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:
Make the sauce first;
Mix filling, roll up, cut into thirds;
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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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. 😂
Made this today and it was a big hit. Will make this again.
I made this today & it was delicious & a nicer presentation than regular lasagna. I had the ricotta but didn’t realize till halfway through the recipe that I forgot to buy parmesan, but I used feta & it worked out well. 😋
As a Brooklyn ,NewYorker I have access to ingredient’s only equaled in Italy.. I have but one question what are the crunchy brown bits you refer to..
I cannot wait to try this will let you know how mine came out
Thanks Dan
She refers to the dry, crispy bits of pasta (and cheese) that stick up and brown when cooking. And we all want those bits!
My husband and I made this last night together and it was absolutely next level delicious! We’ve been loving trying out your recipes during lockdown in Melbourne. Thank you Nagi for bringing these moments of joy into our lives during a difficult time 😊.
Hi Nagi,
I couldn’t find frozen spinach at Woolworths today for some reason. I used fresh spinach and it turned out better than I thought. Five stars!
I asked yesterday at my woolworths and the lady said because it is an imported producy they are having trouble getting it. 🙂
I made this at the start of the week for my husband with the better-than-dominos garlic bread and Rocket Salad on the side. Safe to say it was a massive hit (and made amazing leftovers for work today!!) Thank you, Nagi!
This is so delicious!!! Easy to follow recipe. A hit with all the family
That’s so great to hear – thanks so much Kim! N x
Making this tonight – can’t wait, roll on 5pm and hometime!!!!
It was superb Nagi – I tweeked it a l’il bit to use less passata (my dinner guest finds too much tomato triggers his gout, can’t have that!!) and it was delicious! Another keeper!
Perfect recipe to cook together on a lockdown date night with a glass of wine, a bit of work with the different elements but very straightforward steps and a freakin delicious result. Would definitely do this again for dinner with friends/family.
This is brilliant. Your instructions were really easy to follow and it came out perfectly. Absolutely delicious and a real winner with my daughter! Thanks.
Hi Nagi,
in regards to your abstinence of certain brands of ricotta.
Its dead easy to make your own ricotta! and lasts way longer in your fridge than the store brought stuff. You just need milk, cream, salt, vinegar and a thermometer.
1lt milk + 300ml cream + 1 teaspoon salt (very important not to forget the salt, or else it turns out rubbery)
heat till 100deg- stirring constantly…the moment that thermometer hits 100deg pop in 2 tablespoons white vinegar. leave on heat for 10-20 seconds- allow to come to the boil- TURN OFF heat AS SOON as it comes to the boil. then pop a lid on and leave for 20 min – this is when the curds will aggregate. Then use a slotted spoon to scoop curds into a strainer (a old ricotta container is best).
pop at 4 deg .
Nagi – Worked great with brown rice lasagne sheets. And better for my husband who is a Type 1 diabetic. Another winner!!! Take care – sending good wishes to all in Victoria!
Excellent!
Loved making this, felt therapeutic rolling up the stuffed lasagne sheets. The flavours were superb and not at all too cheesy. Sublime!
Nagi – Worked great with brown rice lasagne sheets. And better for my husband who is a Type 1 diabetic. Another winner!!! Take care – sending good wishes to all in Victoria!
Nagi!!!!! Once again you have nailed it! I don’t even like red sauce that much and this was soooooooo good!
Wahoo – you’re converted now! N x
This looks wonderful and I can’t wait to give it a go. Do you think that the just the rolls could be made in advance, not cooked, and frozen for later use?
Yes 100% Linda! N x
Hi Nagi ! I’ve written before and your recipes are great! This recipe however was a bit fiddly, but I think it was the ‘fresh’ lasagne sheets I used..which brand did you use? Also I used fresh spinach because i couldn’t find any decent frozen spinach..but most of all… don’t take offence but I am in love with your boy Dozer 🙂 …
Hi Dede, sorry you found it fiddly, what was the issue? I used Latina fresh pasta sheets here 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi.I used Baccis sheets..they were dry and very long so I cut them…the fiddly was the roll up and cut as filling kept squishing out…that said it was really delicious & definitely will try with the other lasagne sheets Thank you
Made this tonight, was a hit. Your recipes are amazing. Monday night made the Cottage Pie, another great recipe. Thank you
I just finished making this and eating for dinner. OMG!! So good! Do you think next time I cook, I could cook the 30 minutes, cool refrigerate, overnight, then reheat then add the cheese for the next 15 minute portion. Would the sauce dry up too much? Thanks so much for this recipe
Hi Sherie, I’d just cook it in the one go, then reheat in the oven 🙂 N x
Thanks so much!!
Absolutely fabulous, made my own pasta as I couldn’t find any fresh sheets here. I forgot how easy it is 😉
Thanks for this one, it’s summer over here so served it with a big salad. Oh and the best thing is there are leftovers for tonight!!
Nagi, you are saviour during isolation in Melbourne. We’ve made 20+ of your recipes in lockdown & they’ve all been winners. This rotolo was SO delicious. Cheesy yet light. Can’t wait for leftovers at lunch. Thanks for keeping us well fed 🙂