Cheesy Manicotti Recipes

CHEESY MANICOTTI CREPES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan; combine the first 11 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until sauce is reduced to 5 cups, stirring occasionally. , Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat eggs and water. Combine flour and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. , Heat 3/4 teaspoon oil in an 8-in. nonstick skillet. Stir crepe batter; pour a scant 3 tablespoons into center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, using remaining oil as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between., Spread about 1/4 cup filling down the center of each crepe; roll up and place 12 crepes in each of two greased 13x9-in. baking dishes. Spoon sauce over top. Cover and bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160&d

THE BEST CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook the manicotti shells according to the directions on the box.
• Drain in colander and set aside to dry.
• Mix all the ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan in a bowl.
• Add an extra handful of mozzarella and a little more parmesan if you like it cheesier.
• I like a lot of flavor in my manicotti so I just keep adding the basil and Italian seasoning until I think it’s enough.
• If you don’t like a lot of seasoning, just put 1 tsp.
• of each in.
• If not, just keep adding until it's seasoned to your taste.
• You can also add a dash of salt and pepper if you like or a little bit of garlic.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Once the shells are drained and the cheese is mixed together, begin stuffing the shells.
• Be careful because they have a tendency to split.
• Pour about half of the marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish and spread evenly before you place the shells in the dish.
• Once all the shells arranged in the baking dish, pour the remainder of the marinara sauce on top.
• Then add any leftover cheese on top of the sauce.
• Sprinkle with basil and Italian seasoning.
• Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake for about 30 minutes.

THREE CHEESE MANICOTTI II

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• In a bowl, mix 3 cups mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, egg, and basil. Stuff cooked manicotti with the mixture.
• Spread about 2 cups pasta sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti in the dish, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and continue baking 10 minutes, until mozzarella is melted and bubbly.

BEEF AND CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.
• Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

CHEESY GROUND BEEF MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook and drain manicotti as directed on package using minimum cooking time (cooking for the minimum time helps prevent the shells from tearing while filling).
• Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in pasta sauce.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Squeeze thawed spinach to drain; spread on paper towels and pat dry. In medium bowl, mix spinach, cottage cheese, mushrooms, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, the nutmeg and pepper.
• In baking dish, spread 1 cup of the beef mixture. Fill manicotti shells with spinach mixture. Place shells on beef mixture in dish. Pour remaining beef mixture evenly over shells, covering shells completely. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
• Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.

EASY CHEESY MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish, spread about one-third of the pasta sauce.
• Mix spinach, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, oregano and pepper. Fill uncooked manicotti shells with spinach mixture; place on sauce in baking dish.
• In medium bowl, mix remaining pasta sauce and water. Pour sauce mixture evenly over shells, covering completely. Cover; bake 1 hour. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover; bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until shells are tender.

CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients; stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. In another bowl, mix marinara sauce and water; spread 3/4 cup sauce onto bottom of a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Fill uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture; arrange over sauce. Top with remaining sauce., Bake, covered, 50 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. If desired, top with additional parsley.

MANICOTTI- CHEESE FILLED ITALIAN CREPES

Steps:

• Crepes.
• In either a blender or mixing bowl mix together the eggs and water first.
• Add flour into this slowly till smooth.
• Put in refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour. (this can be made a day before to save on time).
• While the crepe mixture is resting, start on the filling.
• In a large bowl mix together the Ricotta, Pecorino Romano cheese, Mozzarella, basil, parsley, eggs and pepper.
• Mix till all ingredients are incorporated.
• Cover and put in refrigerator till needed.
• After the crepe mixture has rested for 1/2 hour you can start to prepare them. I use an 8-inch non-stick fry pan. You can use one of them or a crepe pan. Just make sure it's non stick. Very important!
• Heat the pan on medium heat. Once heated spray with Pam till bottom and sides are covered.
• Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan and swirl and tilt till the bottom of the pan is covered evenly. Return to burner. (If you think you need more or less mixture in the pan adjust accordingly. You want a thin even layer on the bottom of your pan).
• Let it cook till the top of the crepe appears dry. About 1 minute or so. When you first put the mixture in the pan, the top is "wet" looking, slowly it will start to look "dry". Once it's all dry, take a butter knife or spatula and slide under the crepe and flip over. cook for 5 seconds more.
• The crepe should slide out of the pan onto your surface. I put a sheet of aluminum foil on my counter and as I made the crepes I just slide them out onto the foil till they cool. Once cooled you can arrange them on the foil so they overlap each other.
• Spray you pan again with Pam and make another crepe. Do this till all the batter is gone. This recipe makes approx 16-20 crepes.
• Preheat your oven to 325°F.
• Take a baking pan (13x9-inch or larger) and cover the bottom with sauce. The sauce should be room temperature, so that the cheese doesn't melt out of the crepe while you are filling them.
• To assemble the crepe, place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in a line across the crepe and roll it up. place them seam side down in the pan.
• Continue doing that till the pan is full. Based on what size pan you use, that will determine how many you can get in the pan.
• Any extra manicotti that you roll that doesn't fit in the pan can be frozen and kept in a freezer bag for at least 3 months. In the description above I tell you how to recook them.
• Once the pan is full, put another layer of sauce on top of the stuffed manicotti till they are all covered.
• Cover pan tightly in foil.
• Place in 325°F preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.
• Take foil off and sprinkle the remaining cup of shredded Mozzarella evenly on the top.
• Put back in oven till cheese melts and slightly browns (approx 5-10 minutes).
• Take out of oven and let rest at least 10 minutes and Enjoy!
• Serve with a nice salad and a warm loaf of Italian bread and you have a great meal!

CHEESY MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook 5 min., stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Beat egg whites in medium bowl. Add mushroom mixture, spinach, ricotta and half each of the mozzarella and Parmesan; mix well.
• Drain pasta; fill with spinach mixture. Place in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with sauce.
• Bake 40 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan; bake 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted.

EASY STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add manicotti and boil for the 7-8 minutes, until almost tender*.
• Drain and rinse manicotti 2-3 times under cold water until cooled to room temperature.
• In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, pesto, salt, and pepper.
• Place ricotta mixture in a large piping bag or large freezer bag and snip the end.
• Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish and spread 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom.
• Fill each manicotti shell with ricotta cheese mixture and line up on top of the marinara sauce in the baking dish, dividing the ricotta evenly between the 12 manicotti.
• Top the filled manicotti with the remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly grease a piece of foil or lid and cover the baking dish. Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes until heated through and pasta is tender. Serve.

MANICOTTI WITH CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and cool on waxed paper or aluminum foil to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper; fill manicotti with cheese mixture.
• In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom and arrange manicotti in a single layer; cover with remaining sauce. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes longer; serve.

CHEESY VEGETABLE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• For the filling: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini and yellow squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the squash softens but is not mushy, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and let cool.
• Add the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the cooled vegetables. Stir to combine.
• For the tomato sauce: In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes with their juices until they are coarsely ground or chop the tomatoes by hand. Transfer them to a bowl, add the salt and pepper, then stir in the basil.
• For the manicotti: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with oil or cooking spray.
• Transfer the filling mixture to a large resealable plastic bag. Snip a large hole out of one corner of the bag with scissors and use the bag to pipe the mixture into the cooked manicotti shells.
• Spread about 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Place the manicotti shells into the baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce over the manicotti. Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

CHEESY SEAFOOD MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F
• Combine undiluted soup, half-and-half, sour cream, water or broth, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Spread about 1 cup into a greased 11" x 7" x 2" baking dish.
• In another bowl, combine egg, 1 cup mozzarella, seafood, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, pepper and garlic salt.
• Spread enough sauce in greased (cooking sprayed) baking dish to cover bottom.
• Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with about 1/3 cup of seafood mixture. Arrange over sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with chives, if desired.
• Bake, uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.