Manicotti is the ultimate Italian comfort food. And this simple cheese manicotti recipe tastes like it came straight from the kitchen of your favorite Italian restaurant—or Italian nonna, for that matter! It’s equally fit for a weeknight as it is for a dinner party or date night in, particularly if garlic bread and negronis are involved. The real secret is in the three cheese filling. Ricotta’s texture and sweetness combine with milky, melty mozzarella and umami-rich parmesan for creamy, savory richness. A healthy dose of parsley adds freshness and balance. The pasta finishes cooking in the spaghetti sauce, soaking in all the flavor. Homemade sauce is a special treat, but a store-bought jar makes this baked pasta even more weeknight-friendly. Plus, like any good Italian casserole, this manicotti recipe freezes and stores well. Make it the night before a party. Or freeze it for a rainy day or a friend in need.
What’s In Manicotti?
Stuffing pasta for dishes like manicotti, ravioli and tortellini likely originated as a way to use up leftovers. That means it’s made from humble ingredients, many of which you likely have on hand! Here’s what you need:
Manicotti: Meaning “little sleeves,” manicotti are large pasta tubes made for stuffing. Spaghetti sauce: There’s nothing quite like a homemade spaghetti sauce—I like to make a big batch to freeze for this recipe, zucchini parmesan and more. If it’s a busy weeknight though, a 24 ounce jar of high quality pasta sauce works well too. Cheese: Ricotta brings texture and richness—a high quality whole milk variety is essential. Look for whole balls of mozzarella and blocks of parmesan. They’re typically higher quality and with a better flavor than anything pre-shredded or grated. Parsley: Brings a freshness to balance the richness of the cheese. Salt and pepper: Enhance the flavor. Italian seasoning: I like to use my Homemade Italian Seasoning (I hold off on the salt to season as I go). I store the extra to keep on hand for oven roasted whole chicken, lemon garlic chicken, stuffed portobello mushrooms and more. You can also use store bought if you’d like. Extra virgin olive oil: A drizzle of olive oil enriches the filling. Use a smooth, high quality oil, like our Italian Nocellara.
How to Make Manicotti
Stuffed pasta seems fancy but it’s very easy to make. You just need a piping bag, or you can rig one by cutting a hole in one corner of a large plastic zip-top bag.
Get ready. Position a rack in the middle of your oven and heat to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with salt. Cook the pasta. Add 8 ounces of manicotti to the boiling water and cook until softened but still slightly firm, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and cool. Prepare the filling. Add 15 ounces of ricotta cheese to a medium mixing bowl, along with 5 ounces of torn mozzarella and a heaping 1/4 cup of grated parmesan. Add 1/3 cup of finely chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning and a big pinch of salt and pepper (about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon each, depending on whether your Italian seasoning already has salt). Add a drizzle of olive oil and mix until well-combined. Get ready to stuff. Add 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and tilt to spread. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and fit with a round piping tip. Or fill a large zip-top bag and snip off the corner. Stuff the cooked manicotti shells. When the manicotti tubes are cool enough to handle, squeeze the ricotta filling into each side until completely stuffed. Arrange the stuffed manicotti in the prepared baking dish as you go. Layer and bake. Top the stuffed pasta with 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce, a heaping 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, and 5 ounces of torn mozzarella. Bake on the center rack of your heated oven until the cheese is bubbling and melty, 20 to 30 minutes. Rest and serve. Remove the baking dish from the oven and allow it to rest for about 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with more chopped parsley and serve!
How to Store and Freeze Manicotti
If you can resist digging into this manicotti while it’s freshly baked and bubbling, it stores and freezes well. You can make it the day before a dinner party or date night to get ahead. A frozen casserole is also a great way to support new parents, new neighbors or friends or family going through a difficult time.To store, layer the stuffed manicotti and with pasta sauce but do not bake it. You have two options from there:
To freeze: Wrap tightly with plastic, followed by foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Unwrap and bake from frozen until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the center is hot, about 50 minutes to 1 hour in total. To refrigerate: Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours. Unwrap and bake until the cheese has melted and slightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes in total.
What to Serve with Manicotti
This cheese manicotti recipe is all you need for an easy weeknight in. For a date night or an extra special evening, serve with an Italian red and freshly made garlic bread. Follow my garlic bread recipe with a few tweaks: bake the bread at 350°F along with your manicotti in the final 10 minutes. Then remove the foil, open the bread, and turn the oven to 400°F to finish as the manicotti rests. While the bread bakes, throw together a 5-minute lemon parmesan salad for a bright freshness that will balance the richness of the manicotti. Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
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