Chicken Cannelloni Recipe (2024)

Chicken cannelloni is a really fancy dish made with chicken, mushrooms, and a creamy marsala sauce rolled in fresh lasagna noodles. Try to make this for your next dinner – the flavor is incredible!

If you love CREAMY pasta with mushrooms, try my creamy chicken and mushroom pasta recipe!

This recipe was originally posted May 5, 2015, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Cannelloni – A Fancy Dish

This is my go-to recipe for those “fancier” parties. My mother actually made this for my engagement party a few years back. It has always been a crowd pleaser because it’s so different from your typical pasta dish. Every bite has a perfect combination of the chicken and mushrooms with the creamy Marsala sauce or “roux.”

What is Cannelloni?

No, this is not a cannoli. Cannnolis are rolled pastry desserts filled with sweet cream cheese. But take that idea and make it a savory dinner, and you have cannelloni.

Cannelloni is basically rolls of pasta stuffed with a meat and cheese mixture, topped with sauce. If you search for Cannelloni recipes, you will find a variety of ideas including pasta filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, topped with a tomato sauce.

My version has a creamy marsala sauce and is stuffed with chicken. It’s absolutely divine!

Cannelloni vs Manicotti

What is the difference between cannelloni and manicotti? Honestly, most home cooks confuse them and make them exactly the same. In fact, if you google “manicotti recipe” you’ll find instructions telling you to roll lasagna noodles and stuff them with meat, cheese, and top with sauce – just like cannelloni. They even sell pre-made manicotti shells at the store.

But did you know that some Italian chefs actually differentiate between the two by making manicotti with fresh pastry? They make manicotti with crepe shells and only stuff them with ricotta cheese and spinach.

How to Make Chicken Cannelloni

Today we are going to make cannelloni with chicken and a homemade creamy marsala sauce. If you love cheese, you will love this dish. And don’t be scared by the fanciness – it is actually simple! I’ll take you through every step.

Can you use oven-ready lasagna noodles to make cannelloni?

Cannelloni are usually prepared with fresh pasta dough, but that can be a bit pricey and not all stores carry fresh pasta dough. I’ve made this recipe with oven-ready lasagne and it tasted just as great. Although the package might say “no boiling required” you will need to boil it in order to roll the filling inside.

Ingredients:

This is what you’ll need to make your homemade dish:

• Chicken tenders
• Cajun seasoning, to taste
• Mushrooms
• Onion, chopped
• Garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Flour
• Sweet Marsala wine
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Heavy cream
• Fresh lasagna pasta (dry works too)
• Shredded Italian blend cheese
• Butter
• Milk

Instructions:

Here are the steps for the recipe. You can skip down to the printable recipe card for the full details too.

1.) Brown the Chicken

Season the chicken and brown the chicken on the stove. Make sure it is fully cooked and then set it aside.

2.) Fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms

This part will make the kitchen smell amazing! It’s my favorite step.

3.) Make the creamy sauce

Add the flour, Marsala wine and heavy cream to the skillet.

4.) Add chopped chicken to the same skillet

After you add the chopped up chicken, spice it up with some red pepper flakes, Parmesan, and salt.

5.) Make the roux in a saucepan

Grab a saucepan and heat up the butter and flour.

6.) Add more ingredients to the roux

Slowly add the heavy cream, milk, Marsala wine, and white pepper.Once the sauce has heated, add in the Parmesan cheese.

7.) Prepare the lasagna noodles

Boil them. Adding olive oil will prevent them from sticking to each other. Once boiled, lay the noodles on paper towels to cool.

8.) Fill the noodles

Spread some of the chicken and mushroom mixture into each noodle.

9.) Roll them up

Roll the noodles up tightly and make sure the filling won’t fall out.

10.) Spread the roux in a baking dish

In a 9×13 inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of the roux and place each rolled cannelloni into the dish.

11.) Top with more roux

Spread a generous amount of the roux on top of the cannelloni and sprinkle with the shredded Italian cheese blend.

12.) Bake them!

Cover with foil and bake! You can choose to garnish with chopped parsley if you want, for some extra flair.

My recipe makes about 20-24 5×7 cannelloni. If your noodles are a different size than 5×7 it could make a different amount.

Full Recipe Instructions

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• Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi (VIDEO)
• Baked Caprese Chicken
• Chakhokhbili (Georgian Chicken Stew with Herbs)