A delicious dinner containing ZILCH meat – spinach ricotta cannelloni might look fiddly, but I assure you filling those cannelloni shells is easy peasy!
Are you trying to eat less meat for your health? Or perhaps trying to save a little on the grocery bill? Meat-free meals are brilliant for kicking both of those goals.
Spinach ricotta cannelloni has been a long-time favourite vegetarian dinner in our home and I hope it will become one in yours too! It’s an AWESOME veggie smuggler – my kids have NO idea they’re eating bags of spinach when it’s laced with my favourite Woolworths creamy ricotta cheese.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”Spinach ricotta cannelloni recipe”]
Ingredients
- 1 box instant cannelloni shells
- 500g ricotta cheese
- 250g frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid (give it a really good squeeze!)
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 500g jar of your favourite pasta sauce (700g if you like your pasta saucy)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (extra to top)
- To serve: parmesan cheese, fresh parsley or basil
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, the drained spinach, garlic, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to incorporate and break up the spinach.
2. Spread a little pasta sauce on the bottom of a baking dish to prevent pasta from sticking. Set aside. Using a large piping bag or zip lock bag, half fill it with the spinach mixture.
3. Snip the corner off and fill the cannelloni tubes. Lay them flat next to each other in the dish.
4. Once all cannelloni tubes are filled, spread the rest of the pasta sauce over the top of the shells, making sure they’re all covered.
5. Top the sauce covered shells with parmesan cheese and bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
6. Let the spinach ricotta cannelloni stand for 5 minutes before serving. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh basil or parsley.
This meat-free dish of spinach ricotta cannelloni is an absolute delight with a side salad and garlic bread. And if you ask my kids, it’s even better the following day if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers! Just look at these tubes. YUM!
