Spinach Cheese Stuffed Manicotti Recipes

SPINACH RICOTTA STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F°.
• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, onion, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
• Spread about 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
• Transfer the filling to a piping bag or plastic ziploc bag, cut off a little from one end, this will make it easier for stuffing the shells.
• Stuff each manicotti shell with ricotta mixture and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. There should be enough sauce to fully cover the manicotti.
• Top with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
• Transfer the dish to the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour covered, then 15-20 minutes uncovered, or until the noodles are soft.
• Serve garnished with basil if preferred and more grated Parmesan cheese.

MAKE-AHEAD SPINACH MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix ricotta, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, egg, parsley and seasonings. In another large bowl, mix spaghetti sauce and water; spread 1 cup into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., Fill uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture; arrange over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce mixture over top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake, uncovered, 40-50 minutes or until manicotti is tender. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casserole. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

SPINACH MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, spinach, sour cream, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. , Combine the tomato juice, salsa and crushed tomatoes; spread 1 cup sauce in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti with spinach mixture; arrange over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti., Cover and bake at 350° for 55 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 15 minutes longer or until noodles are tender.

SPINACH CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a small skillet, saute onion in oil for 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Set aside. , In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper; beat until smooth. Stir in onion mixture and spinach. Stuff into the manicotti shells., Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce., Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

SPINACH & CHEESE STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350* F.
• Combine sauce and sausage in the same skillet sausage was cooked, keep warm.
• In a large bowl, mix spinach, cheeses, eggs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir together until well blended.
• Place about 2 cups sauce in a 9X13 inch casserole dish. Spread it around to cover the bottom.
• Now, to fill the manicotti. You can do this however you wish. You can use a pastry bag, or a zip-lock bag with a corner cut, or a spoon. I chose to use an old baby spoon (from when my daughter was a baby, the kind with the rubber temperature controlled end). I had fantastic results doing it that way. I highly recommend doing it that way. You may have to fill half, turn manicotti around and fill from the other end, as I did. Try to get as much filling in as possible, letting it over flow from the ends. Place the filled shell into the sauce-lined dish. Repeat with the remaining manicotti shells, and fill the dish with the stuffed shells, until you either run out of room, or shells or filling. I ran out of room first, I got twelve into my casserole dish. (I did have left over filling, which I froze.) You could also use two separate smaller dishes, and freeze one for another meal.
• Cover pasta with sauce, you don't have to use it all, just make sure all the exposed manicotti are covered in sauce, about 2 ½ cups. Place sliced mozzarella on top of sauce and sprinkle remaining ½ cup shredded cheese mix over the mozzarella. At this point, you can cover with foil and refrigerate until you're ready to bake, or you can cover with foil and place it in the oven immediately.
• Bake, covered with foil, 50 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
• Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
• Tips:.
• It's perfectly fine if you want to use full fat versions of the cheeses, we just prefer the low fat and fat free versions.
• It's perfectly fine to leave the spinach out and turn this into just a cheese manicotti.

SPINACH MANICOTTI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and immerse spinach in the boiling water until dark green and softened, about 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture.
• Cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes, stirring often. Drain excess grease. Combine spinach and sausage in a bowl. Mix cottage cheese and 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese into sausage and spinach, stirring until filling is thoroughly combined.
• Use your fingers to stuff uncooked manicotti shells with stuffing. Lay stuffed manicotti into a baking dish, side by side, and pour both jars of sauce over manicotti.
• Bake in the preheated oven until manicotti are tender but still slightly firm to the bite and the filling is hot, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 4 ounces of mozzarella cheese over the dish, let the cheese melt, and serve.

SPINACH AND TRIPLE-CHEESE STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet on medium heat 4 to 5 min or until crisp. Use slotted spoon to remove bacon from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels. Add onions and garlic to drippings; cook and stir 2 min. Add ground beef; cook and stir 6 to 7 min. or until no longer pink. Stir in bacon, Neufchatel, spinach, mozzarella and herbs.
• Drain shells; fill with meat mixture. Pour 1 cup sauce into bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with shells. Add water to pasta sauce jar. Cover with lid and shake jar. Pour water over shells; cover with foil.
• Bake 45 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 35 min. Top with Parmesan.

SPINACH CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, onion and egg. Season with parsley, pepper and garlic powder. Mix in 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. In a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water.
• Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture, and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until noodles are soft.

SPINACH-AND-CHEESE-STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti shells according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, combine ricotta, 3/4 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, spinach, nutmeg and pepper. Spoon about 3 tablespoons into each shell. Arrange shells in 2-quart baking dish. Combine tomato paste, broth, mushrooms and Italian seasoning; season with salt, if desired. Pour over shells. Bake, covered, in preheated 350°F oven, 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake 10 minutes more. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

SPINACH AND CHEESE STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Divide mozzarella cheese into 3 portions.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook manicotti in boiling water, stirring occasionally until softened slightly but still firm, about 7 minutes. Drain and rest in a bowl of cold water.
• Combine spinach, Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese, and 1 portion mozzarella cheese in a large bowl; mix well and season with salt and pepper. Spoon fill mixture into each manicotti shell. Divide stuffed shells evenly between two 9x13-inch baking dishes. Pour 1 jar spaghetti sauce over each baking dish and sprinkle with equal portions mozzarella cheese. Cover both baking dishes with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly, about 45 minutes.