Hearty Beef & Spinach Cannelloni 🍝🥩✨
Ingredients
12-14 cannelloni tubes (or lasagna sheets rolled up) 🌾
1 lb lean ground beef 🥩
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced 🧅
3 cloves garlic, minced 🧄
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed completely dry 🥬
15 oz ricotta cheese 🧀
1 egg large 🥚
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling) 🧀
3 cups premium marinara or thick beef bolognese sauce 🍅
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 🧀
1 teaspoon dried basil and oregano 🌿
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste 🧂
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a large 9×13-inch baking dish. Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and diced yellow onion, and sauté for 5–7 minutes until the meat is beautifully browned and cooked through. Stir in the minced garlic, salt, and black pepper, cooking for another minute before removing from the heat to cool slightly. 🍳🔥✨
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, well-squeezed chopped spinach, egg, grated Parmesan cheese, dried herbs, and your cooled ground beef mixture. Stir vigorously until you have a rich, uniform filling. Spoon a thin layer of your marinara or bolognese sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish to create a saucy base. Carefully pipe or spoon the beef and spinach mixture into the uncooked cannelloni tubes, packing them generously from end to end, and arrange them in a single, tight layer inside the dish. 🥣📐✨
Pour the remaining thick tomato sauce evenly over the top of the tubes, ensuring every single piece of pasta is fully submerged to cook properly. Scatter the shredded mozzarella and an extra dusting of Parmesan cheese across the top. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the pasta is perfectly tender and the cheese layer is bubbling fiercely and golden-brown. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving alongside your favorite warm veggie soup. This heavy-hitting Italian comfort classic is an absolute dinner win—a deeply savory, cheesy masterpiece that feels like a warm hug from the kitchen! 🍽️🔥🍝✨
Servings 4-6 🍽️
Calories ~540 kcal per serving 🔥