Spinach, Feta and Chicken Cannelloni with Rosé Sauce
Better than lasagne, this delicious pasta is stuffed with chicken, feta and spinach, baked in a rosé sauce and smothered in freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Servings 5 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast shredded or diced *see note 1
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 small white onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 100 g frozen spinach thawed *see note 2
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 10 dry cannelloni noodles oven ready *see note 3
- 2 cups Marinara *see note 4
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° and heat a skillet on medium high heat with olive oil. Once hot, add minced onion and cook until translucent. Stir in finely minced garlic until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Grab a medium bowl and either shred the chicken into very small pieces, or mince it finely *see note 5. Squeeze all of the moisture from the spinach *see note 6, then add it to the bowl along with the crumbled feta, egg, lemon juice, fried onion and garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Fill cannelloni noodles until all of the chicken mixture is used up; you should get about 10 cannelloni noodles filled.
- Spread 1/2 cup marinara all over the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Space the chicken cannelloni around the baking dish, being sure to leave space in between because the noodles will spread while they bake.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups marinara evenly over the noodles; be sure some of the sauce goes in between each noodle. The noodles do not need to be submerged in the sauce, there just needs to be a little bit over each one.
Notes
- Chicken - We like to use any leftover chicken, or it can be cooked for this cannelloni. You'll need about 1 large breast, including the tender. Rotisserie chickens are great to use as well because the meat is so tender!
- Spinach - Look for frozen spinach that has already been chopped, then simply thaw and squeeze out the liquid using paper towel. If you only have fresh spinach, cook it first before ringing out excess water, and then chop it up.
- Cannelloni Noodles - We use pre made dry cannelloni tubes to make our lives a little bit easier, and save a bunch of time. Feeling adventurous? Try making it from scratch!
- Marinara - Buy your own favourite marinara sauce, or make your own in just 10 minutes!
- Shred the chicken into very small pieces, and be sure to mince the onion finely. This will make stuffing the cannelloni tubes easier.
- Remove all excess water from the spinach by wrapping it in paper towel and then squeezing.
- If the cheese is is not bubbly and slightly browned, broil for a couple of minutes until it is. Be careful - that cheese will burn quickly!