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Our Manicotti recipe is a straightforward pasta casserole that includes a 3 cheese filling and topped with scrumptious marinara sauce. It has all of the melty cheesiness and wonderful taste that makes Italian meals so irresistible, and it’s extremely simple to make.
Identical to with our Spaghetti and Meatballs or Baked Ziti, there’s one thing so satisfying about completely cooked pasta in a flavorful tomato marinara sauce. Manicotti is a kind of timeless classics that you simply’ll make on repeat.
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What’s Manicotti?
Stuffed Manicotti (Pronounced: ma·nuh·kaa·tee) is much like a standard Italian dish referred to as Cannelloni. Within the Americanized adaptation, Manicotti shells are filled with a cheese filling, topped with marinara sauce, and baked.
In the event you benefit from the traditional flavors of Lasagna and Stuffed Shells, you’ll love this Italian-American Manicotti Recipe. It’s a fast and simple weeknight meal but additionally feels particular sufficient for a vacation dinner.
This Manicotti can also be the right recipe when making and delivering a meal to buddies or neighbors after having a child or when somebody is underneath the climate. Tacky Italian consolation meals makes everybody really feel cherished. Listed below are a number of the causes you’ll like it:
- Simple to make
- Household-friendly recipe
- Make forward and freezer-friendly
- Reheats nicely for leftovers
- Price range-friendly for feeding an enormous crowd
- Simple swaps and substitutions
Manicotti Recipe Video
Natasha exhibits you the way easy it’s to assemble and bake this cheese manicotti recipe. You’ll want to see her recommendations on the best strategy to fill the pasta earlier than baking.
Substances for Stuffed Manicotti
The substances for stuffed Manicotti function Italian staples and three scrumptious cheeses. It’s a successful mixture!
- Manicotti shells – the pasta tubes are excellent for filling and the ridges seize the sauce for the right chew. Substitute shells, if wanted.
- Marinara sauce – use our homemade marinara sauce or store-bought sauce. You’ll want 3-4 cups
- Heavy cream – an non-obligatory ingredient used to steadiness the marinara sauce
- Ricotta cheese – use entire milk ricotta so the filling isn’t too watery
- Mozzarella cheese – shredded 8oz block, divided for filling and topping
- Parmesan cheese – 1 cup grated cheese, divided
- Parsley – contemporary is finest, however you should use 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley in a pinch
- Garlic – grated or pressed might be simpler to distribute evenly within the filling
- Salt and pepper – don’t neglect to salt the pasta water—it provides a lot taste to the pasta!
- Nutmeg – simply 1/4 tsp brings out wonderful taste within the ricotta cheese. Belief me on this one!
Professional Tip:
On this recipe, it’s finest to grate your personal cheese utilizing a box grater or your meals processor as an alternative of utilizing pre-shredded cheese. It is going to soften higher and style higher!
Substitutions
This cheese manicotti recipe is scrumptious, however you may make it your personal with a couple of fast substitutions. Listed below are a few of our favorites:
- Add protein – use meat sauce as an alternative of marinara
- Add veggies – add chopped contemporary or frozen spinach (however make sure you squeeze out any liquid), finely chopped mushrooms, sautéed onions, or roasted purple bell peppers to the filling
- Add warmth – add purple pepper flakes to the filling
- Swap cheeses – exchange a number of the ricotta with cottage cheese, or use pecorino Romano as an alternative of parmesan within the cheese combination or excessive
- Swap sauces – use Béchamel, Alfredo, or Bolognese sauce
Methods to Make the Greatest Manicotti
This dish appears to be like complicated and upscale—however I promise it’s so easy to make and comes collectively rapidly in these simple steps:
- Boil salted water, add pasta and cook dinner for about 5 minutes till barely tender. Drain and rinse with chilly water to cease the cooking.
- Preheat oven to 400 levels. Combine the heavy cream into the marinara sauce, then unfold 1 cup of the sauce to cowl the underside of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Combine the eggs, ricotta, half the mozzarella, half the parmesan, parsley, garlic, 3/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, and nutmeg in a big mixing bowl.
- Fill a piping bag or gallon zip-top bag with the combination, snip off a 3/4″ nook then fill the pasta tubes, and lay them in a single layer into the baking dish.
- Cowl the pasta with the remaining sauce, after which sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese on prime. Bake coated with foil for 25 minutes, after which take away the foil and return to the oven for 10 extra minutes. Garnish with parsley to serve.
Professional Tip:
Salting pasta water is so essential for style and texture! We use about 2 Tbsp of salt for a big pot of water, however since salt can differ, ensure your water tastes like ocean water.
Professional Tip:
When parboiling the manicotti shells, you need the pasta solely barely cooked since it would end cooking within the oven. It needs to be ‘further al-dente’ and cooked for lower than the package deal directions. We boiled for five minutes whereas the package deal referred to as for 7 minutes. This may even make it simpler to fill.
Frequent Questions
I’ve discovered that the quickest and least messy strategy to stuff manicotti shells is to make use of a disposable piping bag or giant zip-top bag to fill the pasta tubes, as demonstrated within the video above. You may as well use a long-handled, skinny spoon to scoop the filling into the shells.
It’s essential to parboil the manicotti earlier than filling the pasta to make certain it totally cooks. You don’t need any crunchy pasta bites that didn’t cook dinner within the sauce and No-boil pasta tends to end up gummy. It’s well worth the few further minutes!
This dish freezes nicely, so see my suggestions in our Make-Forward part under.
The distinction between Stuffed Manicotti and Stuffed Shells is the kind of pasta used within the dish. The title Manicotti means “little sleeves” in Italian referring to how the pasta resembles tubes with ridges, whereas stuffed shells resemble shells with a bowl form and ridges.
Cannelloni is a standard dish that impressed the Americanized Manicotti recipe. As an alternative of tube pasta, Cannelloni makes use of rectangle pasta, much like lasagna noodles, unfold with cheese filling and rolled right into a tube.
What to Serve with Manicotti
This Italian-inspired dish is so satisfying and scrumptious and pairs nicely with contemporary salads, roasted veggies, and crusty bread to take in the sauce. Listed below are a couple of of our favourite sides (and don’t neglect dessert):
Make-Forward
Manicotti is a superb dish to make forward because it freezes nicely and feeds a crowd.
- Prep as much as 8 hours forward: assemble, cowl with a layer of parchment after which foil, and refrigerate till able to bake, after which add quarter-hour to the cooking time
- Freeze as much as 3 months forward: assemble, cowl with a layer of parchment after which foil, retailer within the freezer, after which thaw in a single day within the fridge and bake in keeping with the recipe directions. Bake from frozen by placing the dish within the oven at 400 for 1.5 to 2 hours coated, after which 10 minutes uncovered or till bubbly.
Methods to Retailer Leftover Manicotti
- To Refrigerate: leftovers hold coated within the fridge for five days
- Freezing: freeze leftovers in an hermetic container for 3 months
- To Reheat: Thaw in a single day within the fridge, after which warmth at 350 within the oven till bubbly, or microwave particular person servings coated with a paper towel in 30-second intervals till warmed by way of.
This baked stuffed Manicotti recipe has all of the yummy Italian flavors and the tacky, saucy goodness we love in an easy-to-master recipe. It’s an excellent weeknight meal, however spectacular sufficient to serve at a vacation occasion. I do know this may develop into considered one of your go-to dishes.
Extra High-Rated Pasta Recipes
When you do that stuffed pasta recipe, we all know you’ll additionally love these different fan-favorite pasta dishes:
PS. In the event you love pasta recipes, we’ve some new ones in our new Cookbook that haven’t been shared on the weblog. Household favorites like Baked Mac and Cheese, Italian Model Lasagna, and my son’s Well-known Alfredo sauce. You’ll be able to order the Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook here.
Manicotti Recipe
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Preheat the oven to 400 levels. Convey a big pot of water to a rolling boil with about 2 Tbsp Salt – add sufficient salt for it to style like ocean water. Add pasta and cook dinner till barely tender and additional al dente. I cooked for precisely 5 minutes. Bear in mind it would proceed cooking within the oven. Stir the pasta initially to forestall sticking. Drain pasta and instantly rinse underneath chilly water to cease the cooking course of then drain nicely.
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Stir cream into your marinara then pour about 1 cup of this sauce right into a 9×13 casserole dish and tilt the pan to unfold across the backside.
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In a big mixing bowl calmly beat 2 eggs then add ricotta, half of the mozzarella, half of the parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, tsp pepper, and nutmeg.
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Switch the combination to a piping bag with a big spherical tip or use a big zip bag and reduce off a 3/4” nook for piping. Fill the entire manicotti pasta and organize them in a single layer within the ready casserole dish.
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Pour the remaining marinara excessive and prime with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cowl with foil and bake coated for 25 minutes then uncover and bake one other 10 minutes till cheese is melted and golden. Let stand 5 minutes earlier than serving. Garnish with extra parsley and serve.
506kcal Energy36g Carbs30g Protein27g Fats
Diet Info
Manicotti Recipe
Quantity per Serving
% Day by day Worth*
* P.c Day by day Values are based mostly on a 2000 calorie food regimen.
