Although not an old traditional recipe, this potato and porcini mushroom cannelloni is one of the most scrumptious cannelloni recipes I know. The taste is exceptional! I highly recommend this recipe if you’re looking for a unique recipe for these large pasta tubes. Also a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes!
Cannelloni con patate e funghi porcini.
The two most traditional and popular ways Italians serve cannelloni (manicotti in USA) are either filled with a meat ragu and baked in a tomato sauce or filled with spinach and ricotta and baked in a tomato sauce and/or béchamel. As you can imagine, the filling for this potato and porcini cannelloni is different. It contains potato puree and porcini mushrooms. The sauce is a yummy cheesy béchamel.
Another great thing about this dish is that it’s vegetarian and can be vegan if you use vegan cheese and milk. Also, sometimes it’s nice to make pasta without tomatoes! Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE tomatoes and here in Italy they’re so flavourful! Still, I enjoy pasta recipes which are tomato free too or, as the Italians say 'bianca'!
Fresh or dried pasta?
You can make this potato and porcini mushroom cannelloni (manicotti) with dried pasta tubes, which is what I did. You can also make it with fresh cannelloni. However, fresh cannelloni is a bit of a misnomer because it doesn’t really exist.
As I have mentioned in other posts, fresh cannelloni are in fact rolled up lasagne pasta sheets. That fact gives you two options; buy the fresh sheets ready-made or make them yourself! If you’d like to make them yourself you can follow my recipe for homemade lasagne.
If you decide to use dried cannelloni make the béchamel a little more liquid as the pasta will have to cook in the sauce. I also cooked the dish covered in aluminium for 15 minutes before removing the cover so that the top of the pasta can get nice and crispy!
Fresh pasta cooks very fast and there’s probably no need to cover it. Just bake until the top is a nice golden crispy brown and the pasta is cooked enough to eat. If the pasta doesn’t seem cooked and the top is already brown enough, just cover the dish with aluminium foil until the pasta is ready.
Which mushrooms are in this dish?
Although this potato and porcini mushroom cannelloni (manicotti) recipe isn’t traditional, it’s popular. In fact, I found quite a number of versions for it. The recipe I followed is the most simple, except I also added Pioppini mushrooms. You can use just porcini (ceps) or include another type of mushroom if you prefer.
But, the combination of porcini and potato is what gives this dish its divine flavour, so the porcini are a must. I used frozen ones because I don’t really like dried porcini. You can use either. Of course, if you can get your hands on fresh porcini, that's even better!! Don’t forget to soak the mushrooms first if you are using dried ones.
Let me know if you try it!
I served this dish to guests last weekend and they totally fell in love with it. I’m sure you will too! If you do decide to make it, please let me know how it turns out and if you liked it. You can leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Buon appetito!
Other pasta recipes to check out.
- Cannelloni with pumpkin and goat cheese
- Homemade Cannelloni from Abruzzo
- Homemade Smoked Salmon Cannelloni (Manicotti)
- Tagliatelle with porcini
- Paccheri with porcini, speck and pistachios
- Spaghetti mare e monti with porcini and calamari
- Cannelloni with spinach and ricotta
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This recipe was originally published in 2018 but has been updated.
Leslie says
I feel like this Potato and porcini mushroom cannelloni recipe was made just for me! This looks divine!
Jacqui says
Thank you Leslie! Yes this is a divine cannelloni recipe. Definitely worth trying!
veenaazmanov says
Love this delicious creamy and cheesy dish. Perfect for my weekend cooking. My family to love it for sure. yum
Jacqui says
Thank you Veena, I'm sure your family will devour this cannelloni dish. It's so so good!
Kushigalu says
Love the combination of ingredients. Two of my favourite plus cheese,wow! Can't wait to make this for dinner. Thanks for sharing
Jacqui says
I'm happy you like this cannelloni recipe Kushigalu. Do let me know how it turns out when you make it!
Stine Mari says
Mushroom is amazing with pasta, and I can't wait to try it with cheesy béchamel and potato in this beautiful cannelloni!
Jacqui says
I agree Stine, mushrooms and pasta are so good together. I'm sure you'll really enjoy this cannelloni recipe!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Oh my heavens! Hand me a fork, napkin and let me dig in! This looks and sounds FANTASTIC!!! I am crushing hard on this and cannot wait to try it!!!
Marta says
Carbs make me smile...The filling on this recipe is genius. Easy to fill and absolutely delicious.
Maria says
This looks incredible. I love the combination of potatoes and mushrooms. This will certainly be a hit in our family!
Chef Dennis says
What a delicious cannelloni recipe! I'll be making this soon for my family!
HEATHER says
Oh my gosh you combined two of my favorite things stuffed them in pasta and added cheese?! Yes please 🙂 Can't wait to make this!
Amy Liu Dong says
Oh my gosh, your dish makes my mouthwatering. It look really delicious!
Lesli Schwartz says
Can I just have you cook for me? You make everything look SO good! Loving this latest recipe. YUM!
Tracy Koslicki says
We love mushrooms in this house AND a hearty pasta dish. My kids adored this and are already asking for it again! The potato in the filling was so good!
Evelyn Camilleri says
I think its a great recipe and worth trying.Definetely i will try it.Thank you for sharing.So much obliged.!! Regards
Janet Feast says
Looking to make this for wine night with the ladies (using crepes). Would this pair with Valpolicella including Amarone? If not is there another of your recipes you would recommend? Thank you!
Jacqui says
Hi Janet, I'm happy that you want to make this recipe and yes, it would pair well with Valpolicella. However, since Valpolicella is a Veronese wine, I would also suggest a more typical Northern Italian recipe such as bigoli with duck, radicchio pasticcio (Italian chicory lasagna) or gnocchi Gorgonzola and radicchio.
Julie says
Oh, this is the ultimate comfort food. I could eat a big plate of these right now!
Fred Nonterah says
I'm sure I would fall in love too if I were your guests maybe because I'm a foodie. Nicely flavored meal with potato filling sounds so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
admin says
You're so welcome Fred. I'm happy you like this recipe. It is rather special and the potato and porcini go together so beautifully! Greetings from Verona. Jacquui
Ali Hanson says
YES! This is my kind of pasta. The flavors are absolutely perfect! Thanks for sharing
admin says
You are very welcome Ali! I'm happy you like this recipe! I agree the flavours are divine. I just love the combo of potato and porcini! Def one to try! All the best from Verona! Jacqui
Stine Mari says
This sounds soo good! Mushrooms give such an umami flavor. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
admin says
Grazie Stine Mari, Yes this is a wonderful recipe. The combination of the mushrooms and the potatoes is truly delish! I hope you'll try it out! All the best from Verona! Jacqui
Lisa says
This made my mouth water just looking at all the pictures! It looks so good and now I want to make it!
admin says
Grazie Lisa! I'm so glad you like this recipe. I have to say it's divinely delicious. Def worth making, so I hope you do! All the best. Jacqui
Nicole - Cookies & Carrot Sticks says
Wow, that looks so good! Never thought of adding potato to the filling. Sounds like a very comforting dish.
admin says
Thank you Nicole. When I made this dish it was the first time I had added potato to a cannelloni filling and I was so inspired by it! The taste is great. I hope you'll try it! Greetings from Verona! Jacqui