Manicotti - Spend With Pennies

This stuffed manicotti recipe is a simple make-ahead meal excellent for busy weeknights. The pasta is full of cheese and Italian herbs, coated in marinara sauce, and baked to perfection!

cheesy Easy Stuffed Manicotti in a casserole dish

Manicotti is an extended, giant, tubular pasta that’s normally cooked and full of a ricotta cheese filling just like this classic stuffed shells recipe. Baked, cheese-stuffed manicotti is hearty, creamy, and smothered in marinara, making it probably the greatest consolation meals.

Ingredient Notes

Manicotti: This pasta is ideal for this recipe because it holds the filling properly, however any giant tubular pasta would work for this recipe. Attempt it with cannelloni or giant pasta shells.
Filling: Made with three sorts of cheese, mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan, this filling is so scrumptious! Attempt cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Simply pressure the cottage cheese earlier than including it to the recipe to keep away from the filling being too watery.
Sauce: For the perfect taste, attempt making a homemade marinara sauce. You may as well use a store-bought marinara sauce or perhaps a primary tomato sauce in a pinch. Simply add in some Italian seasoning to spice up the flavors!

Easy Stuffed Manicotti in the dish before cooking

Easy methods to Make Manicotti

Prepare dinner manicotti shells. Whereas they’re cooling, prep filling (full recipe below).
Stuff pasta and layer with marinara and cheese in a casserole.
Bake and serve instantly!

Get artistic with the filling. Add in numerous cheeses, spinach, herbs, or meat like hen, beef, or sausage for a singular dish!

Prepare dinner your manicotti shells simply till tender. That is to make sure they keep sturdy and don’t overcook when you bake them within the oven.
To chill your shells rapidly, rinse them in chilly water. This additionally helps stop them from sticking collectively.
Simply stuff your manicotti shells by filling a big freezer or pastry bag with the creamy ricotta combination. Snip the top and pipe it into your pasta tubes!
Pipe the filling from each ends to make sure your shells are tighlty full of that scrumptious filling.

close up of savory Easy Stuffed Manicotti in the dish

Leftovers

This recipe is nice for leftovers. Merely put together up till the purpose of baking, cowl and refrigerate for as much as 4 days, or freeze for as much as 3 months. To serve, simply thaw (if frozen) and bake as directed!
Retailer already-cooked leftovers within the fridge for as much as three days. Reheat within the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or within the oven at 325°F till heated via, about 20-25 minutes.

Do I’ve to prepare dinner manicotti shells earlier than filling them?

I choose to make use of common manicotti shells (which do require precooking), however you should use oven-ready shells in a pinch if you wish to skip cooking them earlier than filling.

Will utilizing oven-ready manicotti noodles change the prepare dinner time?

Sure! If swapping the common noodles for oven-ready noodles on this recipe, keep watch over the casserole because it bakes. If it begins to look dry, add a drizzle (a few tablespoons) of water across the edge (sure, water! Belief me).

It’s additionally necessary to maintain the noodles coated in sauce and canopy the pan whereas baking in case you are utilizing oven-ready noodles in order that all the pieces cooks evenly.

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image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text

Prep Time 10 minutes

Prepare dinner Time 33 minutes

Whole Time 43 minutes

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Convey a big pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add manicotti and boil for the 7-8 minutes, till virtually tender*.
Drain and rinse manicotti beneath chilly water till cooled to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, stir collectively ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan, egg, pesto, salt, and pepper.
Place ricotta combination in a big piping bag or giant freezer bag and snip the top.
Calmly grease a 9×13 baking dish and unfold 1 cup of marinara sauce within the backside.
Fill every manicotti shell with ricotta cheese combination and line up on high of the marinara sauce within the baking dish, dividing the ricotta evenly between the 12 manicotti.
Prime the crammed manicotti with the remaining 1 ½ cups sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and ¼ cup Parmesan.
Calmly grease a chunk of foil or lid and canopy the baking dish. Bake for 25-Half-hour till heated via and pasta is tender.

*Ensure you don’t overcook them. You need them nonetheless barely agency, so that they’re simple to fill and don’t overcook within the oven.
Preserve leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.

Vitamin data offered is an estimate and can fluctuate based mostly on cooking strategies and types of components used.

Course Dinner

Delicacies Italian

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