Spinach Ricotta Pasta Bake is made with creamy ricotta and loads of spinach stirred through pasta, topped with pasta sauce, cheese and then baked until bubbly and golden. It tastes like a Spinach and Ricotta stuffed shells – but way faster to make!
Fabulous lazy Monday meal – made from scratch, using my cheeky “shake and pour” shortcut pasta sauce!
Spinach and Ricotta
Spinach and ricotta. We stuff things with it (Cannelloni, Rotolo, shells!), we layer things with it, we roll it up in puff pastry and we wrap it in pastry.
So why don’t we stir it through pasta bakes?
This is a lazy Monday meal I’ve been making for years. I know it’s a little different, but it really is tasty. It tastes like spinach and ricotta cannelloni or stuffed shells – but without the labour. 🙌🏻
Look at this pile of gooey, juicy deliciousness….no dry ricotta in MY pasta bakes!
Shake and pour pasta sauce!
Because this is a lazy meal, I make this with my shortcut homemade pasta sauce. It’s a shortcut recipe because I don’t cook it on the stove with sautéed onions and garlic like I ordinarily do. All I do is add pasta sauce flavourings right into a bottle of tomato passata, shake then pour it over the pasta bake.
To compensate for skipping the sautéed garlic and onions, I add extra flavours into the sauce. 🙂
Sub for tomato passata?
Tomato passata is pureed strained raw tomatoes, unflavoured. It’s sold in tall bottles in the pasta section of most supermarkets in Australia nowadays, and costs around the same as canned tomato. If you’re in the US or Canada, I’ve seen it at Walmart and here are a couple of Amazon – Mutti (excellent Italian brand I use) and Cento (a good value one). Or sub with what you know as tomato sauce.
What goes in Spinach Ricotta Pasta Bake
Here’s a snapshot of the ingredients. For convenience, I use frozen spinach here but fresh can be used in a cinch.
As for the ricotta, any type will work here. Some are creamier and softer than others which makes it easy to mix into the pasta.
If yours is the thicker more crumbly type, it’s an easy fix – just stir through some of the pasta cooking water to loosen it up. The starch in the pasta cooking water will make the ricotta mixture bind better than using normal water or milk to loosen the mixture. The same effect as tossing pasta through pasta sauces right before serving – it’s called emulsifying the sauce (what a show off!😂).
This really does taste like a Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni* – without the fiddly stuffing of the cannelloni tubes. Because as much as we all love eating those stuffed tubes of pasta smothered in tomato sauce and molten cheese, nobody’s jumping off the couch to offer to help stuff them. Right?? 😂
So – are you feeling lazy today too? -Nagi x
* For those of you in the US & Canada – cannelloni is basically the same as manicotti, except the tubes are slightly smaller and smooth, no ridges. Just as tasty!
All things Spinach and Ricotta!
Baked Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo – and it tastes as spectacular as it looks!
And more big juicy pasta bakes
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper) – OK, so it’s not baked, but it looks like a pasta bake!
Chili Mac and Cheese – ditto for this one 🙂
Watch how to make it
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Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 300g / 10 oz ziti pasta, uncooked, or other short pasta of choice
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese , shredded (or more! For topping)
Ricotta Mixture
- 1 lb / 500 g ricotta (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , grated
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 350g / 12oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid pressed out
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded
- 3/4 tsp salt & pepper
Shortcut Pasta Sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 700g / 24oz tomato passata (1 standard bottle) (Note 2)
- 1 tsp EACH onion and garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried Italian Mixed Herbs (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes , to taste (optional)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 2 tbsp water (if needed)
To Serve
- Parmesan cheese , grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Pasta Sauce: Pour out about 1/4 cup of the passata (to make room to add flavourings). Add the remaining Pasta Sauce ingredients into the bottle, screw the lid on and give it a shake.
- Cook pasta for time per packet MINUS 1 minute.
- SCOOP OUT 1 mugful pasta cooking water, drain and set aside.
- Ricotta Mixture – Mix Ricotta Mixture ingredients in a very large bowl. Use a splash of pasta cooking water if needed to make it creamy.
- Add pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof baking dish.
- Top with Pasta Sauce, top with cheese. Loosely cover with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve while hot and fresh!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published September 2015, updated April 2019 with fresh new photos, new writing, new video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Reaping the rewards of the Easter Egg Hunt!
PS Don’t worry, it’s a dog friendly Easter egg!
Loved it. Easy, delicious, and comforting. Thank you Nagi.
I have the same question about using fresh spinach, and am leaning towards lightly cooking it so it won’t be too watery.
I use fresh spinach leaves. Look under notes you’ll see Nagi has printed it there.
No need to pre cook
Do you think I could toss through a tin of salmon before baking??
Yes definitely Tanya! N x
This was a gem of a find. We are hunkered down at home and trying to use up food we have before going out to do a grocery pick-up. In lieu of making the pasta sauce I used a 650ml jar of pasta sauce and I only had cheddar cheese. It was delicious. My 18 month old ate 3 bowls of it! Definitely going into the regular rotation. Thank you! I’m excited to check out your other recipes 🙂 I hope everyone is safe at home during this difficult time. Love from Canada.
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Samantha!! N x
I made this two nights ago and eating leftovers now — it’s incredible! I used a can of crushed tomates (with roasted garlic) in tomato puree to replace the passata and the texture was perfect. All we need is Nagi + Netflix to get us through this. 🙂
Hahah – LOVE this Bronwen!
This was delicious and so easy to prepare. Due to the fact that husband went back for 2nds & the rest of us are big eaters this only served 4 in my household.
That’s the best compliment Colleen – you’ll have to make a double batch next time! N x
YUMMY I will make it today.
I like picture with the ingredients! Your site is 👌👌👌👍👍👍👌💖💖💖💚💖💚💖
I hope you love it Ira! N x
Hi!
I used to make this all the time and remember there used to be milk in the ricotta mixture. I prefer to use this method, does anyone remember the quantity? 1/4 cup? Or did the whole mixture change and not just the milk?
Hi Nagi! What is the size/dimensions of the baking dish you used for this recipe?
Ha! Ha! That’s quite clever Nagi 😁 I love spinach ricotta cannelloni but I rarely make them because I’m too lazy to stuff them (even with a piping bag) ! Well spinach ricotta pasta are back on the menu at my place !!!
Thank you thank you !!
I hear ya Johanna! That’s why I tend to make a big batch and freeze – N x
Yep it’s yummy. Made it and loved it. Super easy no fuss weeknight meal, but so good for such a simple recipe with simple ingredients that are always on hand! 🤗
I’m so glad you loved it Darlana!
Made this tonight, almost exactly as described – – less salt and I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. It was delicious!!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Sounds great Neil!
This is so delicious and easy! I forgot to take my spinach out of the freezer in the morning but I put it in a plastic bag and thawed it in water for about 30 minutes and it worked perfectly! Your website has quickly become my go-to for new recipes.
That’s awesome to hear Shawna, thanks so much!!
Hi Nagi. Apologies if this has already been answered. Do you weigh the spinach before or after squeezing the excess liquid out?
Hi Darcy, before 🙂
I have been looking for a ricotta & spinach recipe for ages that is straightforward, freezer safe and YUM! I served this family-style (casserole dish in middle) and froze the remainer in individual tart tins (easier to defrost then bake) for fancy date night; both worked better than expected. I have also experimented with adding Parma ham and walnuts! Diolch!
I’m so glad you loved it Jen, sounds like you nailed it!
This was amazing! I used the recipe exactly, except I made it into a lasagne instead of a pasta bake. So delicious, and really easy and quick to throw together.
Perfect Megan!!
I was so utterly excited to try this dish, I followed the recipe exactly, but unfortunately, my dish came out dryer than an ogre’s toenail. ☹️
How would I avoid that without disturbing the flavor? I put in 1/2 cup of pasta water. 🤷🏼♀️
Hi Lana, that’s definitely not right, sorry you had issues here. What kid of ricotta did you use? – N x
I used the “traditional”, not the extra smooth.
My oven is convection. Would that be a factor?
Hi Lana, was it creamy? I talk about this in the recipe notes – N x
Hi Nagi,
Yes, it was (the ricotta) creamy. And everything going in, was seemingly perfect; saucy, creamy and cheesy. 😃 I tasted it before baking it and it was Devine. 🤷🏼♀️ Please help?
My family tried this tonight, they loved it (my son is currently in a food coma), love how easy it was to prepare.. plus lots of leftovers..
That’s awesome!!
Thanks nagi fir ur spinach and ricotta was amazing
I’m so happy you loved it Joyce!
Hi nagi thanku for the receipe spinach ricotta pasta family enjoyed it very much was amazing x
Awesome Joyce, I’m so glad it was a hit!
For the ricotta mixture is it 3/4 tap salt plus another 3/4 tsp pepper?
Yes, that’s correct – Enjoy!