Although manicotti is somewhat time consuming, the recipe is easy to prepare. The homemade marinara sauce in this recipe is a sweet tomato sauce simmered to perfection. A pastry bag or plastic bag makes stuffing the shells easier than trying to spoon the cheese into the shells.
One of the greatest things about manicotti is that it can be made in advance and refrigerated or frozen. In fact, refrigerating the prepared dish for at least one hour before baking enhances the flavor! It is also great to take along to gatherings or potluck dinners. This cheesy baked Italian meal serves up to 8 people, making it ideal for large families as well. Additionally, manicotti is a delicious leftover that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Also, manicotti is a great gift for those in need. A few years back, I participated in a meal train program in which a group of women would make dinners for families that recently welcomed a newborn baby into their home. Each of us signed up for a night to bring a meal. This allowed the new parents more time to focus on their baby without the worry of cooking. Freezer meals are a particularly great choice for sharing dinners because the recipient can choose to bake the dinner whenever they need it. Here is a link for the meal train program if you are interested in starting one for someone you know. MealTrain.com (official site) – Organize Meal Support in Minutes
Interested in other Italian dishes?
This manicotti recipe is a vegetarian dish. Manicotti can also be prepared with meats such as beef, pork, chicken, or venison. For other hearty Italian meals, try:
Print Recipe
Manicotti
Equipment
- 2 stock pots
- Large mixing bowl
- 13x 9 baking dish
Ingredients
Homemade Marinara
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 cup Onion, diced
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 4 cups tomato sauce
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp tsp Black pepper
Cheese Filling
- 1 16oz container Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup Shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp Dried parsley
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 2 Eggs
Other ingredients
- 1 box Manicotti Shells
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese (topping)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (topping)
Instructions
- In a 6 quart stockpot on medium heat, cook onions in olive oil until tender and translucent.
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant (approximately 30 seconds)
- Add basil, oregano, italian seasoning, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer on medium low for 30 minutes.
- While marinara is simmering, cook manicotti shells in boiling water for 7 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, parsley, oregano and eggs.
- Once shells are cooked and cheese is mixed, pour half of the marinara into a 9x13 baking dish.
- Pour cheese mixture into a gallon size storage bag. Cut a small corner off the cheese filled storage bag. This is a quick makeshift, disposable piping bag.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Fill manicotti shells with the cheese mixture by squeezing it into the shells from the corner of the bag. Fill half the shell, then turn it around and fill the other half. Continue to fill each shell and place them on top of the marinara sauce.
- Once all shells are filled and in the pan, cover them with the remainder marinara sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese over the top and cover with foil.
- Bake the manicotti, covered, for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes longer, or until the top is browning and the marinara is bubbling.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
