Cheese Stuffed Manicotti: A Delicious and Comforting Italian Dish
Manicotti is a classic Italian dish that consists of large pasta tubes filled with a creamy cheese mixture, covered in tomato sauce and baked to perfection. It is a comforting, satisfying and flavorful meal that is perfect for special occasions, family dinners, or any night of the week. But have you ever tried cheese stuffed manicotti? This version of the dish is a delicious twist on the original, adding even more cheesy goodness to every bite.
In this blog post, I will guide you through the steps to make the best cheese stuffed manicotti that is sure to become a staple in your meal rotation.
Ingredients:
14 manicotti shells (I used a full box of Delallo)
15 oz. ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
1 jar marinara or sauce of choice (~24oz)
Salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) The first step is to start boiling the water for your pasta. As the water begins to boil, cook your pasta according to package instructions. While this is cooking, begin on your ricotta cheese filling.
2) Begin by combining your ricotta cheese and two eggs. Combine until smooth, and then add in your fresh chopped parsley 2 cups of your shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup of parmesan, 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Once combined, add to a ziploc bag or other piping device that will allow you to cut the corner and add the filling into your pasta tubes.
3) Once your pasta is cooked, rinse with cold water to make them easier to handle and fill with your cheese mixture. Fill each manicotti shell with the cheese mixture. You want to make sure that each shell is filled and there are no air pockets. I would pipe the filling into one side, flip the pasta tube, and pipe some more into the opposite end. If there were any air pockets in the middle i could gently squeeze to push the filling all the way through.
4) Add enough marinara to cover the bottom of your baking pan. Once covered and smoothed out with a spatula, add in your filled manicotti. I laid mine sideways instead of flat because I didn’t want to use two separate baking dishes. My manicotti were so crammed into the baking dish that it reminded me of lasagna! If you prefer not to crowd your manicotti simply use a larger baking dish or a second baking dish, just remember you may need some extra marinara to be able to coat the bottom of each pan, AND cover all of the pasta after they’ve been filled.
5) Once your pasta has been stuffed with cheese and placed into your pan like a game of jenga, now you’re going to use the remaining marinara to cover your manicotti. Once coated, sprinkle on your remaining cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and baked to your liking.
But wait, what if I don’t cook my manicotti right away? What if I prepped it for dinner but now am refrigerating it until it’s time for dinner. Don’t worry! Just increase the time in your oven to 75-90 minutes if baking straight from the fridge. I have tried this numerous times, and I just covered the dish with aluminum foil to prevent too much browning of the cheese since it was going to be baked for so much longer, and just removed the aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes of so to get it a little CWISPYYYYY.
WHAT ABOUT CALORIES??
A single manicotti pasta tube with sauce checks in at around 223 calories with 9F/22C/13P.
The entire pasta bake rings in at 3121 calories and makes 14 tubes ; 128F/307C/188P.
An average serving size is ~3 tubes or about 669 calories per serving; 27F/66C/39P.
