I am not going to sugarcoat it. This pasta dish has four components to it: a chicken spinach filling, a simple white sauce, a red passata sauce and some homemade pasta dough. It’s exactly the kind of meal my grandmas would have made and we would have gobbled it down without understanding the love, work and care that went into it.
After making it the first time, and then the second, I knew it was a doable challenge that my readers are up for (that’s you), so I’m walking you through each part, step-by-step. I promise, it’s not hard.
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Each component can be made ahead of time and frozen for assembly another day (more on that below), and I include store-bought alternatives for a couple of the parts as well.
And yes, I know. Two sauces might be a little over the top. But the red sauce is what takes this chicken cannelloni from good to unforgettable.
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Chicken cannelloni components
Let me break the four components down, starting with the chicken filling.
Chicken spinach cannelloni filling
The base of the chicken starts with my foolproof method for cooking the juiciest chicken breasts. It takes 21 minutes start to finish. Rotisserie chicken works great too as long as you have about 2 lbs worth of chicken and a little chicken broth.
After the chicken cooks, I take 5 minutes to use the same pan to quick saute some spinach and garlic. Then I use a food processor to mince or chop the chicken with some spinach.
Creamy white sauce base
While the chicken cooks, I make the white sauce which for the most part is a classic bechamel sauce but with a bit of chicken flavor. This white sauce is used under and over the cannelloni and also in the chicken mixture. Easy peasy.
Red passata sauce topper
When I make cream sauce, I love serving a marinara or a bit of red sauce to cut the richness of cream sauce. Here, I’m spooning a pool of my passata tomato sauce here and there over the cannelloni. Passata is essentially pureed tomatoes and comes in bottles wherever you find canned tomatoes.
This sauce is so yummy. But when I don’t have time, I will admit to opening a jar of Rao’s marinara. Totally works.
The non-negotiable: homemade pasta dough
I’m not budging on this one: fresh pasta sheets, not dried pasta manicotti tubes. I mix up my fresh lasagna noodle recipe for the dough, roll them out and cut them down into squares. Super simple.
The pasta dough recipe makes one pan of cannelloni but I make a double batch and freeze one for another day.
Best part? The pasta dough doesn’t need par-boiled and cooks right in the sauce. If you’ve made my crepe manicotti before, this is the same idea of skipping the dried-pasta tube route, just with pasta instead of crepes.
Prefer a semi-homemade cannelloni?
I mentioned a few shortcuts you can try but I can’t guarantee that the recipe will look or taste exactly the same as it’s written here.
Some alternative methods:
- Use a store bought rotisserie chicken instead of making chicken with the 21 minute method.
- Buy jarred marinara sauce instead of making homemade.
- Find and purchase homemade pasta dough or cannelloni sheets at a local Italian grocer. This is the biggest time-saver but know that it might affect the cooking time as the thickness of the dough might be different than what I share here.
How to make chicken cannelloni from scratch
My favorite sides for cannelloni
I never go wrong serving something light next to something heartier, like cannelloni. A big fresh arugula salad with lemon dressing is always a crowd pleaser. I’ve also served this alongside a platter of roasted asparagus or sauteed broccolini with lemon wedges. And a sheet pan of focaccia to scoop up any sauce.
Make ahead plan
Here’s your permission slip: you don’t have to make this all in one day.
Chicken filling. Make it up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge, or freeze it for up to a month. Just thaw it in the fridge overnight before you mix in the bechamel.
Bechamel. This one’s a little needier. It’ll keep in the fridge for 2 days, but I don’t love freezing bechamel on its own — it can break and go grainy when you reheat it. If you do freeze it, whisk it hard over low heat when you thaw it and it’ll mostly come back together.
Passata sauce. Freezer’s fine here, up to 3 months. Tomato sauce freezes like a dream and honestly tastes better the second day anyway.
Pasta dough. Wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze the rolled, cut squares in a single layer before stacking them with pieces of parchment in between. No need to thaw — just peel off what you need and let them sit a few minutes to soften before filling.
That means the only thing I have to do the “day of” is assemble and bake. And no one has to know I made it all earlier in the week.
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Chicken and Spinach Cannelloni with Two Sauces
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Equipment
Ingredients
THE CHICKEN FILLING
If using rotisserie chicken, skip to step 8 below.
- 2 lbs chicken breasts, foolproof method here
- sprinkle each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 2 T olive oil, divided
- 5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves
- ½ onion grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
THE WHITE SAUCE
- 6 TBSP butter
- 6 TBSP flour or cornstarch or brown rice flour
- 4 ¼ cups whole or 2% milk, no skim
- reserved chicken broth from cooking chicken
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp black or white pepper
- ¼ tsp nutmeg, to start
THE RED SAUCE
- 2 T unsalted butter
- 1 T olive oil
- ⅓ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 23 oz bottle of passata, pureed/strained tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- fresh basil leaves
THE PASTA DOUGH
- 2 ⅓ cups 00 flour, I use King Arthurs or Caputo’s
- ⅔ cup semolina flour, I use Bob’s Red Mill semolina flour
- 3 egg yolks plus 2 eggs
Instructions
MAKE THE FILLING- using my foolproof chicken method
- If using rotisserie chicken skip to step 8. [Also, see * notes below]Between two pieces of parchment wax paper, pound chicken breasts with tool of your choice until even across the top. You want them to be of consistent thickness. They should get quite large.Salt and pepper one side of chicken – don’t be shy w/the pepper especially.2 lbs chicken breasts, sprinkle each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or a large drizzle in a large skillet over medium high heat (I recommend cast iron or stainless over non-stick).2 T olive oil
- Place the chicken breasts, seasoned side down, into pan. Don’t crowd the pan – you want to get a nice sear – not a steam.
- Quickly season the tops/other side of the chicken as it cooks for one minute. Flip the chicken over to the other side (they should release cleanly if your pan is heated properly).
- Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover the pan with a tight lid and cook for 10 minutes. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID ANY TIME DURING THIS STEP! Set a timer to keep track.
- After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Reset the timer. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID ANY TIME DURING THIS STEP!
- Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate and pour the residual broth into a measuring cup. Allow the chicken to cool.
- Now time to make the spinach. Heat the same skillet you made the chicken in over medium high heat.
- Add the remaining olive oil (1 T) until it shimmers. Saute the onion until golden and add the spinach and quickly saute along with the garlic, cooking until the spinach is wilted and you smell the garlic. Cool the spinach a bit.½ onion grated, 3 cloves garlic minced, 5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves
- After the chicken and spinach has cooled a bit, add them both to the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse about 5 times until the chicken and spinach is chopped but not super fine.
MAKE THE HOMEMADE PASTA
- Prep the pasta attachment on the mixer, if using. Lift the round KA logo and loosen the bolt on the right side of the logo to create enough space to accept the pasta roller. Fit the end of the roller into the opening and tighten the screw. You might have to turn the roller ¼ turn to fit.
- Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, combine the flours in the bowl mixing on setting 1 until thoroughly blended. Crack the eggs and yolks into a separate bowl and then add them right into the flour.2 ⅓ cups 00 flour, ⅔ cup semolina flour, 3 egg yolks plus 2 eggs
- Start the mixer on low, slowly increasing it. The dough will be crumbly. Now, start adding a little water- 1 tablespoon at a time – until the dough starts to come together, increasing the speed of the mixer up to medium high.
- Add more flour if needed – you are looking for a smooth ball of dough. Conversely, if the dough isn't coming together, add more water.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and allow it to relax on a floured cutting board, covered with a damp dish towel or wrapped in plastic wrap for 15-20 minutes.
- Use a pastry cutter to cut the pasta dough into 4 equal pieces. Work with one piece of dough and return the other three to plastic wrap or cover so the dough doesn't dry out.
- Whether using a mixer or hand crank pasta machine: flatten the pasta dough into a rectangle about 2” smaller than the width of the pasta roller, about ½”thick. Your dough might look a little "salty" from the semolina. This will smooth out.
- If using the pasta attachment for a mixer: turn the dial on the roller to “1” which is the widest setting. Turn on the mixer to “low”.
- Place the short end of the dough into the opening of the pasta roller (for either machine) and either start turning the handle or allow the power of the pasta roller to pull the dough through the machine. Catch the dough on the other end of the roller.
- Take the piece of dough and “book” the dough, which means holding each short end of the dough and folding it towards the middle. Book the dough one more time and run or crank the dough through the pasta roller at setting #1 again.
- Now, turn the knob to “2” and repeat, taking the dough through the machine.
- Repeat running the dough through the machine to setting 7. The piece of dough is going to get longer and longer but should be about 5" wide. Once you've reached setting #7, cut each piece of dough into about 5" x5” squares.
- Place each pasta square on a sheet pan covered with plastic wrap and brushed with olive oil. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining 3 quarters of dough.
MAKE THE BECHAMEL
- Over medium heat, start melting butter in medium saucepan. Add flour stirring with a whisk continuously until a thick paste forms. Continue cooking for about 2-3 minutes until lightly browned and flour taste is cooked off.6 TBSP butter, 6 TBSP flour or cornstarch or brown rice flour
- Carefully add milk and the broth from the chicken to the pan, while stirring with a whisk. Bring to a low boil and then lower heat to medium low. Sprinkle in seasoning and nutmeg.4 1/4 cups whole or 2% milk, reserved chicken broth from cooking chicken, 1 ½ tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp black or white pepper, ¼ tsp nutmeg
- Cook stirring often until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon evenly.
- Taste and correct seasoning as necessary.
MAKE THE PASSATA SAUCE [see ** notes below]
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan and heat the olive oil. Saute the onion in the butter until golden, about 3 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add in the garlic at the end and saute it for about 30 seconds or until you can smell it.2 T unsalted butter, 1 T olive oil, ⅓ cup chopped onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Pour in the passata,sugar and fresh basil and simmer for about 20 minutes.23 oz bottle of passata, 2 teaspoons sugar, fresh basil leaves
ASSEMBLE THE CANNELLONI
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9 x 13" baking pan with cooking spray or brush with a little softened butter.
- To the filling, add 1 ladle of bechamel sauce and mix until creamy and combined.
- Add another ladle or 2 of white sauce to the bottom of 9×13” baking dish.
- Place about ¼ cup of filling down the left center of each noodle. Roll the cannelloni over the filling until the pasta encloses the dough. Place the cannelloni seam side down on the white sauce. Repeat until all the filling is used.
- Ladle over more white sauce and then use a ¼ cup measure to add pools of red sauce on top. Sprinkle over parmesan cheese and bake until bubbling on top, about 45 minutes.*If you have extra white sauce, save it for reheating any leftover cannelloni.
- Serve with more sauce and cheeses.
Notes
*Use 1.5 lbs of cooked rotisserie chicken to equal the 2 lbs of raw chicken. Also, add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to the bechamel. **Instead of homemade passata sauce, spoon over your favorite jarred tomato sauce. Rao’s is excellent, btw! Storage and Reheating tips Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days in the fridge. Microwave reheating. Heat covered on a microwave-safe plate in 30 second increments until the filling is heated through. Oven reheating (recommended for half pan or more). Preheat the oven to 350°. Transfer the cannelloni to a new baking pan so the cannelloni “fills” the pan. Cover with foil. Heat for about 20 minutes until warmed through.
