What is cannelloni?
The shape, its Italian origins, how it differs from other baked pasta, and the two ways it’s made today: dried tubes vs rolled fresh sheets.
Read the primer →
The cannelloni encyclopedia
One pasta shape. Done properly.
cannelloni.net covers exactly one thing: rolled, filled, baked pasta tubes — from the difference between cannelloni and manicotti to silky béchamel, from-scratch sheets, and the pans that stop them drying out. Every guide is tested in a home kitchen.
Start here
New to cannelloni? Three pages answer 90% of questions.
Cannelloni vs manicotti
The question everyone Googles. Short answer: same idea, different heritage, different texture. Long answer: it changes how you shop and cook.
Settle the debate →Dried tubes, decoded
No-boil vs pre-boil tubes, how to read the box, how much sauce each type actually needs, and which brands hold their shape.
Choose your tubes →
Recipes
90 min · serves 6
60 min · serves 4
Recipe hub
Tested recipes, written for real ovens
Exact gram weights, pan sizes, and the visual cues that matter more than timers. Start with the two classics, then branch out.
Classic beef cannelloni
Slow-cooked beef ragù filling under tomato sauce and béchamel — the Sunday-lunch benchmark.
Get the recipe →Spinach & ricotta cannelloni
The vegetarian classic, with the one step most recipes skip: squeezing the spinach truly dry.
Get the recipe →All cannelloni recipes
Chicken & mushroom, seafood, pumpkin, vegan, crespelle-style and more — the full index.
Browse the index →
Technique
The skills between “recipe” and “result”
Fresh pasta from scratch
A 2-egg dough, rolling by machine or pin, and cutting sheets to the exact size that rolls into a neat tube.
Learn the dough →How to fill cannelloni
Piping bag, zip-top bag, teaspoon or rolled sheet — four methods ranked by speed, mess and evenness.
Fill without the mess →Freezing & reheating
Freeze baked or unbaked? Glass or foil? Exact times and temperatures for a dish that tastes fresh, not thawed.
Make it ahead →
Equipment
The short list of tools that actually matter
Cannelloni needs almost no special equipment — but the three things it does need make an outsized difference. We test with supermarket ingredients in ordinary home ovens.
As an Amazon Associate, cannelloni.net earns from qualifying purchases. We only recommend equipment we would use in our own kitchens, and recommendations are never influenced by commissions.
Best baking dishes
Why a 9×13 with straight sides beats an oval, ceramic vs glass vs metal, and our tested picks at three prices.
See the picks →Best pasta machines
Manual rollers vs electric vs mixer attachments for silky fresh sheets — and when a rolling pin is honestly fine.
See the picks →Best piping bags
The $10 upgrade that turns filling tubes from a 25-minute mess into a 5-minute job. Reusable vs disposable, tested.
See the picks →