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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Maybe I did something wrong in making it, but it came out kind of dry. Nice flavor though.
This was a huge hit at my party and I specifically wanted a vegetarian dish. I prepared it the night prior and baked it just before serving. I added your suggested salad – everyone loved the dressing.
Another great one if you want a vegetarian option. I made this for a party I hosted on Saturday. I was told that it was delicious because it was gone so fast I ended up not even getting any. Anyway, I’ll definitely make this again and next time I’ll make sure to get some
Hi Jenn, Love love love your recipes! I have Vegetarians coming for the holidays and I was wondering if I can make this and freeze before putting in the oven.
Thanks so much!
Mary
Hi Mary, So glad you like the recipes! This dish has a lot of dairy so I’ve hesitated to tell people that it’s okay to freeze, but a few readers have commented that they’ve frozen it and have been happy with the results. If you do want to freeze it though, I’d definitely bake it first.
Thanks so much. I agree and will pass on freezing. 👌👌👌
This sounds and looks wonderful, planning to make it soon. Any idea how much fresh spinach to use in place of the frozen?
Hi Carol, I’d estimate you’ll need 1 – 1.5 lbs to yield 1.5 cups cooked spinach. Hope you enjoy!
If I were to add shrimp to this, what might be good to sauté the shrimp with?
I’d just use a bit of salt and pepper. Hope you enjoy!
Empty plates! My local supermarket didn’t have Fontina or Ricotta, so made some substitutes with gruyere and mascarpone and both worked perfectly! My handheld blender stepped up to the mark too. Will definitely be adding this to my favourites!
Delicious! It’s like pesto Mac and cheese. Everyone loved it and it was much simpler than I was expecting—a quick and satisfying dinner, for sure.
You are my first go to place for fantastic recipes! However, I messed this recipe up somehow. It was tasteless, dry, and kind of gritty. I actually threw it all away. Oh well. Some days I am in a brain fog.
Made this tonight and it was excellent and kid approved. I didn’t have cream cheese so I used Mascarpone cheese and it was an excellent substitute. I don’t have a food processor, but used my Vitamix blender and it worked perfectly. Would makes this recipe again.