The Best Cheese Manicotti Recipes

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti in boiling water until done. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/2 cup Parmesan, eggs, parsley, and salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Pour 1/2 cup sauce into an 11x17 inch baking dish. Fill each manicotti shell with 3 tablespoons cheese mixture, and arrange over sauce . Pour remaining sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake 45 minutes, or until bubbly.

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.

GRANDMA'S KITCHEN OLD-WORLD MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels. Don't get too upset if a couple break, its bound to happen :).
• For the filling, in a large ziplock bag (seriously!), put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (it's a nice stress reliever too!).
• Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.
• See, that wasn't so bad! ;).
• Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

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.

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.

MANICOTTI (THREE CHEESE, NO-BOIL PASTA RECIPE)

Steps:

• Place the steamed escarole, endive or spinach into a large bowl, then add the ricotta.
• Add the eggs, grated Parmesan or Pecorino, salt, and pepper and mix well.
• Next, toss in the shredded mozzarella. Mix well.
• You'll already have the tomato sauce from my linked recipe, but here's the trick to not boiling the pasta, adding water to the sauce. I say to use boiling water because I don't want you using hot water from the tap; it needs to be very hot. Put half of the sauce in a bowl (if it's about 1 cup of sauce, add just under 1 cup of very hot/almost boiling water. You can make this watery sauce as you need it so you don't end up watering down too much of the sauce.
• Spread a generous amount of the watery sauce in the bottom of the pan, then start filling the tubes with the filling. As I said above, you can choose to use a piping bag without a tip, but it's really easy to use a small spoon, too. Use both ends to fill the manicotti shells as it's quicker than trying to push the filling all the way to the opposite end.
• Once full, place in the pan. Be sure to place them generously spaced apart as they will grow and spread.
• Once all the manicotti are filled (you may need another small tray if all of the manicotti don't fit (don't attempt to squeeze them in). I put 4 in a separate little dish. Make sure to cover all of the manicotti.
• Add enough watery sauce so that it comes about halfway up the pasta shells. We need this much liquid since the pasta hasn't been boiled (and absorbed the water when cooking). Let the shells rest for about half an hour before baking.
• Cover and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the pasta is ready. You can remove the cover for the last 5 minutes if you like.
• Before serving, add some heated pasta sauce (the original batch, not watered down) to the manicotti. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and add a sprig of parsley for color, and enjoy!

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• If using fresh spinach, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, and season generously with salt. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and season with salt. Boil the spinach until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, (keep the water in the pot boiling), and immediately plunge the spinach into the ice water. Drain and squeeze the excess water from the spinach, and finely chop. Alternatively, if using thawed spinach, simply squeeze, and finely chop. Set aside.
• In the same large pot of boiling water, cook the manicotti shells according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and pat dry.
• Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup of the grated cheese and mix until evenly combined. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg and pepper. Spoon the cheese mixture into the manicotti shells and line them up in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining 2 cups sauce. Scatter the remaining 2/3 cup grated cheese on top and dot with the butter.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and season with pepper to taste. Use right away, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
• Yield: 3 1/2 cups
• Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.

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.