Cannelloni

Origin

Cannelloni (“large reeds”) are an Italian baked pasta: cylinders filled, sauced, and gratinéed. Some regions roll fresh pasta sheets; others use dried tubes. They sit in the same family of oven pastas as manicotti and lasagna.

How to make them

1. 01

   Parboil dried tubes, or use fresh pasta sheets rolled around filling.

2. 02

   Pipe ricotta-spinach or meat filling into each cylinder.

3. 03

   Arrange in a baking dish, cover with tomato sauce and/or béchamel, and top with cheese.

4. 04

   Bake until bubbling and lightly browned on top.

Storage

Dried cannelloni tubes keep up to 2 years cool and dry. Assembled unbaked dishes freeze well; bake from frozen with extra time. Leftovers refrigerate 3–4 days.

Popular dishes

• Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

  Classic vegetarian filling under tomato sauce and béchamel.

• Meat Cannelloni

  Beef or veal ragù stuffed tubes baked with cheese.

• Cannelloni al Forno

  General baked cannelloni with layered sauces and a golden top.

• Seafood Cannelloni

  Shellfish or fish filling with a light tomato or cream sauce.

• Mushroom Cannelloni

  Earthy mushroom and herb ricotta filling for a meatless bake.