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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This recipe was delicious. My path to getting there was fraught with kitchen errors. Be mindful of the size of your food processors before adding the half and half. Mine is an 11 cup but I added the half and half (I actualliy used whole milk and heavy cream) after the other ingredients. This prompted the liquid to pour out of the food processor and all over the counter. Not to be intimiated I threw what was left along with a splash of milk and a splash of heavy cream to make up for what went all over the counter into my Vitamix. I turned that on high and promptly spewed the mixture up my kitchen cabinets (didn’t have the tamper tool flush against the lid) . That said, it pureed nicely. I added an extra clove of garlic and omitted the nutmeg as I am nutmeg adverse in pasta dishes. I baked this in a Pyrex (saw some other reviwers cringe at this but mine came out fine, suprising considering my two previous disasters). It was not dry and it was amazing. My two children ate it (before I told them it had spinach in it). This is defintely a do over. Especially now that I know how to avoid such rookie mistakes with my kitchen tools. I also used Pecorino Romano cheese because in addition to being a wreck with kitchen tools I also apparently cannot read.
🙂 So glad you enjoyed it despite the mishaps!
Hi Jenn,
I am making this ahead for today and will freeze to cook later. The dish seems like it will not firm up, (i.e. the sauce seems runny). Is this okay?
Hi Liz, the pasta will likely soak up the liquid you’re referring to, so I don’t think the end product will be runny. You mentioned you plan to freeze it – if it’s not already in the freezer, I’d bake it first and then freeze it.
This one just didn’t do it for me. I followed the recipe to the letter- even made sure I used a ceramic dish, and covered with foil for the last 10 minutes. It wasn’t terrible but overall it was too dry, and I found the garlic to be overpowering.
Next time I will add more salt and more garlic and maybe a “meat”. Yep, there will definitely be a next time! My family thought it needed meat, like chicken or shrimp. I really liked it as is.
Loved this one! My mom, who doesn’t like pesto at all, loved it and couldn’t get over how good it was. it’s on my monthly rotation for her now! Can’t wait to see more delicious recipes!
We love this dish! I made a gluten-free version for our guests. I recommend reducing the amount of pasta but keeping the same quantity of sauce since gluten-free pasta seems to absorb more liquid. It was a bit dry.
Made this tonight, didn’t have nutmeg but the flavor was great. Problem was it ended up dry, actually more pasty. I did put a bit less half and half (1/4 cup less) and used fresh spinach. Where did I go wrong?
Hi Tom, glad you liked the flavor but sorry to hear it was a bit dry. I would definitely recommend using the full 2 cups of half and half as I think all of it is necessary. Also, I’m wondering if it was a bit overbaked– does your oven run hot? Perhaps next time keep it covered with foil for about half the baking time, then remove the foil to let it brown a little on top.
Mine turned out a little too much like spinach souffle. I’d like to try it again with more basil and less half & half.
Jenn, could you make this short of the baking step, then freeze to bake later? If so, would the baking time be a little longer?
Thanks!
Hi Maggy, this has a lot of dairy and I’ve been hesitant to tell people that it’s okay to freeze. That said, a few readers have commented that they’ve baked and frozen it and have been happy with the results. If you do want to freeze it, I’d definitely bake it first.
Love this recipe!! This is definitely a family favorite and even my fussy 8 year old says yesssss! when this dish is on the menu. I tend to add more pasta than the recipe calls for as I find it too runny otherwise.