Cannelloni is one of my favorite things to order at an Italian restaurant. Which means I had to figure out a way to make it at home, of course! I gave it a try this week and it was so so yummy. Here’s what I did!
Cannelloni
FILLING: will fill ~8 cannelloni, maybe up to 10
- 1 chicken breast, cooked & shredded
- 1/4 C fresh, shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 C ricotta cheese
- 1/2 C shredded mozzarella
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 1 garlic clove, minced or use garlic press
- 1 T chopped fresh basil (maybe a little more than 1 T)
- 1/4 t pepper
- 1/2 t salt
SAUCE:
- 1 1/2 C jarred marinara (you could make your own, but this is faster and tasted great)
- 1/2 C cream
- 24 grape tomatoes, smashed up a bit (I pulsed in the blender a few times)
- 1/4 – 1/2 C shredded asiago cheese
SHELLS:
Ideally I suppose you make your own pasta, roll it into thin sheets and cut into rectangles. Yeah, THAT’S gonna happen around here….so, I tried two readily-available pastas.
Barilla No-Boil Homemade Style (Flat) Lasagna Noodles: These were PERFECT. Boil 3 minutes, CAREFULLY remove from the water (it’s easy to crack them in the middle, so be gentle!). Filling them is a cinch…just lay the rectangle out portrait (you know, tall-wise), lay your filling across the noodle near the end, then roll up! (I had a few cracks when I took them out of the water, but the noodle overlaps itself when you roll it up, so it wasn’t a problem) Pictured RIGHT.
Manicotti Shells: I also tried manicotti shells. They didn’t taste quite as good, and they’re harder to stuff. So, I will definitely do the flat, no-boil lasagna noodles from now on. Pictured LEFT.
DIRECTIONS:
Mix filling ingredients.
Mix sauce ingredients and warm on the stove (doesn’t need to cook too long or get too hot).
Spray a rectangular casserole dish or metal cake pan with spray oil. Stuff cannelloni (see noodle descriptions above). Place stuffed cannelloni in the pan. Cover with sauce.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Mangia!
Makes approximately 8 cannelloni…Nate and I each ate 2, and the girls had 1 each. Fed our family of 4 with 2 cannelloni left over.
Hello! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and then count on you to share your own! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
Why haven’t I made this at home? I always forget about it I guess. Thanks for the recipe. It looks awesome!
Comment by Maria — April 9, 2009 @ 10:01 am
I just copied down this recipe!!! It looks too delish to pass up….thanks for sharing.
Comment by liz — April 9, 2009 @ 12:22 pm
I forgot to mention…I liked the chicken in there (that’s what macaroni grill does)…but nate was saying he thinks it would be really good with some ground beef and/or prosciutto or pancetta or something like that….which I agree would be good. but I do like chicken cannelloni, myself.
bottom line – playing around with different meats could be tasty. or just going without meat would be good, too!
Comment by Jane Maynard — April 9, 2009 @ 12:59 pm
I wish that you’d include an approximation of how many this serves, that’s really helpful with recipes when you’re cooking for just yourself or yourself and one other, so you can plan your weekly groceries ahead of time. I’m big on leftovers, and thus only need or want to cook a few times a week, or want to know if I can send my man off to work with whatever’s left over. So… servings please!!!
Comment by Amber — April 9, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
I went back and specified how many we ate and had left over. hope that helps. thanks!
Comment by Jane Maynard — April 9, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
FYI: I learned from the Cooks Illustrated mag that you needn’t cook the no-boil lasagna noodles to get them pliable enough to roll up canelloni/manicotti. Put pretty hot water in a 9/13″ glass dish and drop the noodles (TJ brand is excellent, btw) one at a time into the water and move them around a bit with the tip of a knife while they soften so they don’t stick together (~5 min. does the trick). Next, lay them out on a towel while spreading the filling on them, leaving about 1/4 of the noodle bare. Roll toward the bare end and you’re golden. Way easy!
Comment by kim — April 9, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
Comment by Sues — April 9, 2009 @ 4:44 pm
That looks yummy! I’ll have to try it next week. Thanks for posting it.
Comment by Kim T — April 9, 2009 @ 5:32 pm
Did you use spinach in your recipe?
Comment by Alanna — April 10, 2009 @ 7:30 am
nope! you could, but what you see in the picture is basil. if I were to add spinach, I would sautee it a bit to get the water out, then add to the filling. I’m sure it would taste great!
Comment by Jane Maynard — April 10, 2009 @ 8:28 am
one more thing – thanks kim! what a great thing to know about the no-boil noodles. I will totally try that next time!
Comment by Jane Maynard — April 10, 2009 @ 8:29 am
Wow, it looks beautiful, I want to eat it right off my computer screen.
Comment by Melissa — April 10, 2009 @ 8:45 am
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This is real comfort food. I think I might like even without the chicken.
Comment by Ciaochowlinda — October 15, 2009 @ 6:10 am
oh, yes, I’m sure it would be good without the chicken…anything stuffed with cheese has to be, right?
Comment by Jane Maynard — October 15, 2009 @ 8:19 am
Great recipe! I made a lasagna with it instead of cannelloni… layered uncooked lasagna noodles with homemade tomato sauce and the chicken mixture (cottage cheese instead of ricotta to keep the fat in check and no mozzarella), topped it with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Healthy and delicious!
Comment by Alexa — October 29, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
sounds yummy, alexa – thank you for sharing – great modification!
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