Manicotti

At a glance

What stands out: This straightforward cheese manicotti recipe is a hero when it comes to meal prep. Make it in advance or freeze it for up to 3 months!

How long it takes: 1 hour
Equipment you’ll need: large pot, 9 x 13 inch baking dish, piping bag or ziploc bag
Servings: 6

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Creamy From-scratch Manicotti

Manicotti is an Italian-American pasta dish made in the same fashion as stuffed shells, baked ravioli, and lasagna. In other words, it follows the same rich formula: pasta, tomato sauce, and ricotta. There are variations and additions to be made but these three ingredients make for a tasty starting point for any dinner!

What is manicotti?

The term “manicotti” translates to “little sleeves” in Italian, which refers to the large pasta tubes that are filled with seasoned ricotta, then smothered in rich tomato sauce and cheese. The whole shebang is baked in the oven until the cheese is melty and the sauce is bubbly.

Manicotti vs. Cannelloni

It should be noted that cannelloni is similar to manicotti, but not quite the same—despite the fact that the two names are sometimes used interchangeably. Cannelloni is rolled from sheets of fresh pasta and it tends to be thinner in size; manicotti is made with ridged, dry shells. Both are usually stuffed with ricotta and paired with tomato sauce and cheese, along with being tubular shaped, so it’s straightforward to see where the confusion comes from!

Best Features of Baked Manicotti

Creamy and cheesy. Our manicotti recipe features a rich blend of THREE different cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Despite all that cheesiness, it doesn’t come off as being too much since the tomato sauce helps cut some of the richness.

Straightforward to assemble. Lasagna, to us, always feels like a big production with all that layering. Manicotti simply involves piping the cheese filling into the pasta tubes which is a bit less messy and stressful. Since our recipe doesn’t include meat, you don’t have to brown ground beef or sausage either. (If you’re interested in more lasagna shortcuts, try our lasagna soup or straightforward one pan skillet lasagna.)

Reliable for gatherings. Manicotti is one of those baked pasta dishes that often shows up at potlucks, celebrations, and holiday dinners, and no wonder—it’s straightforward to mix, great for prepping ahead, everyone loves it, and it’s an option for any vegetarians who won’t be partaking in the Christmas ham.

Kira Said:

“This was rich! We didn’t expect to like the filling as much as we did (thought we'd prefer a meat filling), but we were pleasantly surprised. We followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for such a straightforward-to-follow, tasty recipe. We ate way too many!”

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What goes in

• Manicotti pasta shells: Look for the shells in the dry pasta aisle.
• Ricotta cheese: Unlike many other varieties of cheese, the difference in flavor and texture between whole milk ricotta and and part-skim is negligible, so use whichever one you prefer.
• Cheese: You’ll need both shredded mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan cheese. We usually shred our own mozzarella cheese but often use the shelf-stable Parmesan instead of grating our own.
• Egg: The egg is important! It helps give structure and substance to the ricotta filling. Without it, the cheese would ooze out.
• Seasonings: The seasonings are straightforward and can be found in a well-stocked pantry. We use dried parsley, dried oregano, garlic powder, kosher salt, and coarse ground black pepper.
• Marinara sauce: You can use store-bought or from-scratch marinara sauce.
• Fresh basil or parsley: The fresh herbs are for garnishing but are optional.

How it comes together

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook it until it’s al dente. Follow the cooking instructions on the package. You want the tubes to be somewhat firm because it makes them easier to fill. In addition, the pasta will continue to cook in the oven and you don’t want it to end up mushy.

Prep the manicotti for filling. Carefully drain the pasta and lightly rinse it with cold water to stop the manicotti from cooking further. Rinsing also removes the starchy film which can cause the noodles to stick together. Transfer the drained tubes to a clean dish towel to dry. If they’re still wet, they’ll water down your sauce and filling.

Make the filling. Stir the ricotta cheese, 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella, grated Parmesan, egg, and seasonings in a bowl until well-blended. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped.

Fill the pasta. Spread a half cup of sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Pipe the ricotta into the shells, arranging the filled shells side-by-side in the dish as you fill them. Be gentle as you fill the shells; they tend to tear easily. If one tears, fill it as best as you can and put the torn side down first. No one will know the difference!

Assemble. Pour the rest of the marinara sauce over the manicotti, making sure that a little sauce goes between each manicotti, then sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 25 minutes. Uncover the casserole dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until the cheese melts.

Rest and serve. Let the manicotti cool for 10 minutes or so, to give the filling a chance to settle and firm up. Carefully scoop out two (or more!) filled manicotti per person, and garnish each serving with parsley or basil, if you like.

Helpful Tips & Variations

Boil the pasta in a BIG pot. More space for the pasta to circulate while it cooks means a lower chance that the noodles will get stuck together and tear.

Use a glass to fill the piping bag. For straightforward filling, set the empty bag in a large glass and fold the edges over the top. Spoon in half of the filling, then unfold the edges, twist the top, and pipe the filling. Repeat for the second half of the filling.

Make it ahead. You can assemble the manicotti all the way up to the point of baking, then cover the casserole dish and refrigerate for up to a day. You can also freeze the the unbaked manicotti in the dish for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw the dish of manicotti in the refrigerator overnight before baking it.

Add meat. Instead of marinara sauce, use your favorite meat sauce. Try our from-scratch spaghetti sauce.

Give it some greens. Thawed frozen spinach can be added to the ricotta filling if you’d like. Just be sure to wring out all of the excess moisture in the spinach to keep the filling from getting watery.

Serving Ideas

• Salad. A simple house salad or a bag of salad greens tossed with this from-scratch Italian dressing recipe would be a reliable light side dish. If your taste runs more toward Caesar salads, try making your own Caesar dressing and Caesar croutons.
• Bread. Sop up the sauce with Texas toast garlic bread or your own cheesy breadsticks (made with from-scratch pizza dough).
• Veggie sides. Air fryer broccoli and sautéed spinach both pair well with Italian dishes like manicotti.
• Meatballs. If your family can’t have pasta without meatballs, try these air fryer meatballs or oven baked turkey meatballs (they can be made with ground turkey or ground beef).

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerator: Leftover manicotti can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can leave it in the baking dish and cover it with foil if you’re saving a larger portion.

Freezer: To stave off freezer burn, a standby way to freeze manicotti is in a freezer bag. Transfer the sauce and manicotti to a zip-top freezer bag, press out the air, and lay it flat in your freezer until the contents of the bag are frozen solid. Thaw flat in a casserole dish (to catch any drips) in the refrigerator before reheating.

Reheating: To reheat leftovers, cover the pan with foil and bake at 350°F until warmed through. (Covering the leftovers helps keep the pasta from drying out.) The microwave also works fine as long as you don’t overheat the pasta.

• Yield: 6
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 40 minutes
• Total: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 12 manicotti pasta shells, from 8 ounce package (see note #1)
• 2 cups ricotta cheese ( 15 to 16 ounce container)
• 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (reserve 1 cup for topping)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 2 cups marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)
• fresh basil or parsley, optional for garnish

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook the manicotti shells according to the package instructions. Cook until they are al dente (firm but not too soft), about 6 to 7 minutes. Avoid overcooking the pasta because if it’s too soft, the tubes can be more difficult to fill.
2. Drain the manicotti and rinse with cold water to prevent them from sticking together. We like to arrange them individually on a clean lint-free dish towel to drain completely. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, 1 ½ cups mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir until well combined.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread about ½ cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
5. Fill a piping bag (or use a small spoon, or a zip-top bag with the corner cut off) with the ricotta mixture and carefully stuff each manicotti shell (see note #2). Be gentle to avoid tearing the pasta. Arrange the stuffed manicotti shells in a single layer in the baking dish.
6. Pour the remaining 1 ½ cups marinara sauce over the top of the manicotti. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup shredded mozzarella over the manicotti.
7. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
8. Let the manicotti cool for five to ten minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley if desired. Carefully scoop out 2 stuffed manicotti per serving.

Notes

Manicotti shells: The dry pasta is usually sold in an 8 ounce box which contains 2 plastic trays holding 6 to 8 shells each. The brand we usually buy has 12 pasta shells. If yours has more, we'd advise cooking all of them. You can put less filling in each or simply have a few backup shells in case one tears while filling it.

Filling tip : To fill the piping bag, set it upright in a large drinking glass. Fold the edges of the bap over the edge of the glass to hold the bag open. Spoon about half of the filling into the bag at a time. Lightly twist the top of the bag and lift the bag out of the glass. Snip about a half inch off the tip of the bag to fill the manicotti.

Make ahead : Prepare the manicotti as directed but don’t bake. Cover with foil and refrigerate up to 24 hours in advance. Remove manicotti from refrigerator about a half hour before baking. Bake as directed. Unbaked manicotti can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.

Add meat : Use a meaty spaghetti sauce instead of marinara sauce.