Vegan Cannelloni with Soya, Spinach & Pistachio

Vegan Cannelloni with Soya, Spinach & Pistachio is a hearty, Mediterranean-inspired baked pasta dish. Dairy-free, plant-based and absolutely full of flavour — thanks to generous amounts of Serriana Olive Oil.

This is a dish that proves you don't need meat or dairy to make something truly satisfying.

The secret? Lots of great tasting Serriana olive oil — this is the thread that runs through every stage of this recipe, from the slowly caramelised onions to the silky oat milk béchamel.

The filling is made with rehydrated dried soya 'mince' — a fantastic plant-based protein that soaks up flavour beautifully. The secret is in the broth which we use to rehydrate it: a warm, spiced vegetable stock with ground ginger, rosemary, thyme and cloves. 

Once the soya has absorbed all that goodness, it is added to the leeks, carrot and spinach and fried together to really develop the flavour.

Then comes the moment that lifts the whole filling — a generous handful of ground pistachio nuts, briefly fried in the pan before the whole mixture is blended to a smooth, rich paste.

The béchamel is made with rice flour and plant milk, scented with nutmeg and onion, and finished with nutritional yeast sprinkled over the top after baking for a savoury, cheesy depth.

Note: The photos show two layers (36 tubes each), but the recipe below serves 6–8 (24–28 tubes). 😉

Step 1 — Prepare the Spicy Soya Mix
This step is what gives the filling its depth. 

Bring 500ml of vegetable stock to a gentle simmer and add the ground ginger, dried rosemary, dried thyme and ground cloves. Let it infuse for 5 minutes. 

Pour the hot spiced stock over the dried soya mince and leave it to rehydrate for 10–15 minutes. 

The soya will absorb the flavours as it swells. Drain well, pressing out any excess liquid, and set aside.

Step 2 — Make the Tomato Base
Heat 30g of Serriana Olive Oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat. 

Add the garlic and soften briefly — don't let it colour. Add the tomatoes, season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, and simmer for 20–25 minutes until rich and thick. 

Tear in the basil at the end. Set aside. (If you are using a good-quality ready-made tomato frito, you can use this directly — just warm it through with a little garlic and a splash of Serriana Olive Oil.)

Step 3a - Prepare the filling - leeks first

Heat 40g of Serriana Olive Oil in a large, wide pan — a cast iron pan works beautifully — over a low-to-medium heat. 

Add the finely diced leeks and carrot with a generous pinch of black pepper. Cover with a lid and let everything soften slowly for 15–20 minutes, stirring from time to time.

You want the leeks to become sweet, tender and almost melting. The olive oil does most of the work here — don't rush it. If the vegetables begin to colour too quickly, add a small splash of water and turn the heat right down.

Step 3b — Prepare the filling - add the Spinach
When the leeks and carrot are soft and sweet, add the spinach in batches, stirring until each batch wilts before adding the next. Continue to cook for 3–4 minutes until the spinach is fully incorporated and any excess moisture has cooked off.

Step 3c — Add the Soya & Pistachios
Add the drained, spiced soya mince to the pan and stir everything together well. 

Fry over a low / medium heat for a full 10 minutes, stirring regularly. This is important — the extended frying is what brings all the flavours together and gives the filling real character.

Then add the ground pistachio nuts and let them fry briefly in the mixture for 2–3 minutes. The pistachios will toast gently and release their oils into the filling, adding a rich, nutty depth.

Season well and taste. The filling should be fragrant, savoury and just a little nutty. Adjust with salt, pepper or a little more Serriana Olive Oil if needed.

Step 3d - Blend it!

Transfer the filling to a blender or food processor and blend to a rough paste — smooth enough to fill the tubes easily, but with a little texture remaining. Don't over-blend; it should look like a thick, rustic paste rather than a purée. Leave to cool a little before filling.

Step 4 — Lay the base and Fill 

Firstly, go back to your tomato base (see step 2) and lay a base in a large oven dish.

Then, fill each cannelloni tube with the paste while the tubes are still dry and uncooked.

Use a small spoon  Work patiently and fill each tube generously from end to end.

Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F / Gas Mark 5).

 Spread the tomato sauce generously across the base of your baking dish — this is the 'cama de tomate' - the tomato bed, that keeps everything moist and adds flavour from below. 

Arrange the filled cannelloni tubes snugly on top in a single layer.

Step 5 — Make the Béchamel
Heat 40g of Serriana Olive Oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. 

Add the finely diced onion and soften gently for 8–10 minutes until very soft and sweet but not coloured. 

Add the rice flour (or oat flour) and stir continuously for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

 
Pour in the soya milk slowly, a little at a time, whisking constantly to keep the sauce smooth and lump-free. 

Continue whisking over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes until the sauce thickens to a pourable, creamy consistency. Season generously with salt, white pepper and a grating of nutmeg.

Pour the béchamel evenly over the top, making sure every tube is covered. 

Here you can add fresh sage leaves into the top layer of the béchamel sauce - or other similar fragrant soft herb leaf - if you have access to them.

finish with a generous drizzle of Serriana Olive Oil.

🙂

Serve with a simple green salad dressed with Serriana Olive Oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. A glass of Spanish white wine — something from Galicia, bright and slightly citrusy — works very well alongside this dish.
Leftovers reheat perfectly the next day. Some would say they taste even better!

Every stage of this recipe benefits from a generous pour of Serriana Extra Virgin Olive Oil — grown in the mid-mountain natural park on Spain's East coast. Its buttery, peppery and aromatic character adds depth to the softened leeks, richness to the filling and silkiness to the béchamel.

This is not a recipe to be shy with olive oil. Use it freely — it is, after all, the heart of the Mediterranean diet.

The soya 'mince'.

The spiced broth is the key step — don't skip it. Ground ginger, rosemary, thyme and ground cloves transform what would otherwise be a bland ingredient into something genuinely flavourful.

Leeks. 

Dice them as finely as you possibly can. Their sweetness and gentle flavour is a better match for the spinach and soya than onion. And the fine dice means they blend into the filling seamlessly.

Pistachio nuts: 

Grind them in a food processor to a coarse, sandy texture before adding to the pan. The brief frying at the end of Step 3c is what unlocks their flavour — don't add them cold and uncooked.

Rice flour béchamel. 

Rice flour gives a slightly lighter, silkier sauce than wheat flour. Oat flour works well too and adds a subtle nuttiness. Use soya milk rather than oat milk here — it has more body and produces a richer, creamier result.

Make ahead.
Fully assemble the dish a day in advance and refrigerate. Bake when you are ready, adding 10 minutes to the covered baking time if cooking straight from cold.

Gluten free.
Use gluten-free cannelloni tubes and rice flour in the béchamel — the recipe is naturally very close to gluten-free already.

Did you enjoy this Vegan Cannelloni recipe? If so, why not check out more olive oil recipes here?

Fun Fact. Cannelloni means 'large reed' in Italian - a reference to the pasta tubes - and came to Spain from Campania region (think Sorrento or Amalfi) of Italy. Here is Spain, it plays a big part in Catalan tradition on the 26th of December.