Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

Name: Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 tbsp Olive Oil; 8 cloves chopped Garlic; 3 tbsp Caster Sugar; 2 tblsp Red Wine Vinegar; 3 400g Cans Chopped Tomatoes; Bunch Basil Leaves; 2 tubs Mascarpone; 3 tbsp Milk; 85g Parmesan; 2 sliced Mozzarella; 1kg Spinach; 100g Parmesan; 3 tubs Ricotta; pinch Nutmeg; 400g Cannellini Beans

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with Italian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 45 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 42 min total

3 tbsp Olive Oil
8 cloves chopped Garlic
3 tbsp Caster Sugar
2 tblsp Red Wine Vinegar
3 400g Cans Chopped Tomatoes
Bunch Basil Leaves
2 tubs Mascarpone
3 tbsp Milk
85g Parmesan
2 sliced Mozzarella
1kg Spinach
100g Parmesan
3 tubs Ricotta
pinch Nutmeg
400g Cannellini Beans

Step-by-step instructions

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.

Why this works on a weeknight

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni lands at about 42 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sheet-Pan Dinners collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍳 Sheet-Pan Dinners Vegetarian Italian