This recipe was first posted on Spend With Pennies. I feel like we’ve been eating a lot of pasta and casseroles this winter but I’m not mad about it. This baked Manicotti recipe has quickly climbed our list of favorites because it has pretty much all of our favorite things:
pasta cheese tomato sauce cheese more cheese
I mean, what’s not to love? Pasta bakes are one of the easiest meals to make ahead (and freeze!), and one of the easiest meals for me to get my kids to eat, so it’s win-win around here. Some or our other favorite pasta bakes are this Baked Ziti with Italian Turkey Sausage, Chicken Alfredo Bake and Rigatoni Pasta Bake. This Manicotti recipe is pretty standard, with one thing that I think really makes it pop — a spoonful of basil pesto in the filling. The basil pesto adds such a great punch of herby flavor, without being overpowering and without having to add a whole bunch of different herbs and spices. It’s one of my favorite secret ingredients!
What is Manicotti?
Manicotti is a long, large, tubular pasta that is usually cooked and stuffed with a ricotta cheese filling similar to these Ricotta Stuffed Shells. Baked, cheese stuffed Manicotti is one of the best comfort foods, and it’s also perfect for making ahead to enjoy on a busy weeknight! There are so many ways to change things up if you want to, though! See my list below on how to make this recipe your own.
Variations on this stuffed Manicotti:
You can add cooked, shredded chicken (this Crockpot Shredded Chicken or this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken are great in here!), cooked ground beef, or crumbled and cooked Italian sausage. You can swap out the cheeses for other varieties for a spin that’s more to your liking! Not a fan of pesto? That’s fine. Leave it out and add in some of your favorite Italian herbs instead: basil, oregano and parsley are my go-to’s. Swap out the sauce — use a prepared meat sauce, Alfredo sauce, or one of your other favorites!
Do you have to cook Manicotti shells before filling them?
That depends. You can buy oven-ready manicotti noodles if you can find them, but I prefer the texture of regular noodles unless I’m really pressed for time. You can swap the regular noodles for oven ready in this recipe, just keep an eye on the casserole as it bakes, and if it starts to look dry, add a drizzle (a couple tablespoons) of water around the edge (yes, water! Trust me). It’s also important to keep the noodles covered in sauce, and cover the pan while baking if you are using oven ready noodles, so that everything cooks evenly.
How to store Manicotti:
In the fridge:
You can prepare this baked manicotti up to the point of baking, then simply cover and refrigerate up to 4 days before baking and serving as directed. Perfect for your weekend meal prep!
How to freeze manicotti:
You can prepare this manicotti recipe up to the point of baking then cover tightly (I prefer a layer of plastic wrap and foil, but a lid will suffice if it is tight fitting). Then you can thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed, or bake from frozen. For best results, thawing before baking is recommended. If you know you are making ahead to freeze, only cook your pasta about half way, so they are slightly softened. This will prevent the pasta from becoming mushy in the freezer.
More pasta recipes you’ll love:
Healthy One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta Chicken Pesto Pasta One-Pot BBQ Chicken and Bacon Pasta
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