Baked Penne with Spinach, Ricotta & Fontina
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This easy vegetarian pasta bake gives you all the flavor of classic spinach and cheese cannelloni without the fuss.
This vegetarian pasta bake is a quick and easy riff on classic spinach and ricotta cannelloni. Instead of stuffing traditional pasta shells, I toss penne pasta in a creamy sauce made with spinach, basil, and ricotta. After topping the dish with two flavorful cheeses, I bake it until golden and bubbly. To ensure a smooth and creamy texture, I add mascarpone (or cream cheese) to the sauce, which eliminates any potential graininess that can sometimes occur with ricotta-based sauces. While the pasta bakes, I usually toss a big Italian salad to complete the meal.
you’ll need to make Baked penne with spinach, ricotta & fontina
how to make Baked penne with spinach, ricotta & fontina
To begin, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the penne. Cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, so you want it a bit underdone.
Drain the pasta, then place it back in the pan and set aside.
Meanwhile, drain the spinach and squeeze as dry as possible. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the dry spinach, basil, ricotta, mascarpone (or cream cheese), half-and-half cream, 1 cup fontina, 3 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Process until puréed.
Add the spinach mixture to the pasta.
Stir to combine.
Transfer to a baking dish.
Top with the remaining fontina and Pecorino Romano cheese.
Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the top is golden in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.
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Baked Penne with Spinach, Ricotta & Fontina
This easy vegetarian pasta bake gives you all the flavor of classic spinach and cheese cannelloni without the fuss.
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne
- 1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- ½ cup packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 4 oz (½ cup) mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 6 oz (2 cups) grated fontina or whole milk mozzarella, divided
- 5 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano), divided
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch ceramic baking dish.
- Cook the penne in boiling salted water until al dente, about 9 minutes. (It will cook more in the oven so you don’t want it completely cooked.) Drain and rinse under cold water, then place the pasta back in the pan and set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the spinach, basil, ricotta, mascarpone (or cream cheese), half-and-half, 1 cup of the fontina (or mozzarella), 3 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano), garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Process until puréed.
- Add the spinach mixture to the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining fontina and Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the top is golden in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 692
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Carbohydrates: 65 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Sodium: 956 mg
- Cholesterol: 112 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Fresh Spinach Made The Dish!
I am always looking for vegetarian options for my wife that even I want to eat, and this recipe nailed it! I substituted two heads of Spinach for the frozen 10 ounces, great flavor and wonderful consistency. I added a little spice, red pepper, to give it more kick this time as well. Thank you! Great add to our rotation during the winter.
Pretty good but as we can’t get half and half here in Australia used milk. Liked not having to make a bechemal sauce.
Delicious. Super Easy…win, win. I made the sauce ahead of time and then assembled before baking. I had zero issues with dryness as some other mentioned. An absolute keeper. Love your site Jenn. Thank you for making me a better cook.
I’m going to need to bake this in 350 deg oven . How long should I bake it for ? Thanks
I’d add an extra 10 minutes to the baking time. Hope you enjoy!
Can I use fresh baby Spinach if so much would I need ? Thanks
Hi Asra, Yes, fresh spinach will work. I’d estimate you’ll need 1 – 1.5 lbs to yield 1.5 cups cooked spinach. Also, make sure to squeeze it out after cooking to get rid of excess liquid.
Thank you I am concerned about it being dry as others have pointed out . 20 min baking time only so not sure how it’s turning out dry , how can I prevent this
Hi Asra, you could try using a little less pasta — maybe reduce it to 13 ounces.
Very yummy dish. When I assembled it, it looked like there was plenty of liquid, but once cooked, it was slightly dry. Would adding additional half and half help?
Hi Laura, Glad you enjoyed it, but sorry you found it dry. Yes, adding more half and half would’ve helped.
I made this for Christmas 2023. I liked the dish, but I didn’t love it. Like some of the other comments, I found it to be a little dry. The flavor was nice, but the moisture and texture were off for me (I thought the mascarpone did not offset enough of the graininess of the ricotta as Jenn suggested). I might use even more mascarpone and less ricotta the next time, were I to make this again.
This was great. I didn’t have fresh basil or spinach so I used Kirkland pesto instead and blended that together with the cheeses. I used heavy cream since I did not have half & half. Mixed it up with the Rigatoni since I didn’t have Penne and baked it! It was really good. Looking forward to making it per the recipe when I have the right ingredients. But that is the joy of cooking – improv when you need to and being pleasantly surprised. Thanks Jen!
How much pesto did you use ?
Loved this! I used fresh baby spinach and added diced Italian chicken sausage and shredded rotisserie chicken. I’ll be adding this one to our rotation. It’s much easier than my usual bechamel for baked pasta. You are a genius!