Vegan cannelloni
This week I am posting a real treat for lovers of Italian food. These vegan cannelloni recently became my go-to dish, mainly because they don’t require a lot of time to make and because they contain a few healthy ingredients.
If you follow this blog, you probably noticed that I make a lot of Asian and Italian recipes. And like those others, this one is pretty easy to make. I made a few versions of these, and I used both vegan mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I prefer the ones with mozzarella, just because cheddar didn’t melt as nicely. But you can use any vegan cheese that you like.
As I already mentioned, these vegan cannelloni (aside from being super delicious) also have a few healthy ingredients, and I decided to write down why exactly they can be good for you.
Some health benefits
Ever since I was a kid I was told that mushrooms were the”meat” among the plants, since they are a good source of protein. When I first went vegan, I did not have a lot of ideas on how to get some protein in my system, so they were my go to vegetable. Later I learned I had a lot of other options of course, but there are even more benefits that you can get from eating mushrooms.
The fiber, potassium, and vitamin C in mushrooms may contribute to cardiovascular health. They also contain a good portion of vitamin D, which is a bit hard to come by if you don’t eat animal products.
We already talked about some health benefits of spinach, but just in case you missed that post, I am going to mention these things here again.
Spinach is extremely healthy and linked to numerous health benefits. It has been shown to improve oxidative stress, eye health, and blood pressure. Spinach contains antioxidants, which fight oxidative stress and help reduce the damage it causes.
It is rich in zeaxanthin and lutein. Human eyes also contain high quantities of these pigments, which protect your eyes from the damage caused by sunlight. Additionally, several studies indicate that zeaxanthin and lutein work to prevent macular degeneration and cataracts, which are major causes of blindness. These compounds may even be able to reverse existing damage.
Spinach contains two components, MGDG and SQDG, which may slow down cancer growth. It also contains high amounts of nitrates, which have been shown to help moderate blood pressure levels and decrease the risk of heart disease.
I think these are some great reasons to start incorporating these veggies into your meal plan. Luckilly, there are a ton of recipes and ideas online, but just in case you are too busy to search for them, I will leave some of my own recipe links at the bottom of this post.
A piece of advice
The first thing I would like to mention is something about the shells that you’re using. Try to make sure that they are vegan. I know I had a hard time finding vegan ones, so pay attention to that (if you are vegan that is). Read the instructions on the box. Most of them need to be baked ad 180 degrees Celsius, but you should check that just in case and adjust the temperature accordingly.
When using tomato sauce, make sure you cover your cannelloni evenly. They don’t have to swim in it, but it helps them to soften up in the oven.
Since this recipe requires quite a bit of cheese, make sure you use your favorite brand. I used both mozzarella and cheddar and they turned out great. If you want, you can experiment with the filling. That is up to you, but if you come up with some good ideas, I would really like to hear that. You can always email me or tag me on instagram.
Ingredients
350 g of mushrooms
200 g of spinach
175 g of vegan cheese
A can of cherry tomatoes or (300 g of fresh ones)
Tomato sauce
25 g of vegan cheese for topping
14 cannelloni shells
Instructions
Slice the mushrooms (and cherry tomatoes if you are using the fresh ones). Chop the spinach and grate the vegan cheese. Put a teaspoon of oil in a pan and heat to medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes (until they get soft). Put the spinach in the pan and cook for about one minute. Mix everything and remove from the stove. Remove any excess water from the pan.
Put the spinach and mushrooms in a deep bowl and mix together with grated cheese and cherry tomatoes.
Line a baking dish with some parchment paper. Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish (2-3 tbsp). Take each cannelloni shell and fill it with the filling from the bowl (mushrooms, spinach, cheese, cherry tomatoes).
Put the cannelloni in the baking dish and top them off with tomato sauce (make sure they are all covered with it). Then grate the 25 g of vegan cheese and top them off with it. Bake the cannelloni on 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 – 25 minutes.
Serve them while they are warm!
If you liked this recipe, make sure you check out my other recipes like:
– chickpea/spinach balls in orange/ginger sauce
Feel free to tell me what you think about this in the comments below, or send me the pictures of your own vegan cannelloni. If you did something differently, I would also like to hear that, I’d love to see the things you come up with.
P.S. for more recipes like this and a bunch of other stuff, follow me on instagram, @margo_drobi.
Also, I recently started a Patreon page, where you can subscribe and help me create more/better content. In return, you will get an exclusive piece of content (recipe) each month. My plan is to increase the amount of that content if I gain a few subscribers. If you are interested and you want to find out more, I will leave the link to my Patreon right – here.