This delicious cheese manicotti is absolutely mouthwatering. It comes together with easy-to-find ingredients and will make your family swoon.
As someone who grew up on lasagna and stuffed shells, just a few bites of this stuffed manicotti brings me right back. Right back to those warm kitchens full of love and the sweet sounds of my family laughing. The combination of cheese, seasonings, and pasta is truly magical. You will love this fantastic classic.
I loved the recipe. Just like my Sicilian mother’s. Seriously it is.
How to Make Manicotti
Make the Manicotti Filling
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, some of the Parmesan, egg, garlic, parsley, basil, salt, and black pepper.
Fill the Manicotti
Add the cheese filling to a resealable plastic bag (such as Ziploc) and cut off one of the corners to create a piping bag. Use that to fill the manicotti pasta tubes with the cheese mixture. You will be able to fill about 10.
Bake the Manicotti
Add the filled manicotti shells to the dish, and top the filled pasta with marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce. Then top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes.
Tips and Tricks
- Par boil the noodles: You will notice that we are only boiling the pasta shells for 5 minutes. This partially cooks them and they finish cooking in the oven, making them perfect.
- Change up the filling: Add cooked spinach or sautéed mushrooms to bring some veggies to the cheese filling. Toss in some cooked ground beef, ground pork, or Italian sausage to add in some protein. Note that this will make a lot more filling, so you could make two trays of manicotti.
- Use lasagna noodles: Some manicotti recipes call for cooked lasagna noodles. You spoon on a little bit of filing and then roll them up. While not as traditional, this does make filling a little easier.
- Use a bag to pipe in the filling: You could certainly use a frosting bag, but a sealable plastic bag with the tip cut off works great as well.
Making Ahead
This is a great recipe to make in advance. Make up to the point of putting it in the oven, but instead wrap and place in the refrigerator. This can bake refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Store any leftover manicotti in an airtight container for up to three days. Reheat only the portion you plan to eat. For food safety purposes, leftovers should never be reheated more than once.
What to Serve with Manicotti
If you make this easy manicotti recipe or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think!
Manicotti
Ingredients
- 8 ounces manicotti
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 large egg
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 16 ounces spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce
- fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil. Add the dry manicotti and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent from sticking.8 ounces manicotti
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, egg, garlic, parsley, basil, salt, and black pepper.15 ounces ricotta cheese, 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 large egg, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley, 1/2 tablespoon basil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Pour 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.16 ounces spaghetti sauce
- Add the mixture to a resealable plastic bag (such as ziploc) and cut off one of the corners. Use that to fill the manicotti with the mixture. You will be able to fill about 10.
- Add the filled manicotti to the dish, and top with the remaining spaghetti sauce. Then top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of fresh parsley, and enjoy.fresh parsley
Jeffrey Howard Brown says
I loved the recipe. Just like my Sicilian mother’s. Seriously it is.
I haven’t been brave enough, but the next time I make manicotti, I am going to fill uncooked shells with the cheese (no splitting or tearing, yeh!), up the sauce to 3 or maybe 4 full cups (I use Rao’s marinara sauce. It’s just as good as homemade for a baked dish). Cover the casserole with foil, bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the parmesan and bake for 15 more minutes. What do you think?
I’m a little worried that they aren’t going to cook as evenly, but I love the experimenting! If you give a go let me know how it turns out! And thank you so much for your kind words.
Judy Barden says
Hi I was wondering if this could be prepared up to baking and then wrapped and frozen?
Yup! And then I would just thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Valerie says
Looking for a no knead bread recipe please
I have many here: Quick Bread Recipes