Beef Cannelloni

Cannelloni are Italian tube pasta & traditionally filled with ricotta, spinach and minced meat. The uncooked cannelloni rolls are filled with the stuffing, then placed in a baking dish and baked with tomato or béchamel sauce in the oven.

In today’s recipe, I’ll show you a recipe for cannelloni stuffed with a meat sauce alla bolognese. Have fun cooking!




Cooked/Baked today: Italian Beef Cannelloni
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 2 hours (with baking time)
Category: Main Dishes, Recipes with Ground Meat, Pasta & Noodle Recipes, Italian Recipes
Our Recipe rating:

Ingredients for about 20 Cannelloni Rolls:

…for meat sauce:

• 500 grams sieved tomatoes
• 400 grams ground meat (half beef/half pork)
• 200 milliliters beef stock
• 1 carrot
• 1 small piece celeriac
• 1 onion
• 1 – 2 clove(s) garlic
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• A teaspoon each of thyme & rosemary
• Salt & pepper
• Oil for frying

…for béchamel sauce:

• 400 milliliters milk
• 200 milliliters beef stock
• 50 grams butter
• 50 grams flour
• Salt, pepper & nutmeg

…more ingredients:

• 250 grams cannelloni rolls
• 100 grams grated Parmesan cheese
• Basil for garnishing

Required kitchen gadgets, helper & preparations:

• Large pan for meat sauce
• Pot or saucepan for béchamel sauce
• Baking dish
• Funnel + spoon to fill the cannelloni rolls

Instructions:




…preparations for meat sauce:

Peel carrot & celeriac & then cut into fine cubes. Peel onion & finely chop. Peel off garlic & also chop finely. Finely chop basil leaves & set aside for the garnish. Heat up a large pan adding a dash of oil, add the finely chopped vegetables to the pan & sweat over medium heat for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Next, add 400 grams of ground meat & sauté until crumbly for another 3 – 4 minutes, while stirring from time to time. When this is done, stir in 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste and roast briefly, then deglaze with 200 milliliters of beef stock and allow to boil down almost completely.




Finally, add 500 milliliters of sieved tomatoes, add 1 teaspoon each of thyme & rosemary and season with a pinch of salt & pepper, stir well and then allow to simmer gently for about 15 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Pull the done meat sauce off the stove and set aside to cool a bit.

…for béchamel sauce:

Heat up a small saucepan adding 50 grams of butter over low to medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted & starts to foam add 50 grams of flour and stir together with a whisk. Sweat the flour-butter mixture while stirring for 1 – 2 minutes, then add 400 milliliters of cold milk and 200 milliliters of beef stock and mix together with a whisk until free of lumps.

Bring the béchamel sauce to a simmer while stirring & allow to simmer over low to medium heat for about 2 – 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Then remove the sauce from heat, season with a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg and set aside until further use.




…for cannelloni rolls:

Preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat) in good time. Fill the cannelloni rolls with the slightly cooled meat sauce using a funnel or a piping bag and then place the rolls side by side in a suitable baking dish.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the cannelloni, sprinkle 100 grams of grated Parmesan cheese on top of the béchamel layer and then place the baking dish in the preheated oven for about 35 – 40 minutes. Get the done cannelloni rolls out of the oven, spread on plates & serve garnished with some finely chopped basil leaves. Have fun cooking!

Video Tutorial:

Watch the video tutorial to see the recipe and the preparation method precisely (German Audio only, English Subtitles available):