Italian Sausage, Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

When I entertain, depending on the number of guests coming over, I might simplify my menu by serving a casserole. It’s convenient, most of the time can be made ahead, perfect for feeding a large group, often budget-friendly, it requires minimal cleanup 🧼, plus it’s a crowd-pleasing comfort food.
 
I have over a couple dozen casserole recipes on the website 💻. Although there are delicious ones to choose from like Lancashire Hotpot, Chicken Vesuvio,Cod au Gratin, Mediterranean Eggplant Casserole, I often go with a pasta dish.
 
One that I enjoy serving often is my Italian Sausage, Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni! Visually gorgeous 😍, this tasty pasta dish is very easy to make. It has a delicious combination of creamy texture and savory flavor with a rich, tangy background from the Bolognese sauce.
 
As the title suggests, I have spinach and Italian sausage in it. I start by wilting my spinach first, and then when this step is done and the leaves are cool enough to handle, I remove the moisture by squeezing them 🍃 before chopping into small pieces.
 
From here, I move on to the pork 🐖. I use hot Italian sausage and I highly suggest not using the mild one. The mixture is pretty cheesy and there’s also a creamy Alfredo sauce in this recipe, therefore, it needs another “strong” flavor otherwise, the dish will be flat.
 
After cooking the meat and seasoning 🥫 with my Italian blend, I drain the excess fat and let it cool off a little before adding it to my cheese mixture, which is a gorgeous blend of ricotta, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese.
 
When the filling is done, it’s time to fill up the cannelloni…
I mention in the video that I bought a box of this pasta that says “oven ready” on the package. Normally, I soak the tubes in hot water 💦 before stuffing them but I didn’t have to this time. If yours are not “oven ready” like mine, I suggest watching how I do the soaking method when I stuff my manicotti… Meat Manicotti.
 
Stuffing these little guys is pretty easy. The cheese mixture is spooned into a piping bag (a regular Ziplock plastic bag is fine too), then squeezed tight to remove any air bubbles, which is very important to do, and cut off 🔪 the tip, slightly smaller than the tubes.
 
One of my girlfriends 👩‍🦱 gave me a very cool trick… Place the cannelloni upright in a measuring cup or another container tall enough, and simply stuff them. It makes this task go much faster when making this Italian Sausage, Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni recipe.
 
When stuffed, they’re placed in a lightly greased 9 ½ x 9 ½-inch baking dish with the bottom thinly covered 🥄 with Bolognese sauce, which will prevent the pasta from sticking. The size of this baking dish will hold 18 cannelloni.
 
When I don’t serve this for guests and it’s just casual, I don’t use this baking dish. Instead, I use a 9×13-inch which will hold 20 to 22 cannelloni. This is how many stuffed cannelloni it makes. Of course, as a food blogger, I use the square one for a beautiful presentation when I film and take pictures 📸!
 
If you stick to the picture-perfect looking dish and want that outstanding visual effect, both Alfredo and Bolognese are spooned onto each half of the cannelloni, trying to make the separation as flawless as possible. As if there weren’t enough cheese 🧀, more Parmesan is sprinkled on top.
 
I’m okay with Alfredo sauce but I find it very rich on its own. What I did years ago was to split the sauce between Alfredo and Bolognese. It creates a rich, creamy mixture blended with a savory and robust flavor from the tomato 🍅. It gives the sauce a luxurious, balanced profile.
 
The dish is covered with foil and baked for 45 minutes ⏰. By covering it, it keeps the pasta moist and prevents it from drying out. Another important factor is to make sure that all the tubes are entirely covered with sauce.
 
When time is up, the dish is uncovered and baked for an additional 5 minutes ⏳ or until the sauces are bubbly and the pasta is cooked. To find out if the cannelloni are ready, use a pointy knife to gently pierce the tubes. If it goes in easily, they’re done!
 
It’s important to allow the dish to rest for 10 minutes before adding the chopped parsley in a couple straight lines, as shown on the picture and video 🎥. I did that extra cute step to recreate the colors of the Italian flag.
 
Colorful and delicious, this Italian Sausage, Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni is a nice, rustic Italian dish to serve when entertaining! It’s a lovely meal to prepare in advance, making it ideal for feeding a large group without stressing out 🥰. Plus, who doesn’t like this comfort food!
Bon Appétit! 🍽
 
Check out these other great BBQ & grilling recipes… 😀
– Duck Ragù with Pappardelle
– Meat Lasagna
– Lady Athena’s Rockin’ Crab Shell Pasta
– Pasta alla Caponata
– Shrimp Fra Diavolo
– Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
– Italian Gnocchi Casserole
– Creamy Tortellini Boscaiola
– Baked Ziti
and for even more pasta recipes 🍝, click on this link… Recipe Category • Pasta & Pizza
 

 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel 📽 by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube
 

Italian Sausage, Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

Colorful and delicious, this Italian Sausage Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni is a great dish to make when entertaining…

4.67 from 12 votes

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Servings 20 cannelloni

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Passive Time 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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SPINACH

• 3 tbsp. olive oil, divided or as needed tips & tricks
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) baby spinach leaves

FILLING

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
• ground Himalayan pink salt, to taste
• 1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed see Recipe
• freshly ground mixed peppercorns, to taste optional
• 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/2 tbsp. Italian seasoning see Recipe
• 2 cups (500 g) ricotta cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded tips & tricks
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 large free-run eggs, beaten
• 18 cannelloni

TOPPING

• 2 1/2 cups Bolognese sauce, divided or as needed
• 2 cups Alfredo sauce, or as needed
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley tips & tricks

Directions

 

SPINACH

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and when sizzling, working in batches, add a handful of baby spinach leaves. Sauté until wilted, about 1:30 to 2 minutes.
• When this batch is done, scoop the leaves up into a colander and set aside while adding another tbsp. of oil and another batch of spinach leaves.
• After all the spinach leaves are wilted and cool enough to handle, grab a handful and squeeze very hard to remove as much liquid as possible. Transfer them to a cutting board before cutting into very small pieces; set aside.

FILLING

• In the same skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp. olive oil. When hot, add onions and season with ground sea salt. Sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add hot Italian sausage and break the meat into tiny pieces. When almost cooked, add garlic and sauté until the meat is done. Add Italian seasoning and stir to blend.
• Transfer the meat to a colander and drain the excess fat. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, plus two beaten eggs. Mix until well blended before adding chopped spinach leaves; stir until evenly distributed.
• When cool enough, add meat to the cheese mixture and stir well.
• To assemble…

  Preheated oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 10x10 baking dish with cooking spray and coat the bottom with a thin layer of Bolognese sauce; set aside.
• Using a piping bag, or a regular plastic bag, spoon filling in it, and squeeze the bag tight to remove any air pockets. Cut off the tip, slightly smaller than the tubes, and squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni.
• Place stuffed cannelloni into the prepared baking dish. Spoon Alfredo sauce on two halves of the cannelloni, trying to make it as straight as possible. Then spoon the Bolognese sauce over the other halves.
• After the pasta is entirely covered with sauces, sprinkle on 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top.
• Cover the dish with foil and transfer to preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil before baking for an additional 5 minutes or until the sauces are bubbly and the cannelloni is done when piercing with a pointy knife.
• Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before adding the chopped parsley.

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