Cannelloni di
Carne
Italian meat-filled pasta bake
Rolled pasta encloses a savory meat filling beneath tomato, béchamel and grated cheese, baked until bubbling and lightly golden.
Meat-filled rolls with tomato & a basil garnishPasta rolled around meat,
ready for the oven.
Cannelloni di carne are pasta tubes filled with cooked minced meat and baked with sauce. Fresh pasta sheets can be rolled around the filling, while dried tubes offer another format. Béchamel gives the top a soft, creamy layer, with tomato adding a little sharpness.
Meat cannelloni appear in Italian home cooking with different fillings and sauce combinations. Families vary the meats, cheeses and sauces, so there is no single regional formula. The home recipe chooses beef and pork, a vegetable base, tomato and béchamel, using purchased fresh egg-pasta sheets. The photograph shows a more tomato-forward serving with basil; this bake has a visible creamy topping and no basil garnish.
Let’s make cannelloni di carne.
Six substantial first-course portions: 12 rolls in a 25 × 35 cm baking dish. Start with purchased fresh egg-pasta sheets; make the meat filling, tomato layer and béchamel below.
12 rolls in a 25 × 35 cm baking dish; six substantial first courses.
What you’ll need
Pasta
- 250 gpurchased fresh egg-pasta sheets, cut into twelve 10 × 12 cm rectangles
- 4 lwater, for blanching
- 20 gcoarse salt, for blanching water
- 2 lcold water, for cooling sheets
Filling
- 250 gground beef
- 250 gground pork
- 100 gonion, finely chopped
- 60 gcarrot, finely chopped
- 50 gcelery, finely chopped
- 30 mlextra-virgin olive oil
- 100 mldry red wine
- 200 gtomato passata
- 100 mlmilk
- 150 mlwater, plus up to 100 ml more if needed
- 30 gParmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
- to tastefine salt and black pepper
Topping
- 40 gunsalted butter, plus 5 g for the dish
- 40 gplain flour
- 500 mlmilk
- 1 pinchground nutmeg
- 300 gtomato passata
- 40 gParmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
- to tastefine salt
The 30-minute rest allowance includes cooling the filling and resting the bake. The schedule allows all components to be made sequentially. Fresh sheets are the starting ingredient; dried tubes need their own packet-directed method and are not a direct timing substitution.
How to make it
- 01
Cook the meat filling
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Soften onion, carrot and celery for 8 minutes. Add both meats and brown for 10 minutes, breaking up clumps. Add wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in 200 g passata, 100 ml milk and 150 ml water. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add measured extra water only if drying. The finished filling should be moist but hold its shape.
- 02
Cool the filling
Season with salt and pepper and stir in 30 g cheese. Spread in a shallow dish and cool for about 20 minutes before handling.
- 03
Make the béchamel
Melt 40 g butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the 500 ml milk. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir for 5–7 minutes, until thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt and nutmeg.
- 04
Blanch the sheets
Bring 4 l water to a boil and add coarse salt. Blanch fresh pasta rectangles in batches for about 1 minute, or the packet instructions, until flexible. Transfer to the cold water, then lay separately on clean towels and pat dry.
- 05
Fill and arrange
Heat a conventional oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter the baking dish with the listed 5 g. Spread 150 g topping passata and a spoonful of béchamel over the base. Divide meat filling among the 12 rectangles, roll up and place seam-side down in one layer.
- 06
Bake and rest
Spoon remaining 150 g passata and remaining béchamel over the rolls; scatter on 40 g cheese. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until bubbling throughout and golden on top, with the center at least 74°C/165°F. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
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