How to make cannelloni from scratch
Fresh cannelloni is rolled, not extruded: you make flat pasta sheets, blanch them briefly, then wrap each square around a line of filling. The payoff over dried tubes is a silky, tender bite — and filling by spreading instead of piping. The dough itself is the simplest in Italian cooking: flour and eggs.
Cannelloni step by step, at a glance
- Make the dough — 200 g flour, 2 eggs, knead 8–10 minutes, rest 30.
- Roll to 1–1.5 mm (second-thinnest machine setting).
- Cut into 10×12 cm (4×5 in) sheets.
- Blanch 30 seconds, cool in cold water, lay flat on towels.
- Fill and roll around a 2 cm line of filling, seam down in a sauced dish.
- Sauce and bake at 190°C / 375°F, 25 minutes covered + 10–15 uncovered.
Equipment you need
- Essential: a rolling pin or pasta machine, a sharp knife or pasta wheel, a wide pot, a bowl of cold water, clean kitchen towels, and a 9×13 baking dish.
- Helpful: a hand-crank pasta machine or stand-mixer roller attachment for even sheets, a ruler for consistent squares, and a piping bag for fast, even filling.
- Not needed: a dedicated “cannelloni machine.” Rolled sheets are the traditional method, and dried tubes are extruded in factories — there is no home gadget that beats a sheet and your hands.
The dough
For a 9×13 dish serving 4–6 (about 12 tubes):
- 200 g (1⅓ cups) “00” flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs (about 110 g without shells)
- A pinch of fine salt
- Mound the flour, crack the eggs into a well in the center, add salt.
- Beat the eggs with a fork, gradually pulling in flour from the walls until a shaggy mass forms.
- Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and springy — it should slowly bounce back when poked.
- Wrap tightly and rest 30 minutes at room temperature. Don’t skip this; unrested dough fights the roller.
Rolling: machine vs pin
A hand-crank pasta machine makes this a 10-minute job: quarter the dough, flatten, and pass through the rollers from the widest setting down to the second-thinnest (you want about 1–1.5 mm — thin enough to read newsprint through, sturdy enough to handle). On the common 9- or 10-notch hand-crank machines, that is usually setting 6 or 7; go one notch thicker if the sheets tear when you lift them. If you’re choosing a machine, our tested guide compares hand-crank, electric and mixer attachments.
No machine? A rolling pin genuinely works for cannelloni, because you need squares rather than long ribbons: roll one quarter of dough at a time on a floured counter, rotating often, until you can see your hand’s shadow through it.
Sheet sizes, cutting and blanching
The standard is 10×12 cm (4×5 in), which rolls into a tube matching store-bought cannelloni. Go bigger for fewer, fatter tubes:
| Sheet size | Result | Filling per sheet | Sheets from the 2-egg dough |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10×12 cm (4×5 in) | Classic cannelloni tube | ~30 g | About 12 |
| 12×12 cm (~5×5 in) | Roomier tube | ~40 g | About 10 |
| 15×15 cm (6×6 in) | Large, manicotti-style tube | ~55–60 g | About 8 |
Counts assume 1–1.5 mm sheets and re-rolling the trimmings once. Need more? The dough scales directly: 100 g flour per egg.
- Cut sheets to your chosen size with a sharp knife or pasta wheel, trimming ragged edges.
- Bring a wide pot of salted water to a boil with a bowl of cold water beside it.
- Blanch squares 2–3 at a time for 30 seconds, lift into the cold water, then lay flat on clean kitchen towels.
- Pat the tops dry and keep the sheets in a single layer; if you must stack them, separate the layers with lightly oiled parchment.
Blanching sets the pasta so it won’t crack when rolled, but keeps it underdone — the bake finishes the job.
Rolling the tubes
- Lay a square with the shorter side toward you.
- Spread or pipe a 2 cm line of filling along the near edge (about 30 g per square — methods compared in the filling guide).
- Roll away from you into a snug tube, overlapping the far edge by about 2 cm. Freshly blanched pasta seals itself; if the edge has dried, brush it with a little water and press to seal.
- Arrange seam-down in a sauced dish, in one tight layer — a straight-sided pan keeps the end tubes as saucy as the middle ones (why pan shape matters).
Making cannelloni ahead
- Dough: wrapped tightly, it keeps a day in the fridge. Let it sit 20 minutes at room temperature before rolling.
- Sheets: see the FAQ below — blanched sheets keep a day refrigerated; unblanched sheets freeze flat.
- Assembled dish: fill, roll, sauce and cover, then refrigerate up to 24 hours. Make sure every bit of pasta is under sauce, and add about 10 minutes to the covered bake straight from the fridge. For longer storage, see freezing cannelloni.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dough tears in the roller | Under-kneaded or under-rested | Knead to springy; rest a full 30 min |
| Sheets glue together | Stacked while wet | Single layer on towels; light flour dusting |
| Tubes unroll in the dish | Rolled too loose or seam up | Roll snug; always place seam-down |
| Filling squeezes out the ends | Overfilled | Stop filling 1 cm short of each edge |
Ready to put the technique to work? Start with the spinach & ricotta classic — fresh sheets suit it best.
Frequently asked questions
How thick should pasta be for cannelloni?
About 1–1.5 mm — on most hand-crank machines that's the second-thinnest setting. Thinner risks tearing during rolling; thicker eats doughy after the bake.
Can I make cannelloni sheets ahead of time?
Yes. Blanched, dried sheets can be layered between parchment, wrapped, and refrigerated for a day. Unblanched fresh sheets can be frozen flat for up to a month; blanch straight from frozen for 45 seconds.
Do I really need a pasta machine for cannelloni?
No. Because cannelloni needs individual squares rather than long ribbons, a rolling pin works well — it just takes 15 extra minutes and some elbow grease. A machine buys speed and perfectly even thickness.
What size should pasta sheets be for cannelloni?
About 10×12 cm (4×5 in) for a tube the size of store-bought cannelloni, holding roughly 30 g of filling. For bigger, manicotti-style tubes cut 15×15 cm (6×6 in) squares — a 2-egg dough makes about eight of those.
What setting on a pasta machine do you use for cannelloni?
Roll down to the second-thinnest setting — on the common 9- or 10-notch hand-crank machines that is usually 6 or 7. You want 1–1.5 mm: thin enough to see your hand through, sturdy enough to roll around a filling without tearing.
Do you have to blanch fresh pasta sheets for cannelloni?
Not strictly — freshly rolled sheets are pliable enough to roll raw and will cook in a well-sauced dish. A 30-second blanch gives a more tender, evenly cooked result, and it is essential if the sheets have started to dry and crack.