the end. This sauce will carry the whole dish.
If you are rolling your own fresh pasta sheets, you do not need to pre-cook them. This is one of the beautiful things about using homemade pasta — it is pliable, silky, and rolls around the filling with ease. The sauce provides all the moisture the pasta needs to cook perfectly in the oven. If you would love to learn to make fresh pasta from scratch — and I truly believe it is one of the most joyful and satisfying things you can learn to do in the kitchen — I would love for you to join me in my Online Fresh Pasta Making Class. It is a recorded class you can come back to as many times as you like, at your own pace, in your own kitchen.
I find rolling cannelloni such a lovely, calming part of this whole process — hands in the dough, no rush, just you, the filling, and the sheets. Lay each sheet flat, line a generous amount of filling along one edge, and roll it firmly. Place them snug and seam-side down in your baking dish. Cover them well with your beautiful sauce — every bit of exposed pasta will dry out in the oven if left uncovered, so be generous. Then comes the mozzarella and more parmesan over the top.
It goes into a 180°C fan-forced oven, covered in foil for the first 25 minutes, then uncovered for a final 15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling and your kitchen smells absolutely magnificent.
Allow it to rest for 5–10 minutes before you serve it. I know it is hard to wait. Please wait. It holds together so much better and the flavours have a moment to settle.
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is genuinely one of the best make-ahead dishes I know. Assemble it completely, cover and refrigerate for up to a day ahead. When you are ready to bake, allow an extra 10 minutes on the covered baking time. Leftovers the next day are — and I say this with full conviction — even better.
This is a recipe I hope makes it into your regular rotation. It is the kind of dish that gathers people around the table, that earns you the best kind of compliments, and that quietly proves that the most delicious food is so often the most generous, most careful, most lovingly made.
I hope you love it.
Nellie x
Want to take your pasta skills further? My Online Fresh Pasta Making Class walks you through everything — from the dough to the rolling and beyond. It is a class you will come back to again and again.
If you make this spinach and ricotta cannelloni, I would absolutely love to hear how it goes. Leave a comment below or come and find me over on Instagram — there is nothing I love more than seeing your beautiful food!
Since 2009, I’ve been bringing people together around real food, recipes made to cook, share, and enjoy.
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