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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Super!!! I loved making and eating this dish. It also tastes great reheated for lunch. Went together simply and baked to a beautiful golden brown. I will make this again. Thnak you
Another great recipe, thanks!
I needed to use up some fresh baby spinach and a bag of shredded mozarella and found this recipe. The only subsitutions I made was full-fat milk for half-and-half and maccheroni for penne rigate 😉
I did not cook the spinach, as mine was a tender baby spinach. The sauce looked like a lot, but the when all pasta “holes” were filled, it was the right amount.
The kids came for seconds, which is always a good sign 😀
I paired it with the recommended big italian salad and I also love the dressing!
Can I use a hand held blender instead of food processor?
Unfortunately, I don’t think an immersion blender will have enough strength to process the spinach and basil sufficiently. I’m sorry!
I used an immersion blender and it worked well!
So glad to know — thanks for the comment — I’m sure it will be helpful to other readers!
Jen I’m about to make this tomorrow I’m planning to bake it in two 5X5 baking dishes how long should they need to bake pls.I’m baking these for two separate households thank you. All the best Beryl
Hi Beryl, I think I’m weighing to late to help (sorry!) but I don’t think this would fit in two 5 x 5″ baking dishes.
Made this last night. Subbed mozzarella for fontina. Used 142 grams fresh spinach (comes in a small clamshell where I live) and wilted it. Kids (9-12) rated it a 9/10. My picky 9 year old took it in a thermos for lunch this morning. It’s a keeper!
If using fresh spinach do you have to cook and squeeze out like the frozen?
Thanks,
Chris
Yep – hope you enjoy!
My sister in law made this and I liked it, but it was a little dry. Would it work if I made more sauce in it?
Yep 🙂
Can you make the sauce/spinach mixture ahead of time? For example, could you make it in the morning, and store it in the refrigerator? Then in the evening, make the pasta and continue with the recipe? Or would it not work for the sauce to sit that long and be cold?
Hi Heather, I haven’t tried it, but I think you could get away with it. I’d probably let it sit on your kitchen counter to warm up for about 30 minutes before combining it with the pasta. Hope you enjoy!
We Love this pasta! Question… do you think I can prepare it today, but put it in fridge for 24 hours before baking tomorrow night for a party?
Thanks,
Jenny G.
Glad you like it! This can be assembled up to a day ahead. A few readers have commented, however, that they prepared it ahead and thought it turned out a little dry; to avoid that, you may want to cover it with foil for at least part of the baking time.
Well, it smells fantastic. Will see after I bake. I’m sure it will be amazing. I had to sub mozzarella and because I wasn’t going to run out for fresh basil, I used several tbsps of prepared pesto I had in the fridge.
Hello! I’m going to be having surgery and need to freeze some dinners. Can I freeze this? Thanks!
Hi Alana, 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. (I’d bake it before freezing.) Good luck with the surgery! 💗