Spinach Cannelloni with No Pasta - Divalicious Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can you use instead of cannelloni tubes? ›

An alternative to stuffing the tubes for this spinach and ricotta cannelloni is to use fresh lasagne sheets and roll each one around a line of filling.

If you feel like making your own cannelloni tubes, you can use fresh lasagne sheets. Cut them in half crossways, cover with filling and roll up - voila!

Cannelloni (Italian: [kannelˈloːni]; English: "large reeds") are a cylindrical type of egg-based stuffed pasta generally served baked with a filling and covered by a sauce in Italian cuisine. Popular stuffings include spinach and ricotta or minced beef. The shells are then typically covered with tomato sauce.

Cannelloni tips

If you use dry cannelloni tubes, the easiest way to fill them is by piping the filling into the pasta. Alternatively, use a teaspoon to push the filling into the tubes.

Cottage cheese: As far as ricotta substitutes go, light and mild cottage cheese is your best bet. In fact, some people prefer to use cottage cheese because it has a similar flavor and fewer calories.

Cannelloni—not to be confused with the Italian tubular dessert cannoli—is a type of lasagna noodle; the term "manicotti" can refer to the same pasta or the baked dish. Dried cannelloni and manicotti tubes are sold both plain and ribbed.

Cannelloni does not need to be cooked before filling. The dry tubes will soften in the oven in whichever sauce that it is placed in. To get a head start on dinner, cannelloni can be filled earlier in the day (or the day before). Then follow the steps below to layer then with sauce and cheese and bake when needed.

Cheese is an excellent way to add flavor to your pasta without having to rely on sauce. Try mixing your angel hair pasta with goat cheese, and toss in sun-dried tomatoes to make an amazing meal with just a few ingredients. Garlic butter is a terrific way to season all types of noodles.

If you Google authentic Italian lasagna you will find that Italians use béchamel sauce and NOT ricotta in their recipe.

The Best Cheese For Lasagna

Ricotta brings the rich creaminess while cottage cheese lightens things up and seasons the whole dish.

Can I use manicotti instead of cannelloni? ›

Manicotti is the Italian-American version of Cannelloni. Both are pasta tubes, but the difference between the two is fairly minimal: Manicotti tubes are ridged, larger and slightly thicker. Cannelloni tubes are smooth, a touch smaller and slightly thinner.

: cannolo) are a pastry consisting of a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from 9 to 20 centimetres (31⁄2 to 8 in). In mainland Italy, they are commonly known as cannoli siciliani ( lit. 'Sicilian cannoli').

One of the most noticeable differences between the two shapes is their texture. Manicotti pasta has ridges that give it some bite, while cannelloni is smooth and more tender. Often, restaurants will serve manicotti topped with bolognese or bechamel.

Hand cut cannelloni filled with beef and pork coated with batter and finished with seasoned Italian breadcrumbs.

Use your cake frosting tool to stuff manicotti and stuff shells easily and mess free! Use your cake frosting tool to stuff manicotti and stuff shells easily and mess free!

Use a pastry bag or a plastic bag to fill pasta

Using a spoon, dip and drop scoops of the filling into the bag. Once the bag is full enough (but not too full!), twist it closed and snip the tip of the bag off so you can pipe your filing into the pasta.