Stuffed Manicotti Recipe

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In this stuffed manicotti recipe, manicotti is filled with 3 types of cheese and herbs then baked in marinara sauce and topped with more cheese for a delicious, family-friendly dinner!

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Laura

Cost: $15

Equipment

Ingredients

8 ounces manicotti

Cheese Filling:

16 ounces ricotta cheese
½ cup grated parmesan
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
¼ cup fresh basil (finely chopped, measured before chopping)
1 Tablespoon Italian parsley (finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Sauce

24 ounces marinara sauce (about 3 cups)

Topping

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese

Optional: additional parsley or basil to garnish.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Lightly grease a 9x13” glass baking dish, set aside.

Cook the Manicotti

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook the manicotti in the boiling water for 7-8 minutes, or until slightly tender but still a little firm.
Strain in a colander and let cool slightly – do not rinse.

Make the Filling

Add the filling ingredients a large bowl, and stir to combine.

Assemble

Evenly spread 1 cup marinara sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Fill each cooked manicotti tube 3 Tablespoons of the ricotta filling.* Arrange the filled manicotti as seen in the photos (one row of 8 or 9 and then two columns of 2) on top of the sauce (reword this). Repeat until all the filling is used.
Spread the remaining marinara sauce evenly over the manicotti.
Evenly sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the top of the sauce.

Bake &Serve

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted.
Let cool slightly, garnish with fresh herbs (if desired), then serve warm.

Video

Notes

Ingredient Substitution Notes

Manicotti Noodles. make sure to get large manicotti noodles for this recipe so they're easy to stuff.
Cheeses (parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta). I personally don't believe there should be any substitutions made for the cheese in this recipe. You could use cream cheese instead of ricotta if absolutely necessary.
Fresh basil & parsley. I highly recommend fresh herbs for this recipe, however you can use freeze-dried herbs if necessary.
Marinara sauce. Use your favorite brand - I love tomato basil sauce. Or, make this homemade marinara sauce.

Note on Filling Manicotti Noodles

I find they are easiest to fill when they are still warm because the cheese filling melts and slides down the noodle. I use a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon and scoop the filling 3 times into each noodle. You can use a butter knife or skinnier spoon.

Alternatively, you can put the filling into a piping bag and pipe the filling into the noodles. This makes it a breeze, but then you have a piping bag to clean.

Nutrition