Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

Recipe from Nagi & Dozer - RecipeTin Eats · original post · full recipe on recipetineats.com

A lazy meal for midweek that tastes like spinach and ricotta stuffed shells or cannelloni - but without all the labour! Feel free to use your favourite store bought pasta sauce if you prefer. Reheats well and freezes well too!

Serves 6 55 min 32g proteinKid-friendly
veggiepastabakefreezer-friendlyitalian
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Ingredients

  • penne pasta300 g
  • mozzarella — shredded250 g
  • ricotta500 g
  • parmesan — grated50 g
  • garlic cloves — minced4 ea
  • frozen chopped spinach — thawed and squeezed dry350 g
  • extra virgin olive oil — 1 tbsp20 ml
  • tomato passata700 g
  • onion powder1 tsp
  • garlic powder1 tsp
  • dried Italian mixed herbs2 tsp
  • chilli flakes0.5 tsp
  • sugar — 1 tsp4.3 g
  • salt — 1 ¾ tsp11 g

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
  2. Pasta Sauce: Pour out about 1/4 cup of the passata (to make room to add flavourings). Add the remaining Pasta Sauce ingredients into the bottle, screw the lid on and give it a shake.
  3. Cook pasta for time per packet MINUS 1 minute.
  4. SCOOP OUT 1 mugful pasta cooking water, drain and set aside.
  5. Ricotta Mixture - Mix Ricotta Mixture ingredients in a very large bowl. Use a splash of pasta cooking water if needed to make it creamy.
  6. Add pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof baking dish.
  7. Top with Pasta Sauce, top with cheese. Loosely cover with foil.
  8. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
  9. Serve while hot and fresh!

Cooking for a different diet?

Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.

  • Gluten-free

    • 300 g Gluten-free penne instead of penne pasta

    Boil the gluten-free penne for 2 minutes less than the packet says, as it keeps softening in the bake and can turn mushy.

Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.

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What it costs, and where to buy it

Each item at whichever of your shops sells it cheapest.

Shops to compare

List price at each shop

  • Missing items

    These totals leave part of the list out, so a lower one isn't a cheaper shop.

  • Aldi UK

    you pay £13.95 · 58% spare

    £5.84

    missing 6 items

  • Tesco

    you pay £14.36 · 52% spare

    £6.92

    missing 6 items · £1.08 more

  • Sainsbury's

    you pay £14.26 · 42% spare

    £8.29

    missing 7 items

  • Morrisons

    you pay £19.84 · 44% spare

    £11.19

    missing 7 items

  • Asda

    you pay £9.27 · 53% spare

    £4.40

    missing 8 items

£0.97a serve

from £0.97 a serve at Aldi UK · 8 of 14 ingredients priced

About £5.84 of ingredients used for 6 serves.

£24.64 across 5 shops · 13 of 14 items priced · £2.59 more for bigger packs, 35% spare for later

Aldi UK

£5.84

missing 6 items

you'll pay £13.95 · 58% of it spare

Tesco

£6.92

missing 6 items · £1.08 more

you'll pay £14.36 · 52% of it spare

Sainsbury's

£8.29

missing 7 items

you'll pay £14.26 · 42% of it spare

Morrisons

£11.19

missing 7 items

you'll pay £19.84 · 44% of it spare

Asda

£4.40

missing 8 items

you'll pay £9.27 · 53% of it spare

Buy at Aldi UK£7.07

ricotta

£5.63/1kg

need 500 g2 × Cucina Spinach & Ricotta Tortelloni 0.3kg£1.69

Aldi UKAldi UK£5.63/1kg£1.69·TescoTescoN/A·Sainsbury'sSainsbury'sN/A·AsdaAsdaN/A·MorrisonsMorrisonsN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

onion powder

£9.89/1kg

need 1 tspReady, Set…cook! Garam Malasa Powder 0.09kg£0.89

Aldi UKAldi UK£9.89/1kg£0.89·TescoTescoN/A·Sainsbury'sSainsbury'sN/A·AsdaAsdaN/A·MorrisonsMorrisonsN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

dried Italian mixed herbs

£0.45/10g

need 2 tspReady, Set…cook! Italian Mixed Herbs 13g£0.59

Aldi UKAldi UK£0.45/10g£0.59·TescoTescoN/A·Sainsbury'sSainsbury'sN/A·AsdaAsdaN/A·MorrisonsMorrisonsN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

salt

£0.01/10g

need 11 gReady, Set…cook! British Table Salt 750g£0.65closest match

Aldi UKAldi UK£0.01/10g£0.65·AsdaAsda£4.00/1kg£0.80·TescoTesco£19.13/1kg£2.20·Sainsbury'sSainsbury'sN/A·MorrisonsMorrisonsN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

Buy at Tesco£2.99

tomato passata

£0.90/1kg

need 700 g2 × Grower's Harvest Standard£0.45closest match

TescoTesco£0.90/1kg£0.45·AsdaAsda£2.00/1kg£1.38·MorrisonsMorrisons£1.00·Sainsbury'sSainsbury's£2.30/1kg£1.15·Aldi UKAldi UKN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

garlic powder

£22.22/1kg

need 1 tspTesco Standard£1.00

TescoTesco£22.22/1kg£1.00·Aldi UKAldi UKN/A·Sainsbury'sSainsbury'sN/A·AsdaAsdaN/A·MorrisonsMorrisonsN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

Buy at Morrisons£10.25

mozzarella

£4.65

need 250 gMorrisons Grated Mozzarella 500gclosest match

MorrisonsMorrisons£4.65·TescoTesco£10.00/1kg£2.50·Sainsbury'sSainsbury's£14.96/1kg£1.87·Aldi UKAldi UKN/A·AsdaAsdaN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

parmesan

£5.60

need 50 gBradburys Rough Cut Parmigiano Reggiano Parmesan 200g 1 pack assumed, quantity unknown (size unknown)

MorrisonsMorrisons£5.60·Aldi UKAldi UKN/A·TescoTescoN/A·Sainsbury'sSainsbury'sN/A·AsdaAsdaN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

Buy at Sainsbury's£1.60

frozen chopped spinach

£1.60/1kg

need 350 gSainsbury's Chopped Spinach 900g£1.60closest match

Sainsbury'sSainsbury's£1.60/1kg£1.60·AsdaAsda£3.33/1kg£1.50·MorrisonsMorrisons£1.00·Aldi UKAldi UKN/A·TescoTescoN/A·OcadoOcadoN/A

Buy at Asda£2.73

Not priced

  • chilli flakes · 0.5 tsp