Baked Penne with Spinach, Ricotta & Fontina

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This easy vegetarian pasta bake gives you all the flavor of classic spinach and cheese cannelloni without the fuss.

Penne with spinach, ricotta, and fontina in a baking dish.

This vegetarian pasta bake is a quick and easy riff on classic spinach and ricotta cannelloni. Instead of stuffing traditional pasta shells, I toss penne pasta in a creamy sauce made with spinach, basil, and ricotta. After topping the dish with two flavorful cheeses, I bake it until golden and bubbly. To ensure a smooth and creamy texture, I add mascarpone (or cream cheese) to the sauce, which eliminates any potential graininess that can sometimes occur with ricotta-based sauces. While the pasta bakes, I usually toss a big Italian salad to complete the meal.

you’ll need to make Baked penne with spinach, ricotta & fontina

baked penne ingredients

how to make Baked penne with spinach, ricotta & fontina

To begin, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the penne. Cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, so you want it a bit underdone.

boiling the penne

Drain the pasta, then place it back in the pan and set aside.

drained penne in colander

Meanwhile, drain the spinach and squeeze as dry as possible. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the dry spinach, basil, ricotta, mascarpone (or cream cheese), half-and-half cream, 1 cup fontina, 3 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

spinach and sauce ingredients in food processor

Process until puréed.

pureed spinach cream sauce in food processor

Add the spinach mixture to the pasta.

adding the spinach sauce to the pasta Stir to combine.

pasta and sauce combined

Transfer to a baking dish.

pasta in baking dish

Top with the remaining fontina and Pecorino Romano cheese.

pasta topped with cheese and ready to bake

Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the top is golden in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Penne with spinach, ricotta, and fontina in a baking dish.

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Baked Penne with Spinach, Ricotta & Fontina

Penne with spinach, ricotta, and fontina in a baking dish.

This easy vegetarian pasta bake gives you all the flavor of classic spinach and cheese cannelloni without the fuss.

Servings: 4 to 6
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound penne
  • 1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • ½ cup packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 4 oz (½ cup) mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 6 oz (2 cups) grated fontina or whole milk mozzarella, divided
  • 5 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano), divided
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch ceramic baking dish.
  2. Cook the penne in boiling salted water until al dente, about 9 minutes. (It will cook more in the oven so you don’t want it completely cooked.) Drain and rinse under cold water, then place the pasta back in the pan and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the spinach, basil, ricotta, mascarpone (or cream cheese), half-and-half, 1 cup of the fontina (or mozzarella), 3 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano), garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Process until puréed.
  4. Add the spinach mixture to the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining fontina and Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the top is golden in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

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  • Per serving (6 servings)
  • Calories: 692
  • Fat: 34 g
  • Saturated fat: 20 g
  • Carbohydrates: 65 g
  • Sugar: 7 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • Protein: 31 g
  • Sodium: 956 mg
  • Cholesterol: 112 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • Hello! Have made this before and found it really tasty! Am thinking about making it and a pan of your lasagna for my son’s bday party. Can this dish be assembled in advance and then baked the day of, or would the pasta absorb the sauce and end up being too dry?

    • — Michelle on April 23, 2025
    • Reply
    • Hi Michelle, Glad you like it! This can be assembled up to a day ahead. Regarding your concern about the pasta absorbing the sauce, a few readers have commented that they prepared it ahead and thought it turned out a little dry; to avoid that, you may want to cover it with foil for at least part of the baking time. Hope everyone enjoys!

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