Spinach Beef Cannelloni (Manicotti) Recipe

Beef Cannelloni filled with a juicy spinach and beef filling, topped with loads of tomato cannelloni sauce and melty cheese. It’s cosy consolation meals that’s mouthwateringly scrumptious and 100% freezer pleasant. Make this recipe utilizing cannelloni OR manicotti!

Beef Cannelloni

I feel most individuals consider spinach & ricotta once they consider cannelloni. And whereas that’s nonetheless a agency favorite, this model with a juicy spinach and beef filling makes extra of an look in my world these days.

I really make it extra for mates than myself – as a result of it’s a sensational freezer pleasant standby and a protected guess (ie a type of meals that each youngsters and grown ups will love!)

This beef cannelloni recipe can be utilized for both cannelloni or manicotti.

What’s cannelloni? And what’s the distinction between cannelloni and manicotti??

Cannelloni is a tube formed dry pasta that’s filled with filling, coated with sauce and cheese than baked. The cannelloni tubes are raw when they’re stuffed – they prepare dinner (soften) whereas baking.

Manicotti is the Italian-American model of cannelloni. The identical idea – pasta in tube type to be stuffed, however they’re normally a bit bigger and usually has ridges on it relatively than a easy floor.

This Beef Cannelloni recipe can be utilized for both cannelloni OR manicotti. In Australia, I’m fairly certain I’ve seen manicotti in Italian grocery shops. However cannelloni is much extra standard – bought in any respect the massive grocery shops (Woolies, Coles, Harris).

What you want

The three elements to Beef Cannelloni are:

1. The Cannelloni Sauce – key to any good cannelloni! Make hundreds and make it thinner than you assume it must be – the raw cannelloni tube will suck up numerous the liquid because it bakes (it must, with a view to prepare dinner the cannelloni pasta);

2. The spinach and beef filling – I prefer to make it additional tasty by utilizing beef dice for seasoning (aka bouillon dice / inventory dice – or use powder type) as a substitute of plain previous flavoured salt. And additional juicy by including a little bit of the Cannelloni Sauce!

3. The cannelloni tubes (above) or manicotti tubes – these are bought raw in tube type, to be filled with filling then cooked.

The right way to make Beef Cannelloni

There’s nothing tough concerning the making half apart from stuffing the cannelloni tubes which is inevitably a little bit of a messy / fiddly affair.

However years of cannelloni stuffing have taught me one factor – the quickest and best strategy to stuff cannelloni tubes is utilizing a piping bag. All these instances I simply couldn’t be bothered to make use of a piping bag, then I’d remorse it 3 tubes in…..

Significantly. Use a piping bag. Or ziplock bag. Something you should use for piping. You’ll thank me later!

That second while you pull this effervescent magnificence out of the oven….. no telling what it really is, however you already know it’s one thing scrumptious!!!

Significantly, cannelloni is as unimaginable to {photograph} as lasagna. There’s simply no strategy to make a plate of this saucy tacky juiciness look elegant. And that’s okay – it’s a scrumptious mess, and I completely personal that!!!

What to serve with Beef Cannelloni

Cannelloni is basically simply one other kind of pasta. I put it in the identical bucket as lasagna. Which implies – for a full blown Italian feast, I serve it with:

• Garlic Bread – or much more indulgent, with Tacky Garlic Bread (or go over-the-top with Crack Bread);

• Backyard Salad with Italian Dressing (hit of crisp contemporary salad important!)

• Tiramisu to complete with an Espresso Martini on the facet

For a fast midweek meal, I simply make a fast salad on the facet, like a Rocket Parmesan Salad with Balsamic Dressing. In all probability my most made facet salad as a result of it’s actually a 2 minute effortless-no-chop salad! – Johnsat x

Watch methods to make it

Spinach Beef Cannelloni (Manicotti) Recipe

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Serves: 5 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes 45 minutes

Nutrition facts: 6 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1/2 onion , finely chopped
• 1 carrot , small, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 celery rib , finely chopped (optional)
• 800g / 28oz crushed tomato , canned
• 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock / broth , low sodium (or vegetable)
• 1/2 tsp EACH thyme, oregano, salt, pepper
• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes , optional
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1/2 onion , finely chopped
• 500g / 1lb beef mince , lean
• 250g / 8oz frozen spinach, chopped , thawed, excess liquid squeezed out (Note 1)
• 1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled (Note 2)
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 21 – 24 cannelloni tubes (220g/7oz) OR 10 Manicotti tubes (Note 3)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese , freshly grated (or other melting cheese)
• Chopped parsley , garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery, cook 5 minutes.
2. Add remaining Sauce ingredients then stir. Bring to simmer, lower heat to medium, cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Use a stick blender to blitz until smooth (or cool slightly and use blender or food processor). Set aside.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook 2 minutes.
5. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until it all changes from red to brown.
6. Stir in spinach, then add crumbled beef cube, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and 1 cup of Cannelloni Sauce. Stir, cook 2 minutes.
7. Remove and cool slightly.
8. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
9. Transfer Beef Filling into a piping bag with a wide nozzle. Stand cannelloni tubes upright in a container, then pipe filling in. (Or do this step with teaspoon/finger/dinner knife!).
10. Spread about 1 1/4 cups Sauce in a 23x33cm / 9×13" dish. Lay the cannelloni on top, then pour over remaining Sauce.
11. Sprinkle with cheese, loosely cover with foil.
12. Bake 25 minutes, remove foil then bake a further 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly with some golden spots.
13. Remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley if using then serve!

Notes

1. Spinach – I use frozen for convenience. Feel free to use fresh – you’ll need 200g/7oz fresh spinach (about 6 – 8 cups) roughly chopped. Then plunge briefly into pot of boiling water until it wilts (weight will increase due to water), then use per recipe.
2. Beef bouillon cube – also known as beef stock cube, can also use 1 tsp beef stock powder / granulated beef bouillon. It’s used here to add extra flavour into filling – better than using plain salt!
3. Cannelloni
1 standard packet is usually 250g and has 30 tubes, you will only use 21 – 24 tubes.
Cannelloni is a tube shaped dry pasta 7cm / 3″ long, 2cm / 2/3″ wide. Stuff uncooked, will cook & soften in oven.
Can also use manicotti – bigger version of cannelloni with ridges. Recipe will fill about 10 manicotti tubes.
Can also roll filling up in fresh lasagna sheets – whatever size you want them to be!
4. Storage – keep cooked leftovers in the fridge for 4 days and reheat in microwave. Can also freeze cooked leftovers – thaw then reheat.
Freezing uncooked (best freezing method) – add an extra 1/2 cup of water in the sauce, then assemble per recipe. Do not bake. Cover, cool, freeze. To bake, thaw then cook per recipe.
5. Nutrition per serving

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Sarah Miller

Hi, I’m Sarah Millar!
I’m a food blogger who loves creating quick and easy recipes that bring big flavor without the fuss. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated — and I’m here to share simple, fast food ideas that anyone can make at home. When I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll usually find me tasting new dishes, exploring cafés, or coming up with fresh food hacks to make everyday meals more fun.

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