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If you want to learn how to make pasta, spinach and ricotta triangoli with lemon butter and sage is a great place to start. Imagine little triangles of pasta, with a delicious spinach, basil and ricotta filling, tossed through a zesty lemon butter, finished with crispy sage leaves.
You are probably familiar with ravioli, which is widely available in supermarkets. Triangoli is similar, but shaped into beautiful triangles instead of squares. Although it is popular in Italy, you don’t really find it much in the UK or US.
Here, I have included a recipe for how to make a zesty lemon butter sauce and crispy sage leaves garnish for the triangoli. However, you can serve with whatever you fancy – sometimes I just toss them with butter and some parmesan when just out of the boiling water.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- It is simple to make and ideal for building your confidence in making homemade pasta.
- It is so versatile. You can ring the changes and serve your homemade spinach and ricotta triangoli with all sorts of different sauces and butters. You can also experiment with different fillings.
- You can prep ahead and batch make the homemade spinach and ricotta triangoli, then keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Fresh pasta dough – making your own pasta dough is so much easier than you think.
Fresh basil
Ricotta -opt for full-fat ricotta for best results.
Equipment Needed
You obviously will also need a sharp knife, a chopping board and a baking tray. You will also need the following:
Pasta Machine – see my pasta dough recipe for full tips on this. You could make pasta with just a rolling pin but I will concede it is a lot of effort and more time-consuming. The best tool to have is a pasta machine. It’s manual and has a metal crank that allows you to effortlessly roll pasta out until it’s very thin and ready to be shaped.
Ravioli Stamp – this is optional as you could also just use a sharp knife to cut out the squares that are then folded into the triangoli. I love using a ravioli stamp as it has fluted edges which look pretty.
What is triangoli?
Triangoli are one of the easiest filled pasta shapes you can make – perfect if you are just starting to learn how to make homemade pasta. It is very similar to ravioli, but shaped like a triangle instead of a square. Not only does this make them look even more elegant, it also means you only have to worry about sealing two edges, instead of four.
Here’s how to make Homemade Triangoli with Spinach & Ricotta Filling:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Add the ricotta, Parmesan and nutmeg to a bowl along with the finely chopped blanched spinach and basil.
TWO: Mix well then season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
THREE: Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper and dust with semolina. Set aside. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out your pasta into four equal-sized long sheets.
FOUR: Place onto your work surface and, using a dough cutter, knife, or ravioli stamp, cut out roughly 7 cm squares. Place the squares onto your prepared trays as you go.
FIVE: Pipe about a teaspoon of the spinach and ricotta filling onto each square, aiming for just below where you will fold the pasta in half to make triangles.
SIX: To shape the triangoli: working one square at a time, lift one corner over the top of the filling to meet the opposite corner, then seal along the edges with your fingers, pressing out any air so the filling is tightly contained. If your dough feels dry at all, you can wet a fingertip and brush the edge to help seal. Set back onto the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining squares of pasta.
Cooking Tips:
Ice water: It’s important to place the basil and spinach straight into cold water a) to stop the cooking and b) to preserve the vibrant green colour. It also means it doesn’t melt the ricotta in the filling.
Sealing: make sure you handle the triangoli very carefully when sealing. The pasta should be thin so it is prone to breaking and tearing when you handle it. Also make sure you squeeze out as much air as possible to avoid air pockets.
Al dente: cook the pasta until it is ‘al dente’ (meaning ‘to the bite’). It should still be firm when you bite into a piece, but not too chewy. It will cook much quicker than dried pasta (it literally takes a few minutes). Also remember it will be cooked for a minute or so as it is tossed through the lemon butter.
Lemon Butter & Sage: Serving Suggestion
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Sage leaves – Frying them not only makes them crispy, it also makes the flavours less intense so they complement the spinach and ricotta triangoli and zesty lemon butter perfectly.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s pronounced tree-AHN-goh-lee.
You can make it in stages. The filling can be made in advance, left to cool completely and be kept covered and chilled overnight. Once shaped and filled, it is best cooked within 24 hours (keep in a sealed container in the fridge if shaping more than 1 hour before cooking). However, it freezes really well for up to 3 months (see below for guidance). Plus, you can add straight to boiling water – no need to defrost.
Using the pasta cooking water in pasta sauces is one of my favourite chef’s tricks. As the pasta cooks in the boiling water, it releases starch. This creates a starchy pasta water. When you add this to your pasta sauces, it binds and thickens them. If you have a buttery or oily sauce, it will help them become creamy and non-greasy. If you have a tomato sauce, it will help loosen it and make it super glossy. Put simply, if you want the most delicious, silky smooth pasta sauce, add a splash of pasta water.
The shaped triangoli, uncooked, are best cooked on the same day (cover and chill if making more than 1 hour ahead and cook within 24 hours) or frozen. The finished dish is best served straight away but any leftovers can go in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 days.
This is one of those dishes that is best served straight away and doesn’t reheat particularly well. But if you do have any leftover, in the interest of avoiding food waste, 1-2 minutes in the microwave will heat them through well.
Lay on a baking tray and place in freezer for 20 minutes, then once firmed up, transfer to a sealed container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Cook straight from frozen.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like the sound of this spinach and ricotta triangoli, you will love my one pan pasta with peas. Also don’t miss my chicken orzo with spinach and grated halloumi or creamy mushroom and spinach pasta.
Kitchen Basics Recipes
How To Make Pasta Dough
Recipes
Homemade Pici Pasta Recipe
Easy Pasta Recipes
How to Make Homemade Garganelli Pasta
Easy Pasta Recipes
Pasta with Cherry Tomato Sauce
If you tried this Homemade Triangoli recipe or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a comment and let us know how it went!
How to Make Homemade Triangoli Pasta
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 80 g baby spinach
- 20 g fresh basil leaves
- 250 g full-fat ricotta
- 30 g Parmesan, freshly grated
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the triangoli pasta:
- Semolina flour, for dusting
- 1 x fresh pasta dough
- 00 flour, for dusting
For the lemon butter and crispy sage:
- 120 g unsalted butter, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Handful of sage leaves
- Juice of ½ lemon
To serve:
- Freshly grated Parmesan
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
To make the triangoli filled with spinach and ricotta:
- While the dough rests, make the filling: bring a large pan of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of iced water. Add the spinach and basil to the pan and blanch for about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and place straight into the bowl of icy water (this stops it from cooking and will help keep the leaves a beautiful vibrant green colour). Leave to cool for a few minutes in the ice water.
- Once cool, squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can then place on a chopping board. Finely chop and tip into a large mixing bowl. Add the ricotta, Parmesan and nutmeg. Mix well then season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon into a piping bag or a sandwich bag that you can snip the corner off.
- Lightly dust a couple of large baking sheets and your work surface with semolina flour.
- Split your dough in four and roll out each ball of dough into long sheets, I tend to do to the second to last thinness level on my pasta machine.
- Place onto your work surface and, using a dough cutter, knife, or ravioli stamp, cut out roughly 7 cm squares. Place the squares onto your prepared trays as you go.
- Pipe about a teaspoon of the spinach and ricotta filling onto each square, aiming for just below where you will fold the pasta in half to make triangles.
- To shape the triangoli: working one square at a time, lift one corner over the top of the filling to meet the opposite corner, then seal along the edges with your fingers, pressing out any air so the filling is tightly contained. If your dough feels dry at all, you can wet a fingertip and brush the edge to help seal. Set back onto the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining squares of pasta.
- Once you have shaped all the pasta, bring a large pan of generously salted water to the boil.
To make the lemon butter & sage sauce:
- Meanwhile, make the crispy sage: add the oil to a shallow, wide-bottomed pan set over a medium heat. Once hot, add the sage leaves and cook for about 3 minutes – or until crispy. Remove from the pan and place onto a sheet of kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
- Next, make the lemon butter: add the butter to the same pan and place over a low heat. Allow to melt slowly.
- Add the triangoli to the pan of boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- As soon as the butter has melted, add small splashes of the pasta water, stirring vigorously to emulsify into a smooth, buttery sauce. Add a generous squeeze of lemon juice, then lift out the cooked triangoli using a slotted spoon and add to the butter. Toss gently to coat in the sauce.
- Spoon into bowls, garnish with crispy sage leaves and serve straight away with freshly grated Parmesan and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe, it made such delicious filled triangoli pasta. The pasta dough recipe is equally straightforward.