Manicotti

Homemade Manicotti

Manicotti is an Italian dish similar in flavor to cheese stuffed shells or lasagna. Large tube pasta are boiled until al dente then a filling of ricotta, mozzarella and sometimes spinach is stuffed inside. Usually it’s meatless but it can include ground beef, pork, or veal as well. The filled manicotti shells are layered into a baking dish and covered with marinara sauce. Sometimes you’ll see them finished with more cheese over the top, but believe it or not, I think with the super cheesy filling alone it’s plenty without. This mostly from scratch dish is total comfort food! This recipe has been a family favorite for nearly 20 years! I began making these as a teen and haven’t stopped since. Try them and you’ll see why, so much cheesy, tomatoey deliciousness in every bite!

Manicotti Recipe Ingredients

Dry manicotti noodles Ricotta Cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese Eggs Fresh parsley and fresh basil Salt and black pepper Canned crushed tomatoes Garlic Extra virgin olive oil

Ingredient Tips

Use fresh grated cheeses for best results (the mozzarella and parmesan). I have used dried herbs for this recipe in the past. They work in a pinch but fresh herbs will give superior flavor. Every brand of crushed tomatoes has a various consistency. My go-to for this recipe has always been Contadina brand crushed roma tomatoes. It isn’t very thick and it has great flavor. Only cook manicotti to al dente, they’ll continue to cook in the oven and you don’t want them too soft. To keep manicotti pasta from sticking to each other after draining you can spread them out onto parchment paper.

How to Make Manicotti Filling and Marinara Sauce

For the marinara: For the manicotti:

How to Stuff and Bake Manicotti

To Assemble in Baking Dish and Bake

Freezing Manicotti

Manicotti can be frozen before or after baking. You can freeze in the baking dish just wrap tightly with foil and freeze up to 2 months. If freezing before baking I like to cover entirely with sauce. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking. Increase bake time by about 10 minutes since baking cold from fridge.

Possible Variations

Store-bought sauce: For a shortcut you could use bottled marinara sauce. Use about 1 1/2 jars. I would recommend adding a few Tbsp fresh basil to it though for more flavor. Spicy: Add 1 tsp red pepper flakes to the sauce if you want some heat. Meat option: Add 1 lb ground beef, cooked, to the sauce (only use 1 can tomatoes).