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. 😂
This was awesome. I made with half cheese spinach and meat
I have to agree with your comment about the Perfect Italiano tubs being powdery. Just terrible.
Doesn’t the tomato puree ruin a cast iron skillet?
Yes. It takes off the seasoning you work so hard for to make it “nonstick” over time. You are correct.
Hi Terry, I’ve cooked tomatoes in my cast iron skillet my whole life without issues. N x
Hi Nagi. Plan on making this on Wednesday. The store did not have traditional lasagne sheets – had gluten free with brown rice or Grain free with almond flour. Have cooked many times with brown rice pasta and thinking this is the way to go. Any thoughts? Thank you.
Hi Alexandra, I haven’t tried sorry – I usually just use regular white pasta sheets. I’m sure they will work just as well though. N x
I have an idea that this could also be made with flour tortillas as-is, or change up the sauce to go for a more Mexican falvour (enchilada-ish?). Love your site, Nagi!
Yes! Like a Mexican style rotolo with guacamole and sour cream 🤤
My daughter is a vegetarian and absolutely loved this!
It was so good that even though I’m a meat eater, I tucked in and went back for seconds!
That’s so great to hear Claire!! N x
This was a big hit tonight. Even the spinach hater ate it with enjoyment. We used fresh homemade pasta sheets, which was fine. It did stick to the pan fairly impressively in places, but that won’t stop me from making it again!
I made this using fresh silverbeet (microwaved, squeezed, then finely shredded). I lay some smoked shaved ham on the end of the lasagne sheets before topping with spinach mix, and this gave a bit of extra flavour (along with a touch of chilli in sauce). The lasagne sheets were very ordinary quality, and were split where they had been folded, but no dramas, it worked out ok (a bit of overlapping needed). The dish tasted great and was very well received, will def make again (and it uses lots of silverbeet from the stack in the garden, win/win!)
Sounds amazing Judy!! N x
Can I make this in advance, and put it in the fridge? Whan it for the next day!
Thanks
100% Di! Enjoy, N x
Nagi, I actually just tried your crunchy baked shrimp for dinner tonight n it was awesome! This recipe looks great too, n I just hv to tell u how in awe I am of your video taking n editing skills, u make the best recipe videos n great music selection too 👍🏻
Oh my goodness thank you so much for this! I was waiting until I moved to a bigger place to actually buy a shawarma stick to make my own because I LOVE IT SO MUCH. But this sounds like a great way to do it in a small kitchen. I can’t wait to try!!!
Love to know what you think once you try it Pris! N
😂😂😂
Can’t stop laughing at today’s picture with Dozer standing in the water and your caption — so funny!!!
He’s just a ball of entertainment 😂
Count me in! Also, add mashed pumpkin to the ricotta/spinach mix. It’ll be a delight.
Yum! A great way to up your veggie intake too! N x
I’ve seen Rachel Ray make these with the larger egg roll wraps. very similar. I’ve made Manicotti using them. I have also used the no bake Lasagna noodles also. I just soak them in some warm water till pliable.
Perfect Cherie! N x
Do you think this would work with manicotti shells?
Hi Nagi, Thank you for a really fun site. Dozer is a real sweet heart. I can’t wait to try this recipe. So far everything I have tried from your site has been excellent. I was wondering if the tomato puree is the same as plain tomato sauce here in the states. It is about the consistency of ketchup and is just tomato with no seasonings? Also could the pasta be the same as eggroll wraps which is like a big square pasta noodle or fresh pasta like manacotti pasta sheets or manacotti pasta tubes. We sell them in some markets here. To use in a pinch as I, for the most part, make my own pasta from scratch. There isn’t that much to it
Hi Nagi, looks like another winner! I love the combo of ricotta and Spinach and usually include the zest of a lemon into the mix as well. To me it just elevates the taste.
Yum, great idea Sharon! N x
I cannot wait to make this!! I’m drooling just looking at the pictures. Added bonus is that it looks pretty easy to assemble. Thanks Nagi. Totally loving your recipes and my daily Dozer fix.
I hope you try it and love it Donna! N x
Hi Nagi. How would you recommend using homegrown silverbeet instead of fresh spinach, quantity wise ?
Hi Alison, yes you definitely could, just follow the directions in the recipe notes for fresh 🙂 N x