Easy Spinach & 🌱 Ricotta Cannelloni—One-Pot No-Baking No-Stuffing
This WFPB Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni transforms the classic microwave “junk food” version into a vibrant and healthy home cooked delight!
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Don’t get me wrong with this recipe since I do provide tips for crafting a more home-cooked version of cannelloni that moves beyond the mere microwave-dinner flavors I was occasionally treated to as a child of busy parents.
The main idea, however, is to transform those unhealthy childhood treats into something both healthy and nostalgic. Remember that thin plastic film you’d actually cook them in? Me too and I can’t believe I ever even ate those! Anyway, I’ve taken the essence of those familiar flavors and recreated them in a nourishing, wholesome, and healthy meal.
I think you’ll love this recipe as it’s all really simple for something home-made from scratch in around 30 minutes, but if you want it even quicker and easier you can still use store-bought pasta or ricotta (or use tofu ricotta) and have this is almost no time at all!
Spinach and 🌱 Ricotta Cannelloni - Quick Video
Recipe Overview – Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
🔪 The Recipe: Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
⏲️ Estimated Time: about 30 minutes from scratch.
🍽️ Servings: around 3 servings
💵 Cost to make: $5.05 USD / $7.00 CAD (about $1.68 USD/person)
🕹️ Difficulty: Moderatly Easy
Coming Soon (Wednesday): Mini Nuggets/Tenders & Honey Mustard Dressing.
Little plant-based nuggets covered in a sweet Honeyless dressing with a mustard kick! This is a great way to get kids—and adults—to eat their greens and healthy plant protein, plus the other healthy WFPB ingredients that are packed in this salad!
🧰Equipment
1 Pot
1 Spice / Coffee Grinder (or blender, food-processor, etc.)
🥣Ingredients
LENTIL RICOTTA (you can also use store-bought alternatives)
¼ cup lentils (or omit and use tofu or cooked beans etc.)
1 tbsp oats (omit if using tofu)
¼ tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp white vinegar
½ cup water
1 cup spinach chopped, fresh or frozen
OAT MOZZA (optional)
2 tbsp oats (you could also use split peas, seeds, nuts, etc.)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
⅛ tsp garlic granulated
1 tbsp white vinegar
¼ cup water or more as needed
2 tbsp (cassava flour, tapioca starch, sticky rice flour etc.) (optional, only if you must have stretchy mozza)
TOMATO SAUCE
2 tbsp onion any color (onion powder of 1 tsp will work as a substitute)
1 cup tomatoes diced, fresh or canned
1 cup tomato paste or tomato puree
2 tbsp basil fresh or 1 tbsp dried
½ tsp oregano dried
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
2 cups water
CANNELLONI PASTA
follow the fast & easy wheat-free pasta (Fettuccine) 10-minute dough recipe until step 4. or use store-bought cannelloni if you prefer.
🔪Instructions
You can find the Full Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni Recipe Here:(including step-by-step photos and more detailed instructions and tips.)
Basic Directions
SPINACH & 🌱 RICOTTA CANNELLONI RECIPE
Grind up your Lentil Ricotta dry ingredients then add the powder and the liquids to a pot on medium heat, stirring often, until most of the liquid is reduced, or about 5 minutes.
Remove the Lentil Ricotta from the pot and place it in a dish in the fridge or freezer to set (about 5 minutes in the freezer, 10 in the fridge).
*a note about the video: I added tahini to the first batch but it makes it too dense so I would omit it.
Grind up the oats for the Oat Mozza and add all of the Oat Mozza ingredients to the same post on medium-low heat. Stir and cook until it thickens and is no longer wet to the touch—like a lightly tacky soft putty. Reserve the Oat Mozza for later.
TIP: Making a cross mark (figure 3A) will keep your dough more square and less round, try it!
Grind up your dough ingredients and mix with ¼ cup water until a dough forms, knead it in your hands (like squishing a stress ball) for about one minute then start rolling it out (I used a water bottle, but a soup can or similar will also work if you don’t have a rolling pin.) Then cut your sheet of (20mm 8 inches wide; 40mm long) dough vertically.Take about a teaspoon of the Oat Mozza and mix it with about 2-3 tbsp of the Lentil Ricotta and mix and shape them into a log and place them at one end of a pasta sheet . Next, roll the sheet over so the filling is inside of the roll, and then cut the dough (figure 4B) continue this process until all the filling and the dough gets used up. You should get about 6 cannelloni.
Add onions and water to a pot (we boil the onions in this instance to get the microwave-dinner flair, but feel free to sautee them for more flavor) cook them for a minute or two then add all the other Tomato Sauce ingredients to the pot, and bring it to a low boil on high heat.
Reduce the heat to a medium-low and add your cannelloni, sinking each one below the sauce so it’s fully covered in sauce.
When all the cannelloni are added, and covered in sauce, you’ll want to cover the pot with a lid and cook for 5-10 minutes (at the most).
Serve with fresh basil and cheezy not parm powder.
The Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni Quick Links
How to Make WFPB Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni – Quick Video 📺
Substack Exclusive Mini Health Posts
The Science-Backed Research Links
If you have any questions, or concerns, complaints, or just want to chat then please feel free to contact me by hitting reply to this email, or let’s connect and be friends on Instagram.
That’s all for today.
Have a wonderful day and stay nourished!
-Chef Robert Leigh
plantbasedproof.com
contact@plantbasedproof.com