Cannelloni Di Pollo Recipe
Two cannelloni shells filled with mushrooms, spinach, ground chicken, and Parmesan cheese. Sitting atop a top
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Ingredients
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Pasta
Filling
Sauce & Assembly
Method
Prep & Cook Filling
- 1
Sauté vegetables
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the finely diced onion and sauté 3–4 minutes until translucent. Add the minced garlic and chopped mushrooms and cook 4–5 minutes until mushrooms release moisture and turn golden. Season lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- 2
- 3
Cook ground chicken
In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground chicken and a small pinch of salt. Cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink and just cooked through, 5–6 minutes. Drain any excess liquid if present and let the chicken cool briefly, then combine with the cooled vegetable mixture.
- 4
Combine filling
To the bowl with chicken, mushrooms, and spinach add ricotta (60 g), grated Parmesan (40 g), half an egg (to bind — beat one egg and use half), 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly until uniform. Taste and adjust seasoning. The filling should be moist but firm enough to pipe or spoon into shells. If too loose, add 1–2 tablespoons of extra Parmesan or refrigerate 10 minutes to firm up.
Pasta Preparation & Assembly
- 5
Preheat oven and prepare dish
Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Spread about half of the marinara sauce (100 ml) evenly across the bottom of a small baking dish large enough to hold two cannelloni side by side. If using béchamel, thinly coat the bottom with a few tablespoons so the pasta won’t stick.
- 6
Prep cannelloni shells
If using dried cannelloni, you can either boil them briefly according to package instructions until al dente (usually 6–8 minutes) and cool on a tray with a little oil to prevent sticking, or fill them unboiled if the recipe/shells allow and there is enough sauce to rehydrate them. For fresh shells, they should be pliable and ready to fill.
- 7
Fill the shells
Using a spoon or piping bag (or a small zip-top bag with a corner snipped), fill each cannelloni shell with the chicken-mushroom-spinach mixture, being careful not to overpack. Place the two filled shells seam-side down onto the sauced baking dish.
- 8
Top with sauce and cheese
Spoon the remaining marinara sauce (about 100 ml) evenly over the two cannelloni so they are mostly covered. Drizzle or spoon the béchamel over each if using (about 80 ml distributed between them). Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella (50 g) and the extra grated Parmesan (15 g) evenly over the top.
Bake & Finish
- 9
Bake
Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 7–10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and lightly golden.
- 10
Rest and garnish
Let the cannelloni rest 5 minutes out of the oven to settle. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if using. Serve each plate with one cannelloni and spoon extra sauce from the dish underneath so the shells sit atop the sauce.
