The Best Cannelloni Bolognese
Stuffed with classic bolognese sauce and topped with creamy homemade béchamel sauce, this best cannelloni bolognese recipe is a huge family favourite!
Servings: 6
Calories: 485kcal
Ingredients
Meat Ragu
- 250 g cannelloni tubes (dry) or manicotti
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 1 medium-sized carrot finely diced
- 1-2 celery sticks finely diced
- 500 g lean ground beef or any ground meat/mixture of choice
- 60 mL white wine (optional) (¼ cup)
- 1½ tsp. Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp. dried oregano
- ¼ tsp. dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 680 mL tomato puree (tomato passata)
- 125 mL vegetable stock (½ cup)
- 2-4 tbsp. milk or heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Béchamel Sauce
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- 375 mL milk semi skimmed or whole (1½ cup)
- 60-80 g freshly grated Parmesan (or Pecorino, Grana Padano, Cheddar, or Emmental) (½ to ¾ cup)
Other Ingredients
- 125 mL water
- 80-100 g mozzarella cheese thinly sliced
- fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375 F). Prepare a large baking pan or ovenproof dish (place empty dry cannelloni to ensure correct size of pan/dish).
Meat Ragu
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil and add onions, carrot, and celery. Saute for 18-20 minutes. Add garlic and dried herbs (Italian seasoning, chilli, oregano) and saute for another minute, stirring constantly.
- In the meantime, in a separate skillet, brown ground meat and set aside.
- Add white wine to the soffrit and scrape the skillet (high heat). Add your dried herbs, cooked meat, tomato puree, and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat.
Béchamel Sauce
- In the meantime, prepare the béchamel sauce. In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, melt the butter and slowly add flour and nutmeg, whisking thoroughly to avoid clumping.
- Stir in milk and bring to a simmer (medium heat). The sauce will thicken up. If the sauce is too thick, add more milk. Stir in shredded cheese and remove from heat.
Assembly
- Pour 2 ladefuls of bolognese sauce on bottom of baking pan (enough to cover bottom).
- Transfer meat ragu into piping bag. Snip off tip or add a large round frosting tip (it should be large enough for bolognese sauce to pass through). Pipe bolognese mixture into each of the dry cannelloni tubes. Place one end at of each tube flat on a plate/baking dish so that mixture doesn't come out. If you don't have a piping bag, fill cannelloni by placing 4-5 teaspoonfuls of sauce into each tube of pasta.
- Lay each cannelloni tube into baking dish, placing cannelloni as close as possible next to each other. Spread any remaining meat sauce over the cannelloni.
- Pour ½ cup of water in baking dish around cannelloni so that they are at least half-way surrounded by water.
- Spread béchamel sauce over cannelloni. Add sliced mozzarella cheese on top and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the pasta is tender, the cheese is bubbly and the surface is golden-brown.Check the pasta half-way through baking. Add some water if it starts to dry out.
- Allow to cool, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 485kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 463mg | Potassium: 1080mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 2896IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 337mg | Iron: 6mg