Stuffed Cannelloni for Sunday Lunch: Spinach and Ricotta Plus 3 Variations

Cannelloni are rolled sheets of thin egg pasta, filled, covered in béchamel, and baked until the top turns golden and crisp. The béchamel keeps whatever sits inside soft, and the filling is where each kitchen makes its own choice: spinach and ricotta, a slow-cooked ragù, even a Roman carbonara. These four recipes are all built for a long Sunday lunch.

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni starts with a simple egg pasta that rests for an hour, then fills it with garlicky wilted spinach, cow’s milk ricotta, egg, Grana Padano, and nutmeg. The rolls are covered in béchamel and baked until golden. The poet Gabriele D’Annunzio once left a note for his cook demanding cannelloni at any hour, day or night.

Pro tip: roll the pasta out to about the thickness of a nickel, around 2 mm, and blanch each rectangle for about one minute. That’s what keeps it tender once it’s baked.

Cannelloni is the meat classic. Sausage and ground meat brown with onion, celery, and carrot, then simmer for an hour with red wine and tomato purée. Part of the ragù goes into the filling with Parmigiano, and the rest is saved to top the rolls along with the béchamel. A few minutes under the broiler give it the golden crust.

Pro tip: fill only the bottom half of each pasta rectangle, leaving about an inch at the top edge. Then roll it up and seal it into a cylinder.

Stuffed Meat Cannelloni Umbrian Style makes a pale ragù rather than a red one. Ground beef cooks with onion, carrot, celery, rosemary, and thyme, and deglazes with white wine and vegetable broth for an hour and a half on very low heat. Half the béchamel and some grated cheese go into the ragù to make the filling, and the recipe makes 34 cannelloni.

Pro tip: if you like tomato, add a little passata to the béchamel, in the filling and on top. It’s an option the recipe itself suggests.

Golden Yellow Cannelloni takes its idea from carbonara. Crisp guanciale is blended into a filling of eggs, Pecorino, Parmigiano, and black pepper, piped into the pasta tubes, and covered with a sauce of cream and Parmigiano. Roman purists would skip the cream, but it keeps the filling silky. After 25 minutes under foil, the rest of the crisp guanciale goes on top.

Pro tip: save some of the crisp guanciale and a little Parmigiano for the end. They go on once the foil comes off, before three minutes under the broiler.

Part of cannelloni’s appeal is how forgiving the format is. The pasta tubes hold their shape, the béchamel keeps every filling moist, and a final blast under the broiler gives each one the same golden crust. Leftovers keep for a day or two in the fridge, so the dish isn’t ruined if the table doesn’t finish it.