Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is the kind of dish that looks like it’s been in the works for hours, but in practice pretty much makes itself while you tidy up the kitchen. The pasta tubes are filled with a creamy spinach and ricotta filling, laid tightly in a dish, covered with rich tomato sauce and topped with cheese.
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In the air fryer, the dish takes 55 minutes from start to finish: 25 minutes of prep and 30 minutes at 180°C. The circulating heat does something special to the cheese on top — it bubbles up, browns in patches and gets those lightly crispy edges that make the dish look baked rather than just heated through.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Table of Contents:
Why I love spinach and ricotta cannelloni in the air fryer
Cannelloni is one of the few pasta dishes that actually turns out better in a small dish than in a big roasting pan. The air fryer basket forces you to keep the portion compact, and that’s actually an advantage: the tubes sit close together, the sauce stays around the pasta instead of evaporating away in a half-empty dish, and the filling stays creamy all the way through.
At the same time, you skip heating up an entire oven for a dish that’s smaller than a sheet of A4 paper. The air fryer is ready within minutes, so the 30 minutes at 180°C go into the dish itself rather than into waiting.
The difference between an air fryer and an oven
A regular oven heats mainly from the top and bottom, while the air fryer blows hot air all the way around the dish. That means the cheese sets faster and the edges caramelize while the center stays creamy. In return, the dish needs to be covered with foil during the first part of cooking — otherwise the top turns dark long before the pasta is tender.
My kitchen test of spinach and ricotta cannelloni
I made the dish in my Cosori Dual Blaze at 180°C, and the 30-minute cooking time holds up when the dish is covered for the first roughly 20 minutes and baked uncovered for the last 10. The prep genuinely takes the 25 minutes allotted for it — most of it goes into pressing the moisture out of the spinach and filling the tubes.
The single biggest factor is the spinach. The first time, I just let it drain, and the result was a watery base and a filling that ran out of the tubes. The second time, I pressed the spinach hard in a clean kitchen towel, and the difference was dramatic: the filling was firm enough to stay in the pasta, and the sauce kept its consistency. If you have an air fryer with a large basket, a Philips XXL for example, you can use a wider dish and lay the tubes in a single layer instead of two.
Press the spinach completely dry before mixing it with the ricotta. The water from the spinach is the difference between a creamy filling and a watery base.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common mistake is too little sauce. Dry cannelloni tubes absorb liquid as they cook, and if the ends stick up out of the sauce, they turn hard and floury. So cover the tubes completely, and pour a couple of tablespoons of water into the dish if the sauce is very thick. The next mistake is overfilling the tubes: if you pack the filling all the way to the edge, the pasta cracks and the filling leaks into the sauce — fill them about three-quarters full instead. The third mistake is running the entire cooking time without foil. The cheese can’t handle 30 minutes directly in the airflow at 180°C; it turns dark and bitter long before the pasta is tender.
How to serve spinach and ricotta cannelloni
The dish is filling on its own, so the side dishes can be light and fresh:
- A simple green salad with lemon and olive oil
- Toasted garlic bread to mop up the sauce with
- Marinated olives or grilled peppers as a small starter
- A sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan and basil right before serving
Storage and reheating
Cannelloni keeps for three days in the fridge in an airtight container or under film in the dish. Reheat at 160°C for 8-10 minutes with foil on top, so the cheese doesn’t burn the second time around. The dish can also be frozen, either fully baked or assembled and raw, in which case it needs to thaw completely in the fridge overnight before going back into the air fryer.
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is everyday food that looks like Sunday dinner. Put the dish in the air fryer, cover it, and let the 30 minutes at 180°C do the work for you.
FAQ
No. Dry tubes become tender from the liquid in the tomato sauce as they cook. Just make sure the tubes are completely covered with sauce, and that the dish is covered with foil for the first roughly 20 minutes, so the pasta steams tender instead of drying out.
An oven-safe dish in ceramic, glass or metal that can stand freely in the basket with a couple of centimeters of air all the way around. The air needs to be able to circulate, otherwise the top gratinates unevenly. Measure the basket before choosing a dish.
Yes. You can freeze the dish both fully baked and raw. Let it thaw completely in the fridge overnight, then reheat it at 160°C for 12-15 minutes with foil on top, until it’s heated through.
Recipe
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni in the air fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
All our recipes are tested in a Philips Airfryer 2000 Series NA230/00 – 6.2 L
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Oven-safe dish - Must fit in the air fryer basket
- 1 Pot - Small
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Piping bag - Or a freezer bag with a corner snipped off
- 1 Aluminum foil
Shopping list
Ingredients
Spinach and ricotta filling
Tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pcs shallot (Finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (Finely chopped)
- 400 g chopped tomatoes (1 tin)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- 0.5 tsp salt
Pasta and topping
- 12 pcs cannelloni tubes (Dried, approx. 125 g)
- 125 g mozzarella (Grated)
- 25 g parmesan (Finely grated)
How to make it
Spinach and ricotta filling
Tomato sauce
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small saucepan, and sauté 1 pcs shallot and 1 clove garlic gently for 2-3 minutes without browning.
- Add 400 g chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp sugar and 0.5 tsp salt. Let the sauce simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.
Assembly
- Spoon the filling into a piping bag or a freezer bag with a corner snipped off, and fill 12 pcs cannelloni tubes from both ends, so they’re filled right to the edges.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 °C.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminium foil, place it in the basket, and bake the cannelloni for 22 minutes at 180 °C. The pasta should be easy to pierce with the tip of a knife, without resistance.
- Remove the foil, and sprinkle 125 g mozzarella and 25 g parmesan on top. Bake for a further 8 minutes at 180 °C, until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.
Serving
- Let the dish rest for 5 minutes, so the sauce settles and the tubes are easier to lift out. Serve the cannelloni with a green salad and a few fresh basil leaves.
Our notes for the recipe
Use dried cannelloni tubes without pre-cooking — they draw the moisture from the tomato sauce and cook to just the right tenderness, as long as they stay fully covered. Choose an ovenproof dish that leaves at least 1 cm of air space all the way round in the basket, so the hot air can circulate freely around the dish. Variation:
Stir sun-dried tomatoes or toasted pine nuts into the filling, or swap the spinach for finely chopped kale. For a creamier dish, pour 1 dl double cream over the sauce before covering with the foil. Serving:
Serve with a crisp green salad, pickled red onion and a piece of toasted garlic bread to mop up the sauce. Portion size:
If your air fryer is smaller, you can make the dish in two batches or divide the tubes between two small dishes.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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