Spinach Ricotta Pasta Bake is made with creamy ricotta and loads of spinach stirred through pasta, topped with pasta sauce, cheese and then baked until bubbly and golden. It tastes like a Spinach and Ricotta stuffed shells – but way faster to make!
Fabulous lazy Monday meal – made from scratch, using my cheeky “shake and pour” shortcut pasta sauce!
Spinach and Ricotta
Spinach and ricotta. We stuff things with it (Cannelloni, Rotolo, shells!), we layer things with it, we roll it up in puff pastry and we wrap it in pastry.
So why don’t we stir it through pasta bakes?
This is a lazy Monday meal I’ve been making for years. I know it’s a little different, but it really is tasty. It tastes like spinach and ricotta cannelloni or stuffed shells – but without the labour. 🙌🏻
Look at this pile of gooey, juicy deliciousness….no dry ricotta in MY pasta bakes!
Shake and pour pasta sauce!
Because this is a lazy meal, I make this with my shortcut homemade pasta sauce. It’s a shortcut recipe because I don’t cook it on the stove with sautéed onions and garlic like I ordinarily do. All I do is add pasta sauce flavourings right into a bottle of tomato passata, shake then pour it over the pasta bake.
To compensate for skipping the sautéed garlic and onions, I add extra flavours into the sauce. 🙂
Sub for tomato passata?
Tomato passata is pureed strained raw tomatoes, unflavoured. It’s sold in tall bottles in the pasta section of most supermarkets in Australia nowadays, and costs around the same as canned tomato. If you’re in the US or Canada, I’ve seen it at Walmart and here are a couple of Amazon – Mutti (excellent Italian brand I use) and Cento (a good value one). Or sub with what you know as tomato sauce.
What goes in Spinach Ricotta Pasta Bake
Here’s a snapshot of the ingredients. For convenience, I use frozen spinach here but fresh can be used in a cinch.
As for the ricotta, any type will work here. Some are creamier and softer than others which makes it easy to mix into the pasta.
If yours is the thicker more crumbly type, it’s an easy fix – just stir through some of the pasta cooking water to loosen it up. The starch in the pasta cooking water will make the ricotta mixture bind better than using normal water or milk to loosen the mixture. The same effect as tossing pasta through pasta sauces right before serving – it’s called emulsifying the sauce (what a show off!😂).
This really does taste like a Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni* – without the fiddly stuffing of the cannelloni tubes. Because as much as we all love eating those stuffed tubes of pasta smothered in tomato sauce and molten cheese, nobody’s jumping off the couch to offer to help stuff them. Right?? 😂
So – are you feeling lazy today too? -Nagi x
* For those of you in the US & Canada – cannelloni is basically the same as manicotti, except the tubes are slightly smaller and smooth, no ridges. Just as tasty!
All things Spinach and Ricotta!
Baked Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo – and it tastes as spectacular as it looks!
And more big juicy pasta bakes
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper) – OK, so it’s not baked, but it looks like a pasta bake!
Chili Mac and Cheese – ditto for this one 🙂
Watch how to make it
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Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 300g / 10 oz ziti pasta, uncooked, or other short pasta of choice
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese , shredded (or more! For topping)
Ricotta Mixture
- 1 lb / 500 g ricotta (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , grated
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 350g / 12oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid pressed out
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded
- 3/4 tsp salt & pepper
Shortcut Pasta Sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 700g / 24oz tomato passata (1 standard bottle) (Note 2)
- 1 tsp EACH onion and garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried Italian Mixed Herbs (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes , to taste (optional)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 2 tbsp water (if needed)
To Serve
- Parmesan cheese , grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Pasta Sauce: Pour out about 1/4 cup of the passata (to make room to add flavourings). Add the remaining Pasta Sauce ingredients into the bottle, screw the lid on and give it a shake.
- Cook pasta for time per packet MINUS 1 minute.
- SCOOP OUT 1 mugful pasta cooking water, drain and set aside.
- Ricotta Mixture – Mix Ricotta Mixture ingredients in a very large bowl. Use a splash of pasta cooking water if needed to make it creamy.
- Add pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof baking dish.
- Top with Pasta Sauce, top with cheese. Loosely cover with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve while hot and fresh!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published September 2015, updated April 2019 with fresh new photos, new writing, new video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Reaping the rewards of the Easter Egg Hunt!
PS Don’t worry, it’s a dog friendly Easter egg!
AMAZING AGAIN!! We are making 2 of your recipes a week at least, and every time we try a new one, we all say “this is the best!” So until tonight, this is our favourite! Even better the next day, or maybe that was the rain and we needed something delicious and comforting! Thanks Nagi, nailed it AGAIN x
Beware, this is dish is GARLIC central. Woohh hold back on the garlic powder!
I am a massive fan of recipietineats but this one left me very on the nose… and I threw out the remainder. The tomato sauce does NOT need any garlic powder nor is any extra garlic needed at all.
The flavours of the ingredients would shine if this was no OTT on the garlic.
Hi Nat! I’m sorry to hear you thought that, I haven’t had anyone else say that!Is there any chance you mismeasured?? N xx
Hi Nagi
Just checked and my measurements were as listed. Not to worry I will still make this dish again, just minus the garlic and onion powder.
I love your recipes, they are easy to make and full flavour
Would you be able to cook the pasta and prepare the dish, then leave it in the fridge overnight to bake in the oven a day later? Cant wait to try this!
Yes definitely Bianca, it may dry out just a smidgen so add 1/4 cup water to the pasta sauce. Make sure you bring it to room temp before baking 🙂 N x
My daughter cannot eat a lot of meat which is why we tried this recipe. I knew it would be nice, but I was not expecting it to be that tasty. I even went back for seconds which I don’t normally do with pasta. We upped the serving size which I am glad we did as I was able to have it for lunch the next day. Thank you Nagi
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Carol!! N x
Hi Nagi I’ve made this recipe twice now but added to the spinach and ricotta basil pesto just 3 tablespoons.found this gave additional flavour and came out even more moist.Love your site cook from it all the time.
Sounds yum Lucy! N x
I made this tonight but instead of doing the sauce as instructed, I decided to go with creating a meaty marinara instead. Half of the noodles I switched out for steamed cauliflower to reduce the carbs. And I discovered we were out of mozzarella, so instead I used a blend of provolone and havarti. So, augmented a bit, but it still turned out terrific.
If fresh spinach is used instead of frozen, should it be cooked before entering the oven?
No just shred slightly then mix through
Loved it. Easy, delicious, and comforting. Thank you Nagi.
I have the same question about using fresh spinach, and am leaning towards lightly cooking it so it won’t be too watery.
I use fresh spinach leaves. Look under notes you’ll see Nagi has printed it there.
No need to pre cook
Do you think I could toss through a tin of salmon before baking??
Yes definitely Tanya! N x
This was a gem of a find. We are hunkered down at home and trying to use up food we have before going out to do a grocery pick-up. In lieu of making the pasta sauce I used a 650ml jar of pasta sauce and I only had cheddar cheese. It was delicious. My 18 month old ate 3 bowls of it! Definitely going into the regular rotation. Thank you! I’m excited to check out your other recipes 🙂 I hope everyone is safe at home during this difficult time. Love from Canada.
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Samantha!! N x
I made this two nights ago and eating leftovers now — it’s incredible! I used a can of crushed tomates (with roasted garlic) in tomato puree to replace the passata and the texture was perfect. All we need is Nagi + Netflix to get us through this. 🙂
Hahah – LOVE this Bronwen!
This was delicious and so easy to prepare. Due to the fact that husband went back for 2nds & the rest of us are big eaters this only served 4 in my household.
That’s the best compliment Colleen – you’ll have to make a double batch next time! N x
YUMMY I will make it today.
I like picture with the ingredients! Your site is 👌👌👌👍👍👍👌💖💖💖💚💖💚💖
I hope you love it Ira! N x
Hi!
I used to make this all the time and remember there used to be milk in the ricotta mixture. I prefer to use this method, does anyone remember the quantity? 1/4 cup? Or did the whole mixture change and not just the milk?
Hi Nagi! What is the size/dimensions of the baking dish you used for this recipe?
Ha! Ha! That’s quite clever Nagi 😁 I love spinach ricotta cannelloni but I rarely make them because I’m too lazy to stuff them (even with a piping bag) ! Well spinach ricotta pasta are back on the menu at my place !!!
Thank you thank you !!
I hear ya Johanna! That’s why I tend to make a big batch and freeze – N x
Yep it’s yummy. Made it and loved it. Super easy no fuss weeknight meal, but so good for such a simple recipe with simple ingredients that are always on hand! 🤗
I’m so glad you loved it Darlana!
Made this tonight, almost exactly as described – – less salt and I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. It was delicious!!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Sounds great Neil!
This is so delicious and easy! I forgot to take my spinach out of the freezer in the morning but I put it in a plastic bag and thawed it in water for about 30 minutes and it worked perfectly! Your website has quickly become my go-to for new recipes.
That’s awesome to hear Shawna, thanks so much!!
Hi Nagi. Apologies if this has already been answered. Do you weigh the spinach before or after squeezing the excess liquid out?
Hi Darcy, before 🙂