Cheesy Vegetarian

Spinach and Ricotta Enchiladas

These creamy spinach enchiladas are a bit of a hybrid recipe (and I do love my hybrid recipes… curry + pizza? chilli + mac and cheese? huevos rancheros + shakshuka?).

They are a perfect halfway point between regular vegetarian enchiladas, and spinach and ricotta cannelloni – they’re essentially Italian enchiladas! And what could possibly be bad about combining two of the best cuisines of all time, Italian and Tex-Mex?!

Spinach and ricotta enchiladas on a plate with arugula.

I always think of cannelloni as being a bit of a faff to make, but actually, these spinach enchiladas only took about 20 minutes to prepare, plus a bit of baking time. And the pay-off is oh-so-worth it. The spinach filling of these veggie enchiladas is luxuriously creamy, the perfect contrast to the rich tomatoey sauce. And any dish with a crispy, cheesy topping gets a thumbs up from me.

A baking dish of spinach and ricotta enchiladas with a portion removed.

What is Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni?

If you don’t already know, cannelloni are long, wide tubes of pasta, which are often filled with a creamy spinach and ricotta filling. The tubes are then baked in tomato sauce, with a cheesy topping – it is incredible.

However, making homemade cannelloni isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes it can be tricky to get the filling inside the raw pasta tubes – often people use some sort of piping bag. But simply rolling tortillas around the filling is a lot simpler!

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is already one of my favourite dishes of all time, but these spinach enchiladas are quite possibly even better.

Yep, I said it.

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Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for spinach and ricotta enchiladas laid out with text overlay.

flour tortillas
spinach – you could use frozen spinach if you prefer, but make sure you squeeze out the water after it’s cooked, as it releases a lot more liquid than fresh spinach does.
ricotta cheese
tomato sauce – choose a tasty one! I used a good quality tomato pasta sauce with garlic and basil.
basil pesto – again, a good quality pesto can really amp up this dish!
black olives – totally optional if you’re not an olive fan, but I love them, and they bring a lot of flavour to the dish!
grated cheese – I used a mixture of mozzarella (for meltiness) and cheddar (for flavour).
cherry tomatoes

Becca’s Top Tip

You could quite easily add some extra vegetables to these enchiladas if you want to. Some chopped mushrooms would be great, or some grated courgette (zucchini). Cook them off in a frying pan before adding them to the spinach mixture, to stop the enchiladas from getting too soggy.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of creamy spinach enchiladas topped with cheese and tomatoes.

Printable Instructions

Spinach and Ricotta Enchiladas

These creamy spinach and ricotta enchiladas are a variation on the classic cannelloni dish – the perfect cheesy vegetarian casserole!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Tex-Mex

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings people

Calories 599kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

200 g (~ 7 oz) fresh spinach
250 g (~ 1 cup) ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp basil pesto
2 Tbsp sliced black olives (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper
340 g (~ 1 1/3 cups) good quality tomato pasta sauce
6 medium flour tortillas (~ 8 inches)
125 g (~ 1 1/4 cups) grated cheese – I used a mozzarella and cheddar mix
~ 5 cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F).
Place the spinach in a large microwaveable bowl, and cook in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes, stirring halfway. The spinach should be fairly wilted. If there’s a lot of excess water in the bowl, drain it away, then add the ricotta cheese, pesto, black olives (if using), and black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Spread a couple of Tablespoons of tomato sauce over the bottom of your baking dish. My dish measured approx. 8 x 8 inches, and was the perfect fit for the 8 inch tortillas.
Lay out a tortilla, and spoon around a sixth of the spinach mixture along the centre.
Roll the tortilla around the filling, and lay it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling mixture.
Top the tortillas in the baking dish with the remaining tomato sauce, and spread it around to cover.
Top with grated cheese and halved cherry tomatoes.
Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the cheese is crisped up to your liking.
Serve warm with your choice of side dishes – I served mine with some fresh rocket (arugula).

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these spinach enchiladas in advance?

You could easily prepare the filling mixture in advance – but to avoid the tortillas from becoming too soggy, I would assemble the dish just before baking. Alternatively, you could cook the dish in its entirety, then reheat to serve.

Can I freeze these enchiladas?

I haven’t personally tried freezing this recipe, but I have frozen enchiladas in the past, and they generally freeze and reheat nicely. Cook the recipe fully then cool and freeze in an airtight tub.

How should I reheat leftover enchiladas?

My personal preference is to reheat leftover enchiladas in the microwave, because it’s quick and convenient. They can also be reheated in the oven at a low temperature, but this can make them dry out a little.

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Spinach and Ricotta Enchiladas

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

Just like vegetable lasagne, vegetarian moussaka is one of those dishes that I adore, but I rarely cook for myself, because it always seems like such a huge effort. Cooking lentils, boiling potatoes, grilling slices of eggplant, simmering tomato sauce… the vast majority of the time, I really, truly can not be bothered.

That’s why this vegetable moussaka casserole is such a revelation! It’s a casserole-style version of my favourite veggie moussaka, which tastes just the same, but is so much less effort to make! Just stick everything in a baking dish and let it do its thing, casserole-style.

A spoon taking a scoop from a baking dish of cheesy moussaka casserole.

This moussaka casserole has two sections:

a tasty tomatoey layer underneath, made with all the usual ingredients you’d expect to find in a vegetable moussaka – tender lentils, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant and roasted potatoes, cooked in a rich tomato sauce
a thick layer of creamy bechamel sauce on top

As you scoop into the casserole, the creamy sauce drips down and smothers the tomatoey layer. It. Is. Delicious.

How is this Easier than a Regular Vegetarian Moussaka?

I’m not going to lie, this vegetable moussaka casserole takes quite a long time to bake, and the ingredients list is a fair bit longer than the majority of my easy recipes.

However, I stand by the fact that this is so much easier to make than most moussaka recipes. Although it takes a while to cook, it’s almost all hands-off time, where you can go and relax / do some other useful jobs / play with your kids / whatever else you like to do with your life.

Vegetarian moussaka casserole topped with sliced tomato.

This vegetarian moussaka casserole is easy to make because:

using canned lentils mean there’s no boiling required.
the vegetables are roasted in the oven, rather than the more hands-on method of cooking them on the stovetop.
there’s no fiddly layering of sliced ingredients – it’s all baked up together.
even the tomatoey sauce is cooked right there in the oven with the other ingredients.

It’s definitely not a quick weeknight dinner, but if you’re at home over the weekend, it’s the perfect dish to have baking in the oven while you’re busy with other things.

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Overhead shot of a cheesy topped moussaka casserole with sliced tomatoes.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

potatoes
eggplant (aubergine)
canned lentils (mine were green lentils)
onion – I only used half an onion (a small onion would also work!)
canned tomatoes
tomato paste
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar (my favourite time-saving ingredient!)
dried herbs – mint and oregano. I very rarely use dried mint but trust me, it tastes amazing in moussaka! Not a hint of toothpaste, I promise.
tomato – to slice up for the topping
milk, flour and butter – for the creamy white sauce. You can add a pinch of nutmeg to it as well, if you like.

Becca’s Top Tip

I used the same baking dish to roast up my vegetables, and then to cook the casserole itself. If you’ve got a little less time on your hands, the veggies will actually roast a little quicker if you spread them out on a baking tray – but I wanted to save on dishes to wash! I love a one pot meal.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of a portion of vegetable moussaka with salad.

Printable Instructions

Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

This vegetable moussaka casserole is a much easier version of a vegetarian moussaka – but is just as tasty, with a luxurious creamy topping!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1 35

Total Time 2

Servings

Calories 523kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

For the lentil layer:

1 medium eggplant (aubergine) (~ 250g / ~ 9 oz)
~ 500g (~ 1 lb) potatoes
1 medium onion (or 1/2 large onion)
2 Tbsp oil
400 g tinned lentils, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
400 g tin (~ 1 1/3 cups) chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp dried oregano

For the topping:

60 g (~ 2 oz) butter
60 g (~ 2 oz) plain flour
500 ml (~ 2 cups) milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 large tomato, sliced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
Cut the eggplant, potatoes and onion into 2cm dice (I didn’t bother peeling the potatoes). Toss them in a little oil, and add to a baking dish – mine measured approx. 8 x 8 inches.
Roast the vegetables in the centre of the oven for around 50 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, or until the vegetables are fairly soft (the potatoes might still be a bit al dente). If you decide to spread the vegetables out onto a baking tray instead of using the dish, they will cook more quickly.
Add the tinned lentils, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, and dried herbs, and mix well to combine.
Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have thickened up into a rich sauce. Mix well.
To make the béchamel topping, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and add the flour. Mix to create a thick paste (a roux), and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring until smooth each time before adding more milk. Season to taste with salt. If you need more detailed instructions, check out my white sauce recipe.
Pour the béchamel sauce over the lentil mixture, and top with a few slices of tomato.
Return to the oven for a final 25 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned.
Allow to stand for a few minutes, then serve.

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare moussaka in advance?

Absolutely! The casserole can either be cooked entirely and then reheated when needed, or you can assemble it, then do the final bake just before serving.

Can I freeze leftover moussaka?

Moussaka is perfect for batch cooking – just transfer any leftovers to a freezer-safe tub, and freeze. Reheat thoroughly in the microwave.