I love Italian dishes, especially pasta. One of my favorite pasta dish is stuffed cannelloni. There really isn’t a way to go wrong with cannelloni. You can fill them with whatever you desire – cheese, vegetables, meat or seafood. You are limited only by your imagination and creativity. Again, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to make these!
We had some chicken leftover from dinner, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to make a delicious pasta dish. Something simple, easy, filling and inexpensive. Stuffed cannelloni was exactly what I was looking for!
These cannelloni are filled with a combination of cooked chicken, ricotta cheese and spinach and topped with homemade tomato basil sauce and Parmesan. Oh yes, this dish is bursting with mouth-watering Italian flavors! Trust me, when it comes bubbling from the oven, your house will smell so delicious that you’ll want to do a taste test right away. Be careful, it will be really hot! 🙂
The last thing I can say about this is that it tastes AMAZING! All the flavors complement each other perfectly. This chicken cannelloni is a great comfort food that will satisfy your entire family. Buon appetito!
Ingredients
- 10-12 cannelloni tubes
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil , divided
- 1 onion , diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced, divided
- 4 oz. (115g) spinach leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (8 oz. or 225g) ricotta cheese
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast , chopped
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese , divided
- 1/4 cup basil leaves , chopped
- 1 28 oz. (800g) can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and saute onion and 1 garlic clove for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Stir in the spinach and let wilt for 2-3 minutes, then stir in oregano and nutmeg. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Once cool, chop the spinach mixture and put it into the large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, cooked chicken, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use a piping bag or a teaspoon to fill the cannelloni tubes. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 7x11-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In the same skillet, heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil, add 2 garlic cloves and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the basil. Remove from the heat.
- Spoon a thin layer of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a prepared dish and arrange the cannelloni in a single layer on top. Spread the remaining tomato sauce over the cannelloni to cover, then sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until bubbling and pasta is tender when pierced with a fork. Let rest about 5 minutes. Serve with some grated Parmesan and a few basil leaves, if desired.
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