Spinach Rolls

This dinner is one of our favorites here at the coop. I found this recipe when I was doing Weight Watchers last summer, but it isn't your typical weight loss food with no taste that leaves you feeling unfulfilled. The original recipe is here.

Not only is this a fairly healthier alternative to traditional Italian food; it is also a meal that can be made ahead of time, the ingredients can be used to make more than one meal, and it is meatless. So it is an all around winner!

½ box of lasagna noodles (I use 10)
10. oz package of frozen spinach
½ of a container of ricotta cheese (I buy the bigger container). The original recipe calls for 15 oz.
¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
¼ of mozzarella cheese
1 jar of spaghetti sauce


Step 1:

Defrost/drain the spinach.  An easy way to do this is to run hot water over it and then drain the water.

Get the spinach as dry as possible.

Step 2:

Start cooking the lasagna noodles - this is the longest part of the prep process. I cook 10 noodles for 9 rolls. I like having an extra just in case.


Step 3:

Mix the spinach, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and some pepper to taste. The original recipe calls for an egg - sometimes I use one, sometimes I don't.  The recipe tastes the same regardless of whether or not I forget to add the egg.

Step 4:

When the noodles have finished cooking, drain the water and then run cold water over them so that you can handle them without getting burned.  After that, I take a cookie sheet and lay out 4-5 noodles at a time to make a bit of an assembly line.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the mixture on the noodles... and then just roll them up.

Step 5:

Add a little sauce and mozzarella to the top each each roll, cover them with foil, and place them into a 350 degree oven for around 40-45 minutes.

Step 6:

Enjoy!!  As always, from our kitchen to yours, Bon Appetite!

I serve this with garlic bread, and if I remember to buy it, a salad. 

The ingredients for this recipe can be used again to make the same meal, as long as you buy another box of frozen spinach. I find that the ricotta cheese keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator once opened. Since it is one of our favorites, we don't mind having it again so soon after the first rotation.