Spinach and Ricotta Enchiladas
These creamy spinach enchiladas are a bit of a hybrid recipe (and I do love my hybrid recipes… curry + pizza? chilli + mac and cheese? huevos rancheros + shakshuka?).
They are a perfect halfway point between regular vegetarian enchiladas, and spinach and ricotta cannelloni – they’re essentially Italian enchiladas! And what could possibly be bad about combining two of the best cuisines of all time, Italian and Tex-Mex?!
I always think of cannelloni as being a bit of a faff to make, but actually, these spinach enchiladas only took about 20 minutes to prepare, plus a bit of baking time. And the pay-off is oh-so-worth it. The spinach filling of these veggie enchiladas is luxuriously creamy, the perfect contrast to the rich tomatoey sauce. And any dish with a crispy, cheesy topping gets a thumbs up from me.
🇮🇹 What is Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni?
If you don’t already know, cannelloni are long, wide tubes of pasta, which are often filled with a creamy spinach and ricotta filling. The tubes are then baked in tomato sauce, with a cheesy topping – it is incredible.
However, making homemade cannelloni isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes it can be tricky to get the filling inside the raw pasta tubes – often people use some sort of piping bag. But simply rolling tortillas around the filling is a lot simpler!
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is already one of my favourite dishes of all time, but these spinach enchiladas are quite possibly even better.
Yep, I said it.
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🥗 Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- flour tortillas
- spinach – you could use frozen spinach if you prefer, but make sure you squeeze out the water after it’s cooked, as it releases a lot more liquid than fresh spinach does.
- ricotta cheese
- tomato sauce – choose a tasty one! I used a good quality tomato pasta sauce with garlic and basil.
- basil pesto – again, a good quality pesto can really amp up this dish!
- black olives – totally optional if you’re not an olive fan, but I love them, and they bring a lot of flavour to the dish!
- grated cheese – I used a mixture of mozzarella (for meltiness) and cheddar (for flavour).
- cherry tomatoes
Becca’s Top Tip
You could quite easily add some extra vegetables to these enchiladas if you want to. Some chopped mushrooms would be great, or some grated courgette (zucchini). Cook them off in a frying pan before adding them to the spinach mixture, to stop the enchiladas from getting too soggy.
📹 Recipe Video
🖨️ Printable Instructions
Spinach and Ricotta Enchiladas
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 200 g (~ 7 oz) fresh spinach
- 250 g (~ 1 cup) ricotta cheese
- 1 Tbsp basil pesto
- 2 Tbsp sliced black olives (optional)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 340 g (~ 1 1/3 cups) good quality tomato pasta sauce
- 6 medium flour tortillas (~ 8 inches)
- 125 g (~ 1 1/4 cups) grated cheese – I used a mozzarella and cheddar mix
- ~ 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F).
- Place the spinach in a large microwaveable bowl, and cook in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes, stirring halfway. The spinach should be fairly wilted. If there’s a lot of excess water in the bowl, drain it away, then add the ricotta cheese, pesto, black olives (if using), and black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
- Spread a couple of Tablespoons of tomato sauce over the bottom of your baking dish. My dish measured approx. 8 x 8 inches, and was the perfect fit for the 8 inch tortillas.
- Lay out a tortilla, and spoon around a sixth of the spinach mixture along the centre.
- Roll the tortilla around the filling, and lay it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling mixture.
- Top the tortillas in the baking dish with the remaining tomato sauce, and spread it around to cover.
- Top with grated cheese and halved cherry tomatoes.
- Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the cheese is crisped up to your liking.
- Serve warm with your choice of side dishes – I served mine with some fresh rocket (arugula).
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
💭 Recipe FAQs
You could easily prepare the filling mixture in advance – but to avoid the tortillas from becoming too soggy, I would assemble the dish just before baking. Alternatively, you could cook the dish in its entirety, then reheat to serve.
I haven’t personally tried freezing this recipe, but I have frozen enchiladas in the past, and they generally freeze and reheat nicely. Cook the recipe fully then cool and freeze in an airtight tub.
My personal preference is to reheat leftover enchiladas in the microwave, because it’s quick and convenient. They can also be reheated in the oven at a low temperature, but this can make them dry out a little.
I loved this new recipe from Becca! I made it for the first time last week and was bowled over – another great evening meal! As usual I added a few extras to bulk it up even more – a couple of peppers and a few mushrooms worked a treat. I’ll definitely be cooking this one again!
Thanks Paul! Glad you enjoyed them! :)