Juicy, cheesy spinach and ricotta filling enclosed in buttery, flaky puff pastry. These Spinach and Ricotta Rolls are great finger food for parties, snack food on the go, and popping into lunch boxes. Snack Monsters’ dream come true! Plus they are great for making ahead.
Posting live from regional Queensland in the midst of mango harvesting at the Groves’ Tropical orchard!!!
Long time readers may remember that I visited this very same farm in early 2016. This City Gal turned Northern Beaches Gal Wanna-Be-Country-Gal swept into Yeppoon, armed with cameras and all manner of gadgets, ready to get stuck into the farm life. Turned up dressed completely inappropriately (who wears a sparkly clean WHITE TOP to a farm??) and as it so happens, I just missed the harvesting season. The mango trees were bare, with just a few late bloomers remaining.
But this year, I’m here to witness the action!!! YEE HA!
I arrived yesterday, was greeted so warmly by the Groves Family – Boss Man Ian, Boss Lady Sandi, their daughter Mel (Australia’s Best Mango Grader) and their son David (if it can be made of wood, he’ll build it, if it can’t, he’ll still probably figure it out) – caught up on farm happenings over the last 12 months (so. Much. TALKING!), shared laughs over mango daiquiris (oooh! Who wants the recipe??) and within 2 seconds of walking in the door of the homestead, I completely took over the kitchen.
Can’t help it. I partially did it under the guise of “Oh, let me help you, you’re so busy with packing the mangoes!”, but really, I’m just ridiculously overexcited about the bounty of fresh farm produce that I get to use on a whim. “Oh, I need limes! Do we have limes?” “What herbs are there? Lemongrass? You grow lemongrass??” “Hmm. So for dinner, I need green mangoes for a salad, almost overripe ones for the mango ice cream, and perfect ripe ones for dessert.”
Next week, I’ll be sharing all the tales from my visit. Including how I brought a giant suitcase which was mostly filled with food, including these Spinach Ricotta Rolls. Really. I know, who does that, right? Mad foodies. You don’t believe me? Hopefully one of the Groves will leave a testimonial on what they thought of these rolls. 🙂
The filling for these Spinach Ricotta Rolls is slightly different to what I use for my Spinach Ricotta Puffs and things like Cannelloni (woah, how have I not shared a recipe for Canelloni yet?), Lasagne (and again, no recipe yet??) and Spinach Ricotta Rotolo. The reason is because the ratio of filling to the buttery puff pastry is higher than the Puffs, and there is no sauce like with Cannelloni. So (I personally feel) the filling needs to have more flavour and be slightly juicer.
While you can make this with fresh spinach, I find it super easy to use frozen because I totally buy into the whole “snap frozen” thing. I applaud you if you use fresh, and I’ve included notes in the recipe for how to do so.
Happy weekend everyone! – Nagi xx
More cocktail food for parties
Coconut Shrimp / Prawns with Thai Mango Dipping Sauce
See all Dip Recipes, all Party Food and the Top 25 Party Foods!
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Spinach Ricotta Rolls
Ingredients
Filling
- 250 g / 8 oz frozen chopped spinach , thawed (Note 1)
- 400 g / 13 oz firm ricotta (Note 2)
- ¾ cup grated parmesan
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese (cheddar, tasty, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, Pepper Jack)
- 1 egg
- 1 large garlic clove , minced
- Pinch of nutmeg (fresh grated or powder)
- ¼ – ½ tsp salt
- Black pepper
Rolls
- 3 sheets puff pastry (Note 3)
- 1 egg , beaten
- Sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Take pastry out of freezer.
- Place spinach in a colander and use a wooden spoon or your hands to press out excess water. You could also do this using a tea towel or paper towels. Transfer spinach to a bowl (drink the liquid, it’s good for you!).
- Add remaining Filling ingredients. Mix to combine.
- Place pastry on work surface and cut in half to create 2 rectangles – you should have 6 in total.
- Divide filling between pastries, brush edge with egg then roll up, finishing with the seam side down.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Spray 2 x baking trays with oil (any).
- Cut rolls into 4, or whatever size you want. Brush tops with egg (makes it golden) then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then take out the top tray and move the bottom tray to the top and give it an additional 5 – 10 minutes to make it golden.
- Best served warm – the pastry is crispier and the filling is juicier. See notes for make ahead instructions.
Recipe Notes:
SaveSaveNutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Spinach and Ricotta Rolls recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
When I travel, Dozer stays with a golden retriever boarder. Basically, he’s having a holiday too. He has so much fun that I fear the day that I go to pick him up and he refuses to come with me….!!
Is it ok to cut them smaller and end up with double the amount. If so, do I cook for the same length of time?
Can someone tell me the weight of puff pastry sheets required for this recipe, as written? I am in the US, and I think they come in a different sized box from the Australian version. Thank you!
Wow, I remember you visiting the mango farm, so I’ve been following you for a long time!
These rolls look delicious! And yes PLEASE for your lasagna & cannelloni & mango daiquiris!
Delicious, best spinach and ricotta rolls I’ve ever had!
Whilst I don’t recommend making these on a hot and humid Sydney day unless you want a very stretched roll lol they are so yummy – thankfully Nagi recommended some fridge time before baking! Fresh, reheated the next day or out of the freezer these are delicious – everyone loves them!
I was wondering if anyone has or, can you switch out spinach for roast pumpkin ?
I made these for Christmas Day brunch and they were a huge hit!
The puff pastry I had comes with 2 sheets in a box, so I slightly reduced the amounts for the filling (but still had enough left to mix with extra eggs for my husband who needs to limit carbs). Also had the creamy ricotta on hand and it worked fine (maybe what we get in the US is different?).
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!!
Easy and tasty. Thank you
Amazing! Love it! Made with fresh large spinach , much better then frozen! Also used ricotta from Italian deli (it wasn’t wet at all!)
I’m interested to know how much fresh spinach you used. I prefer fresh because I think frozen is actually silverbeet 🤢. Nagi says 600g fresh but that seems a lot!
Wow, these were so easy and very tasty, thanks heaps !
Served these at a party and had 20 people ask me for the recipe – can’t go wrong and freezer friendly! Sublime recipes as always Nagi!
Huge hit at my sons 1st birthday party, and so easy to make
Huge hit with my family.
Will definitely be a regular from here on in ❤️
Just made these as an appetizer. They are delicious, and easy to make!
Love the recipe the filling delicious.
Followed the recipe to a T
Why did the cheese ooze out both ends
Hi Nagi, I use fresh lasagna sheets and sometimes I have 1-3 leftover sheets. Is this recipe okay to use in that case? I know lasagna isn’t puff, but would it work?
I’d love a book on how to use leftovers like this. I hate to waste food!
Really good!
Made these for a party recently and they were a big hit. People loved them.
These were amazing, my first time making them and my partner and I though they were delicious. Definitely going to make them for entertaining or to share at work sometime. Thank you!
Great recipe! I can’t believe I made something that looks so fancy and tastes so good 🙂
I modified the recipe slightly by adding 3 oz. of feta cheese and reduced the ricotta to 9 oz. It made a perfect light supper with a side salad.