I stole this recipe for Creamy Ricotta Spinach & Chicken Cannelloni from Katerina at diethood.com. To start this pasta dish; chicken, onions and garlic are cooked in a skillet. Milk, ricotta cheese and spinach are added in next. This creamy chicken mixture is the filling used to stuff cooked cannelloni tubes. Pasta sauce is spread on the bottom of a casserole dish. The filled pasta tubes are placed on top of the sauce. Another sauce is made with half & half, Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, nutmeg, salt and pepper. This second cream sauce is poured over the pasta. The dish finishes by baking in the oven. There are many steps to this pasta dish, but trust me the final dish is delicious and worth the work.
Cook 3 chicken breasts in a skillet (or use leftover chicken) using Italian seasoning. After cooking, cool and shred the chicken.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 chopped onion and sauté 2 minutes; stir in 2 minced garlic cloves continue to cook for 4 minutes.
Add in chicken and ½ cup milk and simmer 2 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Stir in 1 cup ricotta until well blended.
Next add 1 bag (8 to 10 oz) baby spinach (or you can use frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained) and cook 2 minutes or until wilted.
Remove from heat and let stand until cool enough to handle. Spoon 1 cup pasta sauce on bottom of 9×13 pan. Stuff the chicken mixture into uncooked cannelloni tubes. Arrange tubes on top of sauce and set aside.
In a bowl combine 1 ½ cups half & half, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, ½ tsp dried basil, ¼ tsp dried oregano, ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
Pour over cannelloni.
Bake in oven 18 to 20 minutes or until top is golden and cream has reduced.
Remove from oven and let stand 3 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Serve with sauce from the pan spooned over cannelloni.
Creamy Ricotta Spinach & Chicken Cannelloni
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cooked chicken breasts finely chopped
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 bag 8 to 10 oz baby spinach
- Salt
- Pepper
- 12 cannelloni tubes
- 1 cup pasta sauce
- 1 ½ cups half & half
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 F.
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Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 2 minutes; stir in garlic and chicken and continue to cook for 4 minutes.
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Add milk and simmer 2 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Stir in ricotta until well blended. Add spinach and cook 2 minutes or until wilted.
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Remove from heat and let stand until cool enough to handle.
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Spoon pasta sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan and set aside.
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Stuff the chicken mixture into uncooked cannelloni tubes. Arrange tubes on top of sauce and set aside.
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In a bowl combine half & half, parmesan, basil, oregano, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. Pour over cannelloni.
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Bake in oven 18 to 20 minutes or until top is golden and cream has reduced.
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Remove from oven and let stand 3 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Serve with sauce from the pan spooned over cannelloni.
Recipe Notes
I shred the chicken instead of chopping it. Also, I used manicotti; cannelloni was not available at my grocery store. If you don't have fresh spinach you can also use frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained.