With its tender beef and cheese filling, this genuine Italian manicotti recipe makes serious comfort food. Make this recipe in under an hour!.
Because they can be served for both a formal dinner date and a casual family dinner, Italian pasta dishes are very adaptable.
Baked manicotti is a dish that resembles lasagna because it features tender pasta, flavorful meat, fresh cheese, and a seasoned red sauce.
Even better, you can double or triple this recipe to feed a large group by preparing it in advance.
Note: This is just a partial list of ingredients. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete ingredient list.
The filling is very simple to make. Simply combine everything in a bowl and whisk to combine. Although I’ve discovered that you don’t really detect it all that much with all of the other wonderful ingredients and sauce in the recipe, you can always omit the spinach if you (or your children) don’t like it.
Manicotti is a pasta noodle shaped like a tube. It’s about 4-inches long, and 1-inch in diameter. Typically, it is boiled until it is al dente, cooled, filled with a cheese filling, covered in sauce, and baked. You don’t need to bake the noodles before filling them in this recipe. When you bake the manicotti in the oven, they’ll cook in the sauce.
Manicotti is a dish of great comfort. It yields a large quantity, is filling, is perfect for the entire family, and the leftovers are even better than the freshly prepared batch. When we have a small group of friends or family present, we prepare this. It’s a nice, no-fuss recipe that everyone seems to love. When everyone is ready to eat, prepare it in advance, store it in the refrigerator, and then bake it.
Among the recipes in the family, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti is a favorite. You can print the recipe at the bottom of this post after watching the instructional video for making manicotti at home.
In the bottom of this large sauté pan or a 9×13 inch baking dish, evenly distribute half the tomato sauce.
This recipe was originally shared in May 2018. In October 2021, it was updated to include procedure photos, cooking advice, and a better recipe.
Mix spaghetti sauce and water until well combined. Set aside. To a large bowl, add chopped spinach, ricotta, half of the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, egg, pesto, oregano, garlic powder, a few generous pinches of salt, and pepper.
This one, my no-boil manicotti recipe, comes together in just a few minutes and is packed with flavor from common pantry ingredients. Your family will quickly come to love having this dish for dinner.
Put the cheese and spinach mixture in a piping bag, snip the tip, and fill the noodles. Place filled manicotti in a single layer in the baking dish.
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FAQ
Should manicotti be cooked before stuffing?
How to Stuff Manicotti. You DO NOT need to cook the manicotti shells before baking this stuffed manicotti recipe. When the noodles are raw, it is simpler to stuff the manicotti without breaking it. Additionally, working with raw noodles is simpler than attempting to shape and fill limp, boiled noodles.
How do you Par boil manicotti shells?
Carefully add the manicotti shells to 3 quarts of salted water that is rapidly boiling. Stir gently. Cook the water for an additional six minutes after it returns to a rapid boil. Do not overcook – parboil only.
Do you have to boil cannelloni shells?
There is no need to pre-cook your cannelloni. Just fill and bake.
What temperature should manicotti be?
Place manicotti in baking pan and completely cover with sauce. 5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160°F for 15 seconds, with pan loosely covered with tin foil.
