Baked Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo is like Lasagna Rolls Ups and Cannelloni – but BETTER because it’s got brown crunchy bits. And crunchy bits are always the best!
Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo
I’m going to call it – this will be the best new thing you’ve made all year. The rich tomato sauce. The creamy spinach and ricotta filling spiked with parmesan and nutmeg. Golden brown bubbly cheese. And the brown crunchy bits, the crowning glory.
How inappropriate would it be to pick off all the crunchy bits before it gets to the table? 😂
What is Rotolo?
Rotolo is a traditional Italian dish that’s not widely known outside of Italy. The literal translation of “rotolo” is “scroll” or “coil”.
The authentic way of making rotolo involves a very large fresh pasta sheet that is spread with a filling then rolled up to form a roulade. It’s quite technical and fussy because you then need to wrap the roulade in a tea towel and poach it, then slice it to serve with a sauce.
For day to day cooking, I shelved this as a “too hard” recipe. But then I came across this baked version made by Jamie Oliver. The way he made it, it was basically cannelloni made with fresh lasagna sheets which is sliced then placed into the tomato sauce and baked.
It’s not purely authentic, but for ordinary people like me, it is much more practical. And so darn tasty! Those brown bits….those crunchy brown bits. They make this dish!
Basically, if you love Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni (or this pasta bake or lasagna, for that matter!) then you’re going to be mad over this Rotolo. Guaranteed.
Spinach Ricotta Rotolo Rilling
Rotolo comes with all sorts of stuffing options. Jamie Oliver’s recipe is made with squash and spinach, it’s also made with meat, and Spinach & Ricotta is a popular option which is what I’ve gone with.
Here’s what you need for the filling:
PS Let’s pretend I didn’t forget to put LASAGNA SHEETS in the above photo! Fresh best, but if you can only get dried, just boil to cook then use per recipe.
Want a meat filling?
Use the filling from this Spinach & Beef Cannelloni – scale up by 50% (ie use 750g/1.5lb beef, or use extra spinach), cool (will thicken) then roll!
Spinach Ricotta Rotolo Sauce
And here’s what you need for the sauce:
Tomato Passata is key for this sauce. Because it’s pureed tomato, it’s the ideal consistency to make a smooth tomato sauce for the Rotolo with just 5 minutes simmering. Using canned tomato would require at least 30 minutes simmering for the chunks to break down enough to make the desired consistency for the sauce.
How to make Baked Rotolo
And here’s how it’s made:
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Make the sauce first;
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Mix filling, roll up, cut into thirds;
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Place in sauce, bake!
The smells coming out of your oven while it’s baking are pretty darn good.
But that moment when you pull it out of the oven and you stare at what you’ve just made, mesmerised by how magnificent it looks…. it’s worth making, just to see THIS in real life:
They’re quite sturdy little things, so you don’t need to dig in with a delicate touch. They hold together well (the lasagna sheets adhere as they cook) and they hold their form pretty well as you scoop them up. See? (And just WAIT until you see the video!)
Truthfully though, some will flop and sag, and fall on their side, and you probably will rip the side off some of the them as you scoop into the pan to plate them up.
And that’s completely on theme. There’s nothing elegant about this Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo. It’s rustic. The best sort of food – relaxed deliciousness!
Being that there’s a couple of bunches of spinach in this (ahem, in the form of frozen spinach!) and a big bottle of tomato passata, there’s actually a decent amount of vegetables in this dish. So I usually serve it just as is without any sides for a casual midweek meal.
But a fresh side salad would certainly elevate the meal – this Rocket Salad with Parmesan Shavings is very on theme (classic Italian) – and I am pretty sure nobody would say no to a side of Garlic Bread.
Now, go forth and impress the pants off your family and friends! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Baked Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo
Ingredients
- 8 - 10 fresh lasagne sheets (15 x 11 cm/6 x 4.5") (Note 1)
- 1 cup mozarella cheese , shredded
- 1 tbsp olive oil (for drizzling later)
Filling
- 500g / 1 lb frozen spinach (pre chopped) , thawed and excess water squeezed out (Note 2)
- 500 g / 1 lb ricotta cheese (NOT smooth, whipped or spreadable in tubs, Note 3)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , shredded
- 1 garlic clove , pressed using garlic crusher or finely grated
- 1/4 fresh nutmeg , grated (or 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 onion , finely diced (brown, yellow, white)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 700 g / 24 oz tomato passata (US: Tomato puree) (Note 5)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Handful basil leaves (optional)
Instructions
Tomato Sauce:
- Heat oil in a 25cm/10" ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. (Note 6)
- Add garlic and sauté for 10 seconds then add onion.
- Cook onion until translucent and starting to turn golden, then passata, water, chilli flakes (if using), salt and pepper.
- Simmer for 5 minutes on medium low, then stir through basil. Should be quite thin - the lasagna sheets will absorb water while in the oven so sauce thickens alot in oven.
- Scoop out 1 cup of the Tomato Sauce which will be used to drizzle over the dish at the end. Keep sauce warm.
Filling & Assembling:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350CF (all oven types)
- Place Filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix well with wooden spoon.
- As per the photo & video, lay out the lasagne sheet with the shorter end in front of you.
- Place 1/3 cup (packed) of filling onto the lasagne sheet. Dab some water on the end furthest away from you (to seal the roll), then roll up starting from the end closest to you. Finish with the seal down.
- Cut rolls into 3 (so each piece is 3.5cm/1.5" wide). Place the rolls into the tomato sauce with the filling facing up.
- Repeat with remaining lasagna sheets until all the Filling is used up.
- Drizzle the reserved Tomato Sauce over (don't cover completely, leave some exposed).
- Cover loosely with foil, bake 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, remove foil. Drizzle with oil, top with mozzarella.
- Bake 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden and you've got some crunchy golden bits on the edges. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
- need to be fresh sheets from the fridge section so they can be rolled up
- standard 375g/ 12oz packs from Australian grocery store is more than you need - you'll have about 1/3 leftover (freeze and use in beef, chicken or vegetable lasagna)
- dried sheets - boil them per packet, drain then use.
- size - don't worry if your lasagne sheets are not exactly the same size (they come in all different sizes). They can be any size as long as they can be cut to size so they are long enough to roll up, then can be cut into 3.5 - 4 cm / 1.5" little logs.
- Paesanella brand is my favourite (vac packed baskets at Harris and delis);
- Don't use spreadable / whipped or smooth ricotta, these are for spreading on things so they are fluffier and creamier;
- 🇦🇺 Australia, do NOT get Perfect Italiano in tubs from the fridge section! It is offensively bad - powdery and terrible;
- 250g/8oz cream cheese softened +250g/8oz cottage cheese*
- Greekish spin - 250g/8oz cream cheese softened + 150g/5oz feta (preferably Danish, the creamier rather than crumbly feta, if you can find it) + 100g/3oz cottage cheese* (or more feta)
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2014. Years overdue for a VIDEO to be added!
Life of Dozer
I’m sure you’d have a very different reaction if that were me and that bottle were real. 😂
Another sensational recipe, thank you Nagi! The only issue I had was my pasta – Latina Fresh Lasagne Sheets were cracked so I had to work around that. I’ll find another brand or cook some dry sheets as suggested next time. Otherwise YUM! and plenty leftover for another meal 🙂
Hi Nagi, could I replace the spinach with pumpkin & would I need to adjust the quantity?
Hi I would like to ask If this recipe can be made with fresh anari?
Hello Nagi! Our rotollo is ready to go in the oven. I’m in the UK and used Tesco prepackaged fresh pasta. It was too dry to roll. The first sheet cracked, so I dipped all the others in hot water first. Fingers crossed it will be okay. If it tastes half as good as yours looks then it will be great!
Soooo good I have to force myself to stop eating it all! Delicious and succulent. Before I found this recipe I had a staple spinach and ricotta canneloni recipe but this is much much better (previous recipe was yummy too dry). I like the addition of the chilli. All I had in the fridge was smooth ricotta and it worked fine but will use original next time for better texture
Hi Nagi,
Your recipe looks fantastic.
Could I make this the night before and refrigerate and then heat it up in the oven the next day?
Yes – use the instructions below the recipe for making ahead – just put it in the fridge instead of the freezer. N x
Thankyou for your quick response Nagi. Just to clarify- can i cook it the night before and then just reheat it? OR will it be better if I just add extra water to sauce and put in fridge and cook the next day? Thanks Nagi .
Made this again last night. Never disappoints. Thanks 🙏 Nagi xx
Could I cook the spinach and ricotta rotolo in an air fryer? Just found your site and love your recipes. Xx
Hi, I made this tonight for my non-spinach loving children. The results were 5 clean plates! Thank you so much for another wonderful recipe – I have added it to my favourites 😀
We’ll definitely be having it again. The flavours were just perfect together.
All your recipes are brilliant, thanks for all the effort with the video and the descriptive recipe.
Cheers
Sarah
Made this for dinner tonight. We both loved it. Plenty of leftovers. We’ll have some warmed up on Sunday night and I’ll freeze another serving for a quick meal another night.
We love your recipes. I’ve never had a failure. Thank you for being so generous and sharing such great recipes
Hi there
Made this last night. Amaze balls. I made the ricotta in the am and drained all day. It was so dry I ended up using 3 eggs to get a moist mixture. Lol. The end product was outstanding. Thx for recipe.
This was delicious! Served it up to the family tonight and they were delighted – cheesy crunchy goodness. I added some bacon pieces to my mix otherwise followed exactly as written.
Winner!
Absolutely delicious!
Works perfectly with gluten free lasagne (coeliac husband). So delicious!
That’s great to hear Cassy!! N x
This dish is DEVINE!!! I’ve made it a few times now and it just gets better! Tastes like something from a very upscale Italian restaurant!
The smells coming from my kitchen are heavenly!
Thanks for sharing!
I cooked this recipe and it was fantastic! Took me a while but it was worth the effort. Will definitely make it again!
I was wondering if I could use mascarpone cheese instead of ricotta? thanks
Good morning Nagi, I would like to make this today and serve tomorrow. Do I still need to do the extra steps and freeze for just one night?
Thanks,
Patti
Yummy. I have now made it twice. Definitely a keeper.
I have made many of your recipes and all have been great. Thank you.
I have used a few of your recipes. The instructions are foolproof (I am living testimony to that claim).
The layout of the pages are superb and the images are positively food pornography.😉.
Thank you for clearly spending hours, days and weeks getting it right.
Regards from sunny Spain
You’re so welcome Stewart, thanks so much for the feedback – I truly appreciate it! N x