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Spinach And Ricotta Zucchini Cannelloni baked until the cheese is bubbling and golden…this is one dinner that’s not only easy to make, but full of flavour it’s hard to stop at 4 Cannelloni. Or 6 even.
Rich and creamy spinach and ricotta stuffed inside Zucchini tubes to make another low carb, guilt free and healthy dinner!
Who says low carb-ing is boring anyway? Not me.
It’s no secret on this blog how much I love pasta. Pasta; carbs; bread; carbs; pasta…and did I mention carbs? Finding lower carb and healthier options is turning out to be pretty easy. Especially with Zucchini.
After the Creamy Sun Dried Tomato + Parmesan Chicken Zoodles exploded all over the world wide internet, it’s pretty obvious a lot of people are looking for healthier alternatives to pasta.
Well, here’s another one.
Zucchini sliced into thick and wide ribbons to create the perfect no-pasta lasagna sheet /cannelloni tube.
With a creamy spinach ricotta filling, packing a punch with cheese, garlic and rich flavour….
…..which is then spooned onto Zucchini ribbons, rolled up, and placed into a baking dish. That’s it.
If you have a mandolin, the ribbons are created in seconds. But, you can create them with a cheese slicer, vegetable peeler or thinly sliced with a sharp knife. The choice is yours.
From experience, a mandolin worked better for me than the other options, but that could just be me.
Bake until the cheese is bubbling over and your kitchen has been filled with the mouthwatering aromas of Mozzarella and garlic.
And eat them straight out of the baking dish. Plates are over rated.
So.Much.Cheese.
Still need to fill the carb craving? Try out these:
Ricotta Manicotti (Cannelloni)
Turkey, Sweet Potato and Kale Cannelloni
Sausage Eggplant Lasagna With Ricotta Pesto
Chicken Pumpkin and Ricotta Lasagna
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Spinach And Ricotta Zucchini Cannelloni
Ingredients
- 2 large thick Zucchini washed and unpeeled
- 14 oz can crushed tomatoes or pasta sauce of choice/Passata
- 18 oz frozen spinach thawed
- 18 oz Ricotta
- 2 x-large eggs
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese divided
- 1 pinch salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 210°C | 410°F. Prepare a shallow baking dish with half of the pasta sauce. Set aside. Using a mandolin, slice Zucchini lengthwise to create wide ribbons. Set aside.
- Place spinach in a large bowl and squeeze out any excess liquid and discard. Mix in the ricotta, eggs, garlic and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese until all ingredients are well combined. Mix through salt to taste.
- Place two zucchini ribbons on top of each other (as pictured above); spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto the smallest end. Roll up to form a cannelloni and place into a shallow baking dish, open end facing up. Repeat with remaining zucchini and spinach mixture. Pour the remaining sauce over the 'cannelloni,' and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling and the zucchini is soft when tested with a fork or toothpick.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I used a mandolin with 1.5 mm thick slices. Then I laid them on paper towels and sprinkled with salt to draw out moisture. Let them sit for about 20 minutes to half hour. Cover with more paper towels to wick away moisture. This made them very pliable and easy to roll. Also helped so they weren’t soggy. .
I made this for two of my elderly residents in the nursing home where I work, one is Vegan due to digestives issues and the other is GF. When I told them it had Zucchini they were both a little unsure but they both absolutely loved it.
Thankyou so much for the recipes
Ann
Hi. I was wondering if the calories that are mentioned in the nutritional information I’d for 4 rolls or 6 rolls or the whole thing etc etc. Can you let me know?
This was quite nice (Have been looking for pasta substitutes and love cannelloni.) Added a little chilli to the tomato and some parsley to the top for extra flavour and used reduced calorie ricotta which still worked fine. I couldn’t get my zucchini into roll-able sheets either so ended up doing a kind of cannelloni-vege lasagne hybrid with the sauce on the bottom, then the zucchini, then the ricotta mix, then more sauce and some cheese on top and it tasted fine. Unfortunately the rest of the family doesn’t share my enthusiasm for a lower carb health kick or I’d make it more often.
Delicious, but couldn’t get my zucchini to roll. I used the mandoline, but zucchini slices still wouldn’t roll.
I then tried warm water bath for zucchinis, but still mo luck! A veggie peeler is paper thin, so I didn’t go further. Did anyone else have trouble rolling zucchini??
Try using a skillet or frying pan to grill or part cook the zucchini slices even if you brush them with oil and put them in the oven until slightly soft cool and roll as per recipe hope it helps
You can get thin strips of zucchini using a potato peeler.
Nice, but a little on the dry side (unless I just overcooked it). I would prefer it a bit creamier.
Do you have a suggested amount of fresh spinach, instead of frozen? I cannot find a good conversion anywhere.
Thanks!
This is what I found: One standard 10-ounce package of frozen spinach equates to approximately 1 1/2 pounds of fresh spinach. Hope that helps!