Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Spinach And Ricotta Zucchini Cannelloni
Zucchini rolls full of spinach and ricotta make an inviting dish to bring to dinner. The cheese turns golden over the tomato sauce, with a soft filling waiting inside each little roll. Help yourself while they are warm and enjoy the sauce with every bite.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 8 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner · Main course
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Start with sauce underneath
Put half the tomato sauce in the shallow baking dish before slicing zucchini and mixing the filling.
2. Squeeze out spinach water
Remove and discard excess liquid from the thawed spinach before mixing it with ricotta, eggs, garlic and mozzarella.
3. Stand the rolls open side up
Roll paired zucchini ribbons around the filling and arrange each roll open end facing up in the sauced dish.
Get to know the ingredients
Unpeeled zucchini ribbons
Wash the thick zucchini but leave the peel on, slicing lengthwise into wide ribbons for wrapping the filling.
Thawed frozen spinach
The spinach starts thawed and well squeezed, ready to mix evenly through the cheeses and eggs before seasoning.
Divided mozzarella
Most mozzarella goes into the spinach-ricotta mixture, with the remaining cheese reserved for the sauced rolls before baking.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 4 steps completeMake room for Spinach And Ricotta Zucchini Cannelloni
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Golden cheese and soft zucchini
Bake the sauced rolls until the cheese is golden and bubbling and the zucchini feels soft when tested with a fork or toothpick.
A little more help as you go
Ribbon tools can vary
You can use a cheese slicer, vegetable peeler or careful sharp-knife slicing if you do not have a mandolin.
Spoon filling at the narrow end
Pair the ribbons and add the filling at the smallest end before rolling, keeping that filling tucked inside the zucchini.
A few questions you might have
Can I use garlic powder?
The garlic ingredient includes a measured garlic-powder alternative to crushed cloves, mixed into the spinach and ricotta filling.
Does all the sauce go underneath?
Use half beneath the rolls, then pour the remaining sauce over the assembled cannelloni before adding the last mozzarella.
Do I precook the zucchini ribbons?
They are sliced and rolled around the filling directly, then soften during baking under the tomato sauce and cheese.
Which tomato sauce options are included?
Crushed tomatoes, passata or your pasta sauce of choice are listed for the bottom and top of the dish.
Does the ricotta get blended?
Mix it in the bowl with squeezed spinach, eggs, garlic and mozzarella until well combined; no blender stage is included.
Any more cooking tips?
If you have a mandolin, the ribbons are created in seconds. But, you can create them with a cheese slicer, vegetable peeler or thinly sliced with a sharp knife.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: cafedelites.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.