Beef Cannelloni was traditionally made for Sunday lunch or a holiday – originating in Italy, it is not region specific, but thought to be associated with Campania and Sicily. Our “go to” pasta sauce is Rao’s Marinara, and it doesn’t disappoint in this dish.
Beef Cannelloni
Cannelloni has a smoother surface as compared to manicotti, is smaller and usually stuffed with meat, cheese and herbs; where manicotti tends to be stuffed with cheese and herbs.
We were thrilled to see Express Cannelloni – meaning it does not have to be pre-cooked!
Stuffing is a bit finicky, and saving the trouble of pre-cooking the pasta is a big help. It takes us 2 minutes to fill each cannelloni, packed.
We’ve broken down some of the components of this dish, Cannelloni stuffed shells and the sauce, because serving size and amounts can impact the CHO. The cheese has no CHO.
Ingredients
Cannelloni Stuffing
- 1 lb. (454 gr) hamburger30 gr 0 CHO
- ¼ cup (30 gr) red onion, finely chopped 3 CHO
- 1 TBSP olive oil 0 CHO
- ½ tsp. salt 0 CHO
- ¼ tsp. pepper 0 CHO
- 1 TBSP parsley dried 0 CHO
- 1 TBSP basil dried 0 CHO
- 1 cup (250 gr) 2% cottage cheese 12 CHO
- 1 cup (75 gr) Parmesan Cheese, grated and divided 0 CHO
- 3 cup (225 gr) mozzarella, grated and divided 0 CHO
TOTAL CHO 15 CHO
- TOTAL WEIGHT 691 GRAMS
- 15 CHO DIVIDED BY 691 = .021 CHO/GRAM
- ¼ CUP 40 gr STUFFING IN EACH CANNELLONI (.021 CHO x 40 gr) .84 CHO/CANNELLONI
- 17 CANNELLONI SHELLS TOTAL 6.88 CHO EACH 116.96 CHO
- EACH CANNELLONI AND STUFFING (.84 CHO + 6.88 CHO) 7.72 CHO EACH CANNELLONI STUFFED
Sauce
- 1 jar (770 gr) Rao’s Marinara Sauce (5 CHO/1/2 cup/125 ml) 30.8 CHO
- 30.8 CHO DIVIDED BY 770 GRAMS = .04 CHO/GRAM
- 1 TBSP = 15 GRAMS (.04 CHO x 15 gr) .6 CHO/TBSP
- ¼ CUP = 4 TBSP (.6 CHO x 4) 2.4 CHO/1/4 CUP
- ¼ CUP = 60 GRAMS
CANNELLONI TOTAL CHO 162.76 CHO
- TOTAL WEIGHT 1914 GRAMS
- 162.76 CHO DIVIDED BY 1914 GRAMS = .085 CHO/GRAM
- OR:
EACH CANNELLONI = 7.72 EACH STUFFED
- 2 TBSP (30 Gr) RAO’S MARINARA = 1.2 CHO
- TOTAL CHO 8.92 CHO
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350
- Heat oil in a skillet and scramble fry hamburger, onion, salt and pepper.
- Drain when cooked through.
- Add 1 cup (75 gr) grated mozzarella, 1/3 cup (25 gr) grated Parmesan Cheese, 1 cup (250 gr) cottage cheese, dried parsley and basil to the cooked hamburger.
- Mix to incorporate.
- With a very small dessert spoon start adding ¼ cup (40 gr) hamburger mixture to each cannelloni shell. Hold the bottom end in the palm of your hand and spoon mixture in. Pack down with your thumb until full and compact.
- Place each stuffed shell on a platter until complete.
- In a lasagna style pan, add 1 cup (240 gr) Rao’s Marina and spread evenly.
- In 1 layer place cannelloni in the pan.
- Spoon remaining Rao’s around and over cannelloni.
- Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and top with Parmesan.
- Cover Cannelloni with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Turn on broiler, remove foil and broil until golden – about 2/3 minutes.
- Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
- This dish can be made ahead, let rest on the counter and warmed before serving. Simply cut the cooking time to 30 minutes, and broil once it is warmed through again.
