Cannelloni al Forno di Manzo (Baked Beef Cannelloni)
Tender pasta tubes filled with seasoned beef, baked under tomato sauce and a creamy white sauce until golden.
Made with Basic tomato sauce and White bechamel sauce and Fresh egg pasta dough. Make a batch of the base first, then this takes minutes. Skip to the method
- Time1 hr 30
- LevelMedium
- Costabout £2.06 a head
- Oven190°C (170°C fan)
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Brown the mince for 6 minutes, breaking it up well. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
11 min - 2
Stir in the garlic, then pour in the wine and let it bubble away for 3 minutes. Take off the heat, then stir in half the parmesan, the nutmeg, parsley and salt. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- 3
Roll your ready made fresh pasta dough (see the base recipe) thinly and cut into 12 rectangles about 10 x 12 cm. Drop into boiling salted water for 1 minute, lift out and lay flat on a damp tea towel.
1 min - 4
Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Spread half the tomato sauce over the base of a large baking dish.
- 5
Spoon the filling along the short edge of each pasta sheet and roll up like a tube. Lay seam side down in the dish.
- 6
Cover with the rest of your basic tomato sauce, then spoon over the bechamel sauce (see both base recipes). Scatter with the remaining parmesan.
- 7
Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling at the edges. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
30 min
Tips
- Let the filling cool before rolling. Hot mince softens the pasta and makes it tear.
- If you cannot face rolling dough, use dried cannelloni tubes and add 100 ml water to the tomato sauce so they cook through.
- Spread the sauce thickly over every tube so no pasta pokes out and dries in the oven.
Storing and freezing
Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, covered, and reheat until steaming hot all the way through. Freeze assembled and unbaked for up to 2 months and bake from defrosted.
Questions
Can I use ready made lasagne sheets instead?
Yes. Dried lasagne sheets, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, can be rolled around the filling. Fresh sheets from the chilled aisle work without any pre-cooking.
Can I make it dairy free?
Not with these base recipes, as the bechamel contains milk and butter. Use a dairy free white sauce and skip the parmesan to make a dairy free version.
What can I use in place of red wine?
Beef stock or water with a teaspoon of red wine vinegar works. The aim is a little acidity to lift the beef flavour.
More made with basic tomato sauce
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.