Feta Cheese Cannelloni with Tomato Sauce
Spinach and feta stuffed cannelloni is a vegetarian baked pasta where dry cannelloni tubes are filled with a creamy blend of feta cheese and baby spinach, topped with a tomato-basil sauce, then baked covered at 180C (392F) for about half an hour. The foil traps steam so the tubes cook through without pre-boiling.
Yesterday, I felt like I had to cook something new. I had an incurable state of laziness, and all I wanted was to stay at home, watch a good movie, and eat something that would tickle my taste buds. I was craving pasta, so I came up with the idea of making this feta cheese cannelloni with spinach and a simple tomato-basil sauce.
This was my first time cooking stuffed cannelloni, and I made some mistakes in terms of preparation. I was in a hurry, too, because I was hungry, so I didn’t manage to fill the tubes perfectly. The taste, however, was amazing, and I learned a few things along the way that I’ve gathered into the tips below so your first tray comes out cleaner than mine did.
This Recipe Works If You Need
- A hands-off dinner you can assemble, cover with foil, and forget about for half an hour while you watch something.
- A meatless main that still feels substantial, thanks to the salty feta and the spinach packed inside each tube.
- A way to use a single pack of dry cannelloni without the fuss of boiling and handling slippery tubes first.
- A make-ahead tray you can stuff in advance and bake when guests arrive.
- A vegetarian dish with Italian roots that uses pantry staples: canned tomatoes, tomato paste, dried herbs, and a block of feta.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No pre-boiling needed. The cannelloni bake directly in the sauce, softening from the moisture of the tomatoes and the splash of water in the tray, so you skip a whole messy step.
- Two-ingredient filling. Feta and baby spinach blitzed in the food processor turn creamy in seconds, with no eggs or breadcrumbs to bind.
- Built-in seasoning. Feta is already salty and tangy, so the filling carries its own flavor without a long list of additions.
- Forgiving for beginners. This was my first attempt and it still tasted amazing, so imperfect tubes will not ruin the dish.
- Pantry-friendly. Canned tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, and oregano mean you can pull this together without a special shopping trip.
Ingredient Notes
Feta cheese is the backbone of this dish, and you want 400 g of the real thing: a firm block packed in brine, not the pre-crumbled tubs that are often drier and blander. Block feta blends into a smoother, creamier paste, and its brine keeps the filling moist. Greek feta made from sheep’s milk gives the sharpest tang. Buy it the day you cook and keep it in its brine until the last minute.
Baby spinach goes in raw, 100 g of it, straight into the processor with the feta. Baby leaves are tender and mild, so they blend down without any bitter, stringy bits. Look for crisp, deep-green leaves with no slimy spots, and give them a good wash and a thorough dry, since extra water will loosen the filling more than you want.
Cannelloni tubes, about 20 pieces or one pack, are the dry pasta you stuff directly. Because they bake un-boiled here, check that your sauce fully covers them; any tube poking out of the liquid will stay hard. Handle them gently, as dry tubes crack easily when you push the filling in.
Canned tomatoes, 400 g peeled and chopped, form the body of the sauce. A good can of whole peeled tomatoes you chop yourself usually tastes brighter than pre-diced ones, which are often firmer and more acidic. They bring the moisture the pasta needs to cook through.
Tomato paste, 5 tablespoons, deepens and concentrates the sauce, adding the rich, almost sweet tomato note that canned tomatoes alone cannot. It also thickens the sauce so it clings to the tubes instead of running thin in the tray.
Dried basil and oregano, a teaspoon each, give the sauce its Italian backbone. Dried herbs suit a baked sauce because they release their flavor slowly as the tray heats. Rub them between your fingers as you add them to wake up the aroma.
Tips
- Fill with a piping bag, not a spoon. The biggest mistake on my first try was trying to push filling in with a teaspoon, which is slow and messy. Spoon the feta-spinach paste into a piping bag (or a zip bag with a corner snipped off), slide the tip into each tube, and squeeze from both ends to fill the middle.
- Add water if the filling is too stiff. The paste should be creamy enough to pipe smoothly; if it drags, blend in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water until it loosens, just as the recipe notes.
- Make sure every tube is covered in sauce. Any cannelloni left poking above the sauce will bake up hard and chewy. Spread the sauce evenly and tuck the tray’s splash of water (about 1/4 cup) around the edges so the steam reaches everything.
- Keep the foil on the whole time. The foil traps steam, and that steam is what cooks the un-boiled pasta through in roughly half an hour. You’ll know it’s ready when a tube gives easily to a fork with no firm, raw center.
- Let it rest a few minutes before serving. Straight out of the oven the sauce is loose; a short rest lets it set so the tubes hold together when you lift them out.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap part of the feta for ricotta. If you find 400 g of feta too salty on its own, replace some of it with ricotta for a milder, even creamier filling, while keeping a feta tang.
- Use frozen spinach. No baby spinach on hand? Thaw frozen spinach and squeeze it very dry before blending, otherwise the extra water will thin the filling.
- Fresh herbs in place of dried. Stir a handful of torn fresh basil into the sauce near the end instead of (or alongside) the dried teaspoon for a brighter, fresher finish.
- Add a topping. Scatter a little extra feta or a grating of cheese over the sauce before it goes in the oven for a browned, golden top.
Storage and Make Ahead
You can assemble the whole tray ahead: stuff the cannelloni, cover them with sauce, then refrigerate the unbaked tray covered for up to a day and bake it when you’re ready. Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, and the pasta actually soaks up more of the tomato flavor overnight. Reheat covered in the oven or microwave with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. The baked tray also freezes well for up to 2 months; thaw it in the fridge before reheating.
If you’d like more pasta inspiration, take a look at my guide to the different types of pasta dishes and my rundown of pasta sauces to mix and match. For another stuffed-pasta night, this vegan stuffed pasta casserole is a good place to start.
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Feta Cheese Cannelloni with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 400 g feta cheese
- 100 g baby spinach
- 20 pieces cannelloni about one pack
- 5 tbsps tomato paste
- 400 g canned tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the feta cheese and spinach to the food processor and blend well until creamy. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if needed to help it process.
- Start stuffing the cannelloni using a piping bag or a teaspoon. Stuff them until they are full.
- Spray an oven tray with some olive oil.
- Place the stuffed cannelloni in the oven tray in a single layer.
- In another bowl, combine the tomato paste, peeled and chopped tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then pour over the cannelloni in the tray and spread evenly.
- Add some water to the tray; not much, just a little, about 1/4 cup.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 180C (392F).
- Bake for about half an hour, until the cannelloni are tender and the sauce is bubbling, then serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. In this recipe the dry cannelloni tubes are stuffed and baked without boiling. The moisture from the canned tomatoes, the tomato paste, and a splash of water in the tray, all sealed under foil, steams the pasta soft as it cooks. Just make sure every tube is covered in sauce so none of them bake up hard.
A piping bag is the easiest tool. Spoon the feta and spinach filling into a piping bag or a zip-top bag with one corner snipped off, slide the tip into each tube, and squeeze from both ends so the filling reaches the middle. A teaspoon works too but it is slower and messier, which I learned the hard way on my first try.
Yes, this dish is vegetarian. It is made with feta cheese, baby spinach, cannelloni pasta, and a tomato-basil sauce, with no meat. Because it contains feta, a dairy cheese, it is vegetarian rather than vegan.
The most common reason is that some tubes were not fully covered in sauce. Un-boiled cannelloni rely on the moisture and steam from the sauce to soften, so any pasta poking above the liquid stays firm. Spread the sauce evenly, add the small amount of water to the tray, and keep the foil on the whole time so the steam cooks every tube through.
Yes. You can stuff the tubes and cover them with sauce, then refrigerate the unbaked tray covered for up to a day and bake it fresh when you need it. The baked dish also keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and freezes for up to 2 months, so it works well for meal prep.
Bake the covered tray at 180C (392F) for about half an hour. The foil cover is important because it traps the steam that cooks the un-boiled tubes through. You know it is ready when a tube gives easily to a fork with no firm, raw center.
Thank you for the tips! These turned out great!
Hello, Ruxandra,
I made this recipe with tofu yesterday and it was amazing. Thank you for sharing it with us!!
Glad you liked it! You’re welcome!
Thanks Alise! Sure, as long as the article has a link back to my original post 🙂