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Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni

Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and SO tasty!

Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!

Thank you, ADA Mideast, for sponsoring this post! All opinions are always 100% my own.

Cheesy chicken stuffed cannelloni baked to a creamy and tender perfection. A classic recipe made EASY. These lovely bundles of joy will melt in your mouth!

This cannelloni is a quick recipe that comes together with some fresh spinach, chicken, and ricotta cheese, all topped with an easy creamy sauce.

The sauce on its own is Half & Half, seasonings, and parmesan. The addition of all the cheese in this cannelloni makes the flavors pop even more. Besides, one serving of milk, cheese or yogurt provides 8 grams of protein and 9 essential nutrients.

Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!

The flavors of cheese and milk and yogurt run pretty deep on this blog, including one of my all time favorite recipes, Spinach Artichoke Chicken.

We’re also celebrating June Dairy Month, so you’re free to eat up all the cheese and milk that your heart desires! 😉 

June Dairy Month is a time to celebrate America’s dairy farmers, who provide us with healthy dairy foods. If you have a minute, please hop on over to Drink-Milk.com and meet some of Ohio and West Virginia’s dairy farming families.

You can also check out my own Ohio Dairy Adventure and see me in dairy farming action.

feeding-calf

Just in those two States, dairy farm families raise more than 274,000 dairy cows on about 2,500 dairy farms. In an average year, Ohio and West Virginia dairy cows produce approximately 5.6 billion pounds, or about 656 million gallons of milk. 

Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!

To get the full benefits of milk, according to the USDA, adults should consume three servings of dairy – milk, cheese, or yogurt – each day. A serving size is 1 cup of milk or yogurt, and 2-ounces of cheese.

My point is that you need this Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni in your life. Especially in June! The cows will appreciate it.

Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!

HOW TO PREPARE CANNELLONI

Bonus tip about this recipe? You don’t have to precook the pasta! Say whaaaat?! *raising the roof*

Edit: Some commenters have said that their tubes needed to be precooked because they were still crunchy after baking. I suggest to precook the cannelloni tubes in boiling water for 5 minutes before filling with the chicken mixture.

  • The cannelloni tubes are filled with a warm mixture of chicken (use cooked leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken), cheese, and fresh spinach.
  • The prepared cannelloni are then transferred to a baking dish and arranged over some pasta sauce. Use your favorite pasta sauce, homemade or store bought.
  • For a finishing touch, the cannelloni are topped with a combination of Half & Half and cheese, a liquid that the cannelloni will cook in while baking.

Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!

20-ish minutes later, din din is served! The entire recipe should not take longer than 40 to 45 minutes, from start to finish. The dish is easy to make, kid friendly and makes for some great leftovers.

The ricotta gives a deliciously creamy texture and the sauce results in a beautiful golden crust. Just go make it, dinner-makers!

MORE CHEESY PASTA RECIPES:

To meet Ohio and West Virginia dairy farmers, learn more about how farmers care for their cows and follow milk’s journey from farm to fridge, visit Drink-Milk.com, and follow the American Dairy Association Mideast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

ENJOY!

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Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!

Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni

Katerina | Diethood
Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!
4.62 from 67 votes
Servings : 6 Serves
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 12 cannelloni tubes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup part-skim Ricotta cheese
  • 1 bag (8 to 10 ounces) baby spinach
  • salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup pasta sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups half & half
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cook cannelloni tubes for 5 minutes in boiling water; rinse and set aside to cool for a few minutes, or just until cool enough to handle. 
  • Preheat oven to 400F.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add onions and saute for 2 minutes; stir in garlic and chicken and continue to cook for 4 minutes.
  • Add milk and simmer for 2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  • Stir in ricotta cheese until well blended.
  • Add spinach and cook for 2 minutes, or until wilted.
  • Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
    Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!
  • Spoon pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
  • Using a spoon, your hands, or even a piping bag, stuff the prepared chicken mixture into cannelloni tubes.
  • Arrange the cannelloni in a single layer on the bottom of the previously prepared baking dish. Set aside.
    Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!
  • In a mixing bowl, combine half & half, parmesan, basil, oregano, nutmeg, salt, and pepper; whisk until thoroughly combined.
  • Pour the half & half mixture over the cannelloni.
  • Bake in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown and the cream is reduced.
    Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni - Cannelloni pasta tubes packed with a cheesy ricotta and chicken filling, and topped with a creamy and delicious tomato sauce. Simple, super easy to make, and they're SO tasty!
  • Remove from oven and let stand 3 minutes, or until sauce has slightly thickened.
  • Spoon the sauce over the cannelloni and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 Cannelloni Tubes + Sauce | Calories: 434 kcal | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Protein: 38 g | Fat: 19 g | Saturated Fat: 10 g | Cholesterol: 122 mg | Sodium: 411 mg | Potassium: 545 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 675 IU | Vitamin C: 5 mg | Calcium: 248 mg | Iron: 2.5 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: baked cheese recipe, cannelloni, cannelloni recipe, chicken pasta, chicken pasta dinner recipe, easy baked pasta recipe, pasta dinner, potluck pasta recipe
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69 comments on “Creamy Ricotta Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni”

  1. Made this for dinner last night! I couldn’t find the right noodles so I did jumbo shells and it was a hit with the whole family including a 6 yr old and 8 yr old!

    1. I’m so glad the recipe was a hit with your family, and it’s always a huge win when the kids love it, too! 😄

  2. Avatar photo
    Kitchen Babe

    Great recipe! I made a couple changes just based on personal preference 🙂

    – Substituted 1lb ground chicken
    – Subbed jumbo shells for cannelloni (less drama!) – cooked al dente
    – I cooked the chicken, set it aside to cool, then cooked the onion, spin, and garlic adding it to the chicken. Once cooled, I mixed in the ricotta and scooped the mixture into the cooled shells
    – I had a cup of tomato sauce leftover so I mixed that w/ the half and half before pouring over the shells (more flavor!)
    – Finally, I zested an entire lemon over everything before popping in the oven 🙂

    It was flavorful, easy, and my husband LOVED it! Thank you for the inspiration!

    1. I followed this recipe exactly as written, however I couldn’t find cannelloni, so I substituted in Barilla oven-ready thin lasagne (no piping or stuffing required). I boiled the lasagne noodles 4-5 minutes, rinsed gently, then I spread the ricotta chicken mixture over the pasta sheets and rolled them up beautifully. I did top this recipe with mozzarella cheese. This recipe was delicious and my kids loved it! The next time I make this I’ll probably double the red sauce and make a little more of the white sauce, as we’re a family who likes a lot of sauce. Cheers!

      1. That sounds like a fantastic adaptation! It’s great to hear that the substitution worked out well and that your family enjoyed it. Doubling the sauce next time sounds like a delicious plan for sauce lovers. Cheers to many more successful and tasty meals! Thank YOU! 🙂

  3. I made this for supper and it was delicious. I used manicotti shells. I did not have spinach so substituted chopped red pepper. I also added Parmesan cheese to the filling along with salt and pepper. I made a bechamel sauce adding extra Parmesan and a little extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese at the end then browning under broiler. Finished with sprinkling of fresh basil. I loved that not having all the ingredients that I could use substitutes. Thank you for the recipe.

  4. I layer the bottom of the baking dish with the pasta sauce and I made corkscrew pasta and made one layer on the bottom of the dish. Then I topped all of it with the ricotta cheese mixture and chicken. I did S&P and Italian seasoning. I added mushrooms and topped the dish with breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese. I used all the ingredients in the recipe except the correct noodles. It was terrific.

  5. I think I will make a few modifications to this recipe next time I make it. I think it would be better if an actual cream sauce were made in the skillet with whole milk, garlic, all of the same spices as this recipe, and more parmesan. I’d let it get nice and thick and let the parmesan melt. The quick mixing of the half and half and putting it in the oven like that just made it all seem kinda dry overall. I’ll probably put some of it inside the cannelloni, too, because the filling ended up being kinda dry as well.

  6. Made this last night. Did not have cannelloni noodles but had manicotti noodles. It was great. My husband loved it and we got our parsley from our garden.
    Will make again!
    L

  7. This recipe has a lot of potential. I followed it except for I used whole milk ricotta and I used a rotisserie chicken. There was way too much half an half. I believe it needs mozzarella cheese added to the chicken mixture. Cheese makes everything better! So ppl add your own spin to it. Play with it.

  8. I agree with previous reviewer that the chicken, milk, ricotta mixture was liquid. The recipe needs a lot of help. It’s very bland and just not good. I will never make this again. I was able to salvage it with using extra ricotta and discarding the watery mix. Starting over w ricotta and wasting cheese which I hate. I also had to make a completely different sauce for the mixture form another recipe I love just to give it flavor. Do not use this recipe.

  9. I made this pretty much following the recipe except I added b
    Chopped mushrooms and more onions to the chicken plus a dash or two of cayenne pepper. Must have worked as the plates were all but licked clean. I will definitely be using this recipe again! I also made my own tomato sauce, which I admit, is pretty darned good 😊. Thank you for sharing!!

  10. I wish I had read more of the reviews before making this because it was undoubtedly one of the worst things I’ve ever made (and I am no stranger to the kitchen). There is a lot of potential, but the method is disastrous. I used manicotti because I couldn’t find cannelloni and cooked it for 8 minutes (1 minute more than what was on the Barilla box) and it was still undercooked and chewy in spots. So blame that one on Barilla, it really needs more like 10 minutes. Then, both the milk and the ricotta cheese curdled when added to the pan and heated and the filling was watery (it definitely did not end up like the photo). I used 2% milk and as called for, part-skim ricotta. If you’re going to make it and insist on making it as written, I’d recommend using full-fat dairy to at least try and prevent curdling and maybe that would also cut down on some of the wateriness. I’m also not sure I understand the point of adding milk and simmering it until it’s evaporated so would definitely skip that step. Chopped chicken was a nightmare to try and wrestle into the shells so if I were to try this again, I’d use shredded chicken instead. As far as the filling goes, it makes more sense to cook the onions, garlic, and spinach, and then let it cool for a few minutes before mixing with the ricotta and shredded chicken. It holds together better and I think would prevent some of the wateriness. And finally, I used fat free half and half and that was too thin, though I’ve never had a problem making that substitution with other recipes. The ratio of pasta sauce to half and half mixture seemed off as well. Next time, I’d use full fat half and half, or heavy cream, but less of it, along with the parmesan and spices, and mix them together with the pasta sauce, then pour over the pasta before baking. It took far longer than 20 minutes at 400 degrees (I don’t know what kind of oven can heat and reduce 1.5 cups of, presumably cold or at least cool, half and half in 20 minutes. Beyond that, it sounds like the recipe originally intended for the pasta to be cooked in that cream mixture in 20 minutes. There’s no way). Probably should go more like 45-55 minutes, at least. Overall it was bland, watery, and far more complicated than it needed to be and while I recognize that my use of low fat dairy products could have contributed to that, the only specification on fat percentage to use was the part-skim ricotta. We choked it down for dinner and I threw out the rest. I may try again with a different method and manicotti that’s more cooked or even stuffed shells.

  11. This recipe sounded great. My Mom can’t eat tomato products, so I was wondering if Alfredo sauce might be a good substitute for the marinara. Thoughts?

  12. Katerina, this is a very tasty recipe. Thank you for posting this.
    The flavours come together quite nicely. It is now a family favourite.

      1. Yeah…15mins prep my ars …but it all tasted delicious…next time I’ll take more time in fixing this up instead of rushing. I had to use manicotti . I am a perfectionist when I cook man oh man. I was not happy with the way they looked…

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi!
      Yes, you can prep it beforehand and then bake later, but be sure to let it cool to room temperature before putting it away in the fridge for later. Keep it covered.

  13. I made this recipe Keto friendly by using Folio cheese wraps instead of pasta tubes, switched the milk for almond milk and used straight cream instead of half and half. I found a sugar free marinara on Amazon and the experiment began! I didn’t know if this would turn out but it was amazing! My whole family loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s a keeper for sure!! ❤️😍

  14. Recipe so hard to see for all the annoying pop ups. Really want to try but do t want to have to copy the recipe to paper to try
    I have tried hard to close all the ads with no success. I guess I will delete the recipe. Too bad

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      At the very top of the post there’s a button that says “PRINT RECIPE”, or the one next to it that says “JUMP TO RECIPE”. You don’t even have to scroll down; just hit one of those two and it will automatically take you to the print section, or scroll you down to the recipe card. You won’t have to bother with the ads. But those ads do help me with running this site. It’s free for you to get the recipe, but it’s not free for me to provide the free content for you. I hope you understand. Best, Katerina

  15. Avatar photo
    Julia Courtemarsh

    I could definitely follow Gigi’s suggested changes. I had to cook longer than the 20 min for the sauce to thicken and this made the pasta tough. I seasoned the chicken and still found it to be bland.

  16. I made this with a couple adjustments. I wanted to make it gluten free for my dad but couldn’t find gluten free cannelloni so I used gluten free lasagna noodles and turned this into lasagna! I used a jar of tomato basil sauce (about 2.5 cups). I also cooked the noodles (12 of them). In a 9×13 dish I layered half tomato sauce, half noodles, all of chicken mixture, rest of noodles, rest of sauce, topped with the half and half sauce. I cooked it 30 mins and it looked a little soupy when I pulled it from the oven but after letting it sit for 5 mins it soaked up a little and was perfect. Very tasty!

    1. You can use Jovial 100% organic brown rice gluten free Manicotti. The tubes are small like cannelloni. They’re delicious! Available on Amazon.

  17. Avatar photo
    Dawn @ The Kitchen and a Latte

    This sounds and looks really good 🙂 I think I would precook the pasta as well. In a crockpot with some extra sauce should definitely cook the noodles without precooking if you ever do this in the slow cooker.

  18. I am wanting to make this is cannoli the same as manicotti shells? I didn’t see anything that said cannoli when I looked in the grocery store.

    1. As is, I don’t think this is a hit. But it was tasty enough that I think I’ll try again with a couple changes:
      – cooking the noodles for 2 or 3 mins longer than recommended
      – adding some egg and Mozzarella cheese to the filling as binders
      I did season the chicken quite a bit (following other suggestions), and I’m glad I did.

  19. Avatar photo
    LaDonna Shrum

    Cannelloni was hard, not cooked. Had to put back in oven, hopefully it will be cooked and tender but takes much more than 20 minutes.

  20. This looks fantastic but I’m confused with the chicken. Do I add raw chicken to the onions and garlic? Or how do you recommend preparing the chicken so it doesn’t get too dry?

    1. 3 cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped
      The cannelloni tubes are filled with a warm mixture of chicken (use cooked leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken), cheese, and fresh spinach

  21. Hello, haven’t tried this recipie yet but would love to try it out. Just not clear about the half and half. Could you please explain. Thank you.

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      HI!
      “Half & Half” is half cream, half milk. You can also use light heavy cream or full fat milk. I hope this helps! 🙂

  22. First ever time I had followed a recipe and genuinely loved the outcome first hand! I was a little lazy and used store brought roast chicken but was so tasty and not dry at all! Also used a whole bottle of pasta sauce instead of just the one cup. Highly recommend! I never even bother to write comments but I just had to here as I was so satisfied

  23. Whenever I make a recipe for the first time, I follow the instructions to the letter. Then if any changes are needed, I feel I can add my 2 cents. This was a delicious recipe, but feel there is room for improvement. I found the cannelloni undercooked as another reader mentioned. I recently made the recipe again with the following changes. I precooked the pasta tubes. I shredded the chicken rather than finely chopping it and did not add the chicken to the onion garlic mixture. The chicken has been cooked and with the additional cooking time, it becomes a little dry. Add the chicken in struction #7. In instruction #11 I made a roux and added the half+half along with the seasonings and simmer till slightly thickened. Also add the Parmesan cheese at this point. These simple revisions made this recipe outstanding and company raved about it. This is not a criticism of the owner of this recipe, just my personal taste. I like this site very much. Bob Appetit

    1. Gigi, I agree with you and made some of the same revisions. I used rotisserie chicken sautéing the garlic and onion first and tossing in my shredded chicken the the milk and it did not dry out. I made my sauce like you with a rue and I added the tomato sauce to it (amazing). The noodles should definitely be precooked next time but other than that it tasted great. I would like to see the recipe worded/arranged a little more prep friendly but other wise this was yummy.

    2. I read through the original recipe and made similar changes myself. Just noticed your comment!

      A. Didn’t heat the chicken with the onions/garlic. I put the milk in with the garlic/onions for a couple of minutes and then threw spinach in for another minute or so before adding the cooked chicken and Ricotta.
      B. I used frozen spinach, and just drained it/squeezed out most of the water before mixing in to the chicken/ricotta mixture.
      C. Made a roux to start the white sauce using about 1 tbsp butter and 1-2 tbsp of flour.
      D. I placed about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan before placing the stuffed cannelloni in. I mixed the reserved 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in with the white sauce.
      E. Cooked the pasta for 5 minutes before stuffing them.
      F. Baked at 400 degrees covered with foil for 30 minutes and then 10 minutes with the foil removed (to brown the top).

      Absolutely delicious! This is my first crack at making stuffed pasta, and I doubt I will need to find another recipe to use. Thank you for the lovely recipe inspiration Karen!

  24. Just tried this recipe exactly as written and while the flavor was delicious. The pasta wasn’t cooked. And the sauce had all dried up. I think if I were to try it again I would either double the white sauce or cover with foil at the beginning of baking to keep more moisture in.

  25. Turned out really good! I used Manicotti shells instead and cooked them first just to be safe. My picky 2 yr old loved it too!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi!
      No, you don’t have to precook the cannelloni. They will cook in the sauce while in the oven… it saves some time. 😀

  26. this dish is a thing of beauty! I’ve made this before, but years ago, love it and at the very least this is a nice reminder of a all of these flavors together since you can’t really do this in a ravioli since there’s too much pasta and too little filling, better when you can actually taste the filling in its own concentrated loveliness

  27. Avatar photo
    Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious

    This looks delicious! I love the chicken and cheese filling! I know what is going on the dinner menu!

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