- The Flaky Vegan
Sizzling Spinach and Vegan Ricotta Cannelloni Recipe

This used to be a favourite of mine in my veggie days, along with the little spinach and ricotta pasta parcels. Alas, life is too short to be making little individual parcels, but Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni? I'll take that, thank you very much!
This didn't take much tweaking from the recipe I used to use back in the day, the only significant differences are using ricotta made from tofu and using dairy free cream. I used the Elmlea one today, but Alpro works just as well

There are a few different stages to this recipe, but each one is quick and easy and can even be prepped ahead over the days before you make the final dish
The important note to make when making the tomato sauce for your Spinach and Vegan Ricotta Cannelloni is to not put the puree in as stated, but to swap it for a splash of water. The reason for this is the dried pasta will suck up the liquid and if the the sauce is too thick already it will all be a bit dry and stodgy
I used a plastic piping bag to squeeze the spinach mix into the tubes - so easy! You could just snip the corner off a plastic food bag though if you wanted, or even just spoon it in
The jury is still out with vegan cheese with some people. I like to add some, more because this is how I remember the original dish to look like, but less is definitely more with vegan cheese so just a sprinkle is enough, if you even bother at all with it
If you have any leftover Spinach and Vegan Ricotta Cannelloni left, pop it in a tub and freeze it in portion sizes, makes a great warm up in the microwave for a quick lunch

Ingredients
396g pack of firm tofu
1 peeled and finely crushed garlic clove
1tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
Double the quantity of this sauce. Important to note though, sub the puree for water (see above)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1tbsp olive oil
200g frozen spinach, at it's frozen weight
250g dairy free cream (see above)
Salt and black pepper
250g pack dried cannelloni
40g grated vegan cheese (optional)
Method
Defrost the spinach, either in the microwave or at room temperature. When it is defrosted, give it a good squeeze to get rid of most of the water
Next, start making the "Ricotta". Drain the tofu and wrap in a clean teatowel and give a gentle squeeze to get rid of most of the liquid. Break into pieces and put into the food processor along with all the other Ricotta ingredients. Pulse until forms a textured paste. Remove from the processor and put in a tub in the fridge for now
Make the tomato sauce using this recipe. It's really important not to add the puree but to put a little water in instead (see above)
Set your oven to 190C
Put the olive oil into a pan and gently cook the chopped onion. Cook for around 7 minutes, they should be soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and add the squeezed spinach, the salt and pepper, and the cream. Finally stir in your ricotta

Add a smear of the tomato sauce to the bottom of your baking dish, this is to stop the tubes from sticking

Generously fill your cannelloni tubes (see above). Place them in the baking dish on top of the smear of sauce. Don't waste any excess spinach mixture, just squirt it around the gaps of your cannelloni
Cover with with rest of your tomato sauce, and then add your grated cheese on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. The sauce should be bubbling and the pasta tender
Serve and enjoy!
Debbie