Creamy squash sauce over cannelloni shells that are stuffed with a sage infused spinach, ricotta and ground turkey mix. It is absolutely divine! The flavours marry so well together and make such a comforting dish on a cold day. Not that cold weather is a must. I’m totally making this year round! Why not? Its delicious, healthy and has all my favourites!
This cannelloni recipe was born out of my love of squash…and also the leftover squash soup I had in the fridge. Sometimes you just look in your fridge, see the ingredients you have and an idea is born. I am so happy with this cannelloni bake cause it combines so many of the things I love! Ricotta, spinach, pasta and squash! Yes, yes, yes and yes!
I have included a simple butternut squash sauce in the recipe below, but if you have leftover squash soup or even store bought, you can cut down the cooking time by half and make your life easier. I am all about making life easier!
Once the butternut squash sauce is ready, the rest of the meal comes together easily! I quickly saute the turkey (seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh sage) until it is cooked and then mix it with ricotta, spinach, milk, egg and seasoning.
Then I transfer the mix into a ziploc bag or piping bag and pipe it into the cannelloni shells. Then I smother them with the butternut sauce and bake it to perfection! Just before they come out of the oven, I sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese and fresh sage. What isn’t better with melty cheese on top? It makes everything better! That’s it! Full details are in the recipe below! Hope you give this one a try and love it as much as I do!
If you are a lover of all things squash, you may like some of my other squash recipes too! Bon appetit!
Creamy Squash, Spinach & Turkey Cannelloni
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons sage finely chopped
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 cups spinach chopped
- 2 tablespoons milk
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg
Butternut Squash Sauce
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1/2 tablespoon sage finely chopped
- salt and pepper
Other Ingredients
- 14 cannelloni
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon sage, finely chopped
Instructions
- If you are using leftover butternut squash soup or store bought, skip step 1 and begin at step 2. Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and cube the squash. Toss it in olive oil and place in a baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes, flipping it halfway through to ensure even cooking. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350F. Let cool slightly and place in the food processor with the remaining sauce ingredients. Puree until well combined. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up chunks as you go. Once turkey is cooked through, add the sage. Transfer the turkey to a large bowl and add the remaining filling ingredients except the egg. Mix well and taste, adjusting the seasoning if needed. Add the egg and mix well.
- Grease a 10×10 baking dish with olive oil and lay out the cannelloni shells. Spoon the filling into a piping bag or ziploc bag and cut the tip large enough to allow the filling to easily pour through.
- Pipe the filling into each cannelloni shell. Arrange back onto the baking dish and top with the sauce, ensuring cannelloni shells are covered all over. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and julienned sage. Bake for 5-10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
