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Low-fat Ricotta Spinach Rolls

A lasagna roll dish with ricotta, spinach, carrots, and mozzarella, baked in sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Pasta and spinach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 376 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Low-fat Ricotta Spinach Rolls

Oven350°F
Time20-30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  2. Chop basil and parsley.

  3. Prepare lasagna pasta according to package instructions.

  4. Lay a few sheets of wax paper on the kitchen table.

Make the filling

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 mozzarella, parsley, basil, spinach, salt, pepper, egg, and carrots. Mix well by hand.

Assemble and bake

  1. Lay cooked lasagna pasta on wax paper.

  2. Spread a thin layer of spinach mixture down the length of the lasagna.

  3. Spread a little sauce on the bottom of a large shallow casserole dish.

  4. Roll each filled lasagna and place in casserole dish.

  5. Spoon the pasta sauce onto the spinach rolls.

  6. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.

  7. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

  8. Serve hot with crusty garlic bread and salad.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

597Calories
34 gProtein
23 gFat
59 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pasta1 cup cooked (140g)220
Ricotta Cheese1/2 cup (124g) part-skim174
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pasta + spinachtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together376 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Parsley + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,351 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Pasta + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together853 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Carrot + basiltop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,113 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lasagne pasta
Forms the wrapper that holds the filling together as rolls.
Ricotta cheese
Adds creamy moisture and body to the spinach filling.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts over the rolls and browns lightly while baking.
Frozen spinach
Supplies the bulk of the filling and its green, earthy flavour.
Egg
Binds the filling so it holds its shape when rolled and baked.
Pasta sauce
Keeps the rolls moist and adds tomato flavour during baking.

The step that matters

Drain the spinach well. Frozen spinach holds a lot of water, and excess liquid thins the ricotta filling and can make the rolls soggy and loose while baking.

Swap the carrot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach, parsley, basil, egg):

  1. Eggplantfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Carrotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach, parsley, basil, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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