Canelones de Carne — Print Recipe

Tender pasta tubes filled with seasoned ground beef and bechamel, blanketed in tomato sauce and melted cheese, baked until bubbling — Uruguay's beloved Sunday lunch tradition.

Ingredients

12 cannelloni tubes (or fresh pasta sheets)
500g ground beef
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
500ml tomato sauce
Bechamel: 50g butter, 50g flour, 500ml milk, nutmeg
200g mozzarella, grated
50g Parmesan, grated
Salt, pepper, oregano
2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1 Cook filling: sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add ground beef, cook until browned. Season with salt, pepper, oregano. Cool.
2 Make bechamel: melt butter, stir in flour, cook 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk until thick and smooth. Season with nutmeg and salt.
3 If using pasta sheets, briefly blanch them. Fill each tube or sheet with beef mixture.
4 Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in a baking dish. Arrange filled canelones in a single layer.
5 Pour remaining tomato sauce over the canelones. Cover with bechamel. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan.
6 Bake at 190C for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbling. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Did You Know?

In Uruguay, canelones are so synonymous with Sunday lunch that the phrase 'domingo de canelones' (cannelloni Sunday) is universally understood — many families eat them every single Sunday.