Manicotti, or “little sleeves” in Italian, is a staple on most Italian restaurant menus. The signature manicotti filling is a mouth-watering cheese mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan that gets stuffed into tube-shaped noodles, smothered in marinara sauce, and baked to perfection in the oven. It is traditionally made vegetarian, but you can add browned Italian sausage to the filling if desired.
Stuffed manicotti is a great recipe for meal prep during busy weeks because it keeps, reheats, and freezes well! Make it anytime you are craving comfort food but want an alternative to lasagna. Gather around the table and enjoy a delicious homemade family dinner with this easy manicotti recipe! For more tasty Italian pasta recipes, try my recipe for pasta carbonara, bolognese sauce recipe, and easy lasagna recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Manicotti Shells – tube-like noodles perfect for stuffing with a delicious cheese filling. They are easily found in the dry pasta aisle in most grocery stores.
Ricotta Cheese – choose whole milk ricotta for the creamiest texture and flavor. Alternatively, you can swap with cottage cheese in a pinch.
Mozzarella Cheese – opt for whole milk mozzarella shredded from the block (instead of packaged shredded cheese) because it melts well and has the most flavor.
Parmesan Cheese – freshly grated parmesan is best, but you can also buy pre-grated.
Basil – chopped fresh basil adds an aromatic sweet and savory flavor to the manicotti filling.
Marinara Sauce – use store-bought marinara or swap for tomato sauce or try my homemade pasta sauce.
Italian Seasoning – if you don’t have pre-mixed Italian seasoning on hand, you can use 1 teaspoon of a mixture of dried basil, thyme, oregano, and marjoram.
How to Make Manicotti
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high. Boil the manicotti noodles until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool for 10 minutes.
2. While the pasta is cooking, stir together the filling. In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, eggs, 1 cup of mozzarella, ½ cup of parmesan, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until well combined. Transfer the filling to a large ziptop bag, pastry bag, or piping bag.
3. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce evenly in the bottom of the baking dish.
4. If using a ziplock bag, cut a 1/2-inch hole in the corner of the bag or fill the piping bag with the ricotta filling. Stuff each of the pasta tubes with the ricotta mixture and arrange it in a single layer in the baking dish.
5. Spoon the remaining 2 cups of the marinara sauce over top of the stuffed pasta.
6. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 40 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and continue cooking until the top is lightly browned, 1 to 3 minutes. Garnish with basil.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Salt the pasta water. Add 1-2 tablespoons of salt for every 1 gallon of pasta water for the best-flavored pasta. If you skip salting the water, the dish won’t ever have quite the right depth of flavor.
- Boil extra pasta shells. Have backup pasta noodles in case a few of them break while cooking or when adding the filling. A typical box of manicotti comes with about 12 noodles, so you should have a few extra on hand.
- Make it hearty. Add cooked Italian sausage or ground beef to the filling for a more hearty dish. Simply decrease the ricotta to 1½ cups and stir in 6 ounces of browned, crumbled Italian sausage (hot or sweet) or ground beef to the filling. Stuff the pasta with the filling and bake as directed.
- Prepare ahead of time. For easy meal prep, prepare the manicotti recipe and store the dish unbaked and covered with aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to a few days. When you’re ready to eat it, simply bake as directed in the oven! Alternatively, freeze the unbaked manicotti in a freezer-safe container. Bake from frozen, adding 10-15 minutes to the uncovered bake time.
- Optional variations. Finely chop fresh spinach and add to the cheese mixture filling along with the basil before stuffing the noodles. Alternatively, you can swap the basil for fresh parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftover manicotti will keep stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Baked manicotti can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen in the oven or thaw in the refrigerator overnight before warming in the oven.
This easy manicotti recipe is perfect for family dinners. Serve alongside a tasty cucumber tomato salad and homemade garlic bread for a well-rounded Italian meal! If you’d like to enjoy it with an adult beverage, a glass of chianti or other dry red wine is a great pick. You can even top off your Italian-inspired feasts with cannoli or tiramisu for dessert.
The key to easy stuffing is to slightly undercook the noodles al dente style, as suggested in the recipe, so they are not too soft and break when filling. The noodles will continue to bake once in the oven so they will end up soft and delicious!
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If you’ve tried this Manicotti recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Manicotti
Video
Equipment
- 9×13″ casserole dish
- mixing bowl
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 10 manicotti pasta noodles (about one 8-ounce/226g package)
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) container whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided (226g)
- 1 cup grated parmesan divided (30g)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups marinara sauce (700ml/775g)
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high. Boil the pasta until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool for 10 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking, stir together the filling. In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, eggs, 1 cup of mozzarella, ½ cup of parmesan, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until well combined. Transfer the filling to a large ziptop bag or piping bag.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Cut a 1/2-inch hole in the corner of the bag with the ricotta filling. Stuff each manicotti with filling and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining 2 cups of the marinara sauce over top of the stuffed pasta. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan.
- Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 40 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and continue cooking until the top is lightly browned, 1 to 3 minutes. Garnish with basil.
Notes
- Salt the pasta water. Add 1-2 tablespoons of salt for every 1 gallon of pasta water for the best-flavored pasta. If you skip salting the water, the dish won’t ever have quite the right depth of flavor.
- Boil extra pasta shells. Have backup pasta noodles in case a few of them break while cooking or when adding the filling. A typical box of manicotti comes with about 12 noodles, so you should have a few extra on hand.
- Make it hearty. Add cooked Italian sausage or ground beef to the filling for a more hearty dish. Simply decrease the ricotta to 1½ cups and stir in 6 ounces of browned, crumbled Italian sausage (hot or sweet) or ground beef to the filling. Stuff the pasta with the filling and bake as directed.
- Prepare ahead of time. For easy meal prep, prepare the manicotti recipe and store the dish unbaked and covered with aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to a few days. When you’re ready to eat it, simply bake as directed in the oven! Alternatively, freeze the unbaked manicotti in a freezer-safe container. Bake from frozen, adding 10-15 minutes to the uncovered bake time.
- Optional variations. Finely chop fresh spinach and add to the cheese mixture filling along with the basil before stuffing the noodles. Alternatively, you can swap the basil for fresh parsley.
