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
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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. 😂
I want to try this…question, however…WHAT is a “lasagna sheet”? It is a cooked lasagna noodle?
Hi Bonnie – yes the lasagna is the pasta sheets. These are used uncooked as they cook in the oven when the dish is baked. N x
Hi, this looks fab and I’m going to try it tomorrow for some friends who are coming over. I was wondering can I make this up before they arrive and leave it in the fridge for 1-2hours (while we do some wine tasting!) and then throw it in oven when ready? Thank you 🙂
Yes of course Sarah! Have a glass for me 😉
Another winner with the family.
Delicious.
I added some walnuts to the filling I like the crunchiness.
Thank you Nagi.
Sounds great Adriana!
Hi, I have never heard of a brown onion! I saw that you can also use yellow onion so I will use those, but where do you find brown onions? What are the ‘brown bits’ that everyone is referring to in their comments? Is it the brown edges of the lasagna noodles that are on top? If it is, I love those too! I am looking forward to making this! Looks delicious! Thanks!
Brown/Yellow onion is the same onion! Hope that helps!
Hi Jane, I always use brown onions in my cooking, they are the most popular onion sold here 🙂 I hope you love this dish!
Hi there! I love the look of this recipe, can’t wait to try it!
I don’t know if you’re aware, but a ‘gusto’ style site is using your image to promote/sell their Rotolo di Pasta product:
https://pastaevangelists.com/collections/w-c-4th-june/products/rotolo-di-pasta-spinach-ricotta-with-a-tomato-sauce
If you own the image rights, it might be worth persuing.
Best wishes,
Rachael
Naughty people! 🙁 Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
I’m going,to make this dish. Looks amazing, love your down to earth comments.
I was wondering if that is a 9ich pan? Planning to make this for my parents.
Hi Gigi – it’s about an 11″ skillet 🙂
nvm. it is
Hello. If you can’t get free lasagna sheets can you boil first then get soft enough to roll?
Hi Tiara! I personally haven’t tried it but it should work just fine!
Fresh*
Is there anyway you could replace the spinach with another veggie like broccoli or something similar? If so how would you suggest preparing that?
Hmm – what about silver beet / swiss chard??
Hello I like the sound of this recipe but am wondering if using fresh pasta sheets do I need to dip them in boiling water first or is this only if I am using dried sheets.
Also if making the same day can I make it a few hours ahead ??
Hi Vicki! Nope if they are fresh and pliable so can be rolled, no need to dip them in boiling water! N x
The freezing before hand has got me a little confused.
Do I freeze the whole dish including the tomato sauce? or just the pre rolled pasta?
Thank you
Hi Ashlee! Put the whole dish together – the sauce with the rotolo in it, then freeze 🙂 N xx
Is it necessary or can I skip freezing it??
Oh! Freezing is only for leftovers or make ahead!! 🙂
I love, love, L-O-V-E-! This recipe! I can’t count how many times I have made this dish, and it’s almost always a success(one time I left it in the oven to long, and the tomato sauce “disappeared”, because the pasta sucked it all up)
To make your recipe even more lazy than it already is( :-D) I use round pastas (paccheri rigati no. 152 to be exacted). I just soaked them in cold water for about 2 hours, place them in the tomato sauce, and fill them by pipping the filling in the holes.
Oh, and did I mention I LOVE this recipe 😉
That is SUCH A GOOD IDEA!!!!! So glad you LOVE this recipe – as much as I do it seems! N xx
Could fresh tomatoes be puréed to make the passata?
Hi Tara! Yes but please use about 50% extra and cook down longer 🙂
Hello! Just wondering can we add, some chicken with to the spinach.
Definitely! I would use shredded or chopped cooked chicken 🙂
Brown onion?
Yup – or white or yellow 🙂
Can you just use regular tomatoe sauce or do.you have to make it like that?
Hi Pauline – I don’t recommend using tomato sauce (i.e. like ketchup) because the flavour will be way too strong 🙂 You can just use plain crushed canned tomato 🙂
Just to confirm- th lasagne sheets are not pre-boiled?
I’ve tried to make lasagne without pre-boiling a few times and it’s hit or miss. But perhaps a longer bake…
I’m going to try this vegan: looks lovely!
Hi Laexis! That’s right, no pre-boiling but these are made with fresh lasagna sheets from the refrigerator section of the supermarket, not the dried sheets 🙂
Ooh! Thanks! That’s perfect then, because I usually roll out my own pasta dough.
Hi!
I am attempting a vegan version of this recipe. I have figured out all the replacements BUT the egg. What is the main purpose of the egg in the filling? Do you have any replacement suggestions?
Thanks!
Egg replacement= 1/4 an avocado, or 1 tblsp flax seeds + 2 tblsp water
Hi Becca! I use it for binding, but honestly, it will work without 🙂 Good luck with the vegan version! This would be fab with the filling made with pumpkin + spinach + nutritional yeast for parm flavour!
Ooooo I’ll try that next! Thanks 🙂
These are really yummy! I did have to use regular boxed lasagna noodles since I was unable to locate fresh. I cooked them per box instructions, rinsed and then laid them out on foil so they wouldn’t stick to one another. This also allowed them to dry a little while I made the filling. I ended cutting each noodle in half so it wasn’t wrapped around and around the filling. I also added some sauteed mushrooms to about half the batch and that was very good as well but hubby voted for the non-mushroomed ones. After it was finished, I also sprinkled a Italian cheese blend on top and that made it spectacular!
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it Rhonda! Thank you for letting me know! And I’m SUPER impressed that you made the effort to make this with dried lasagna noodles! N x
Great recipe- A Rotolo was featured on MKR this week but the recipe you have looks like a winner.; my intention is to make 2- one gluten-free and the other using wheat-based pasta!!
Oooh! I’m catching up! I just got to the end of the Redemption Round last night!!!
Coud I add ground beef to this?
You sure can! 🙂