Are you looking to try a delicious homemade cheese manicotti recipe? Let me tell you my tips and tricks for stuffing manicotti, as well as share my recipe for the cheesiest mixture to stuff those shells! This recipe can be made ahead as well as frozen for future dinners!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This easy recipe for the whole family that also freezes well!
- Try this with some of my Italian Cheese Bread or a wedge of garlic bread!
- This is a meatless main dish! No Italian sausage or ground beef!
Ingredient Notes
- Italian Cheese Blend - This is a mix of different kinds of cheese like mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and Romano cheeses. You can substitute mozzarella cheese for this blend if you need it.
- Manicotti - Manicotti pasta is the pasta tubes that are between 3 and 4 inches long.
- Cottage Cheese - I use full-fat small-cated cottage cheese. You can substitute ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese.
- Spaghetti Sauce - Marinara sauce may be substituted. You could also use tomato sauce in a real pinch, but it is much thinner and isn't seasoned so that the flavor will be bland.
How to Make
- Boil the manicotti noodles in a large pot according to package directions until it's half cooked, NOT al dente.
- Being half cooked stops the manicotti from overcooking in the oven as well as making it easier to stuff the shells without cracking them.
- Drain and lay the manicotti out across a cutting board in preparation to be stuffed with the cheesy filling.
- While you are waiting for the water to boil and waiting for the manicotti to cook, spray a 9x13 baking dish or large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together the spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside.
- Mix together the cottage cheese, large egg, parmesan cheese, and Colby jack cheese in a medium bowl, and the cheese mixture set aside.
- After the manicotti is half cooked and drained and laid out, allow it to cool just long enough that you can handle it without burning your fingers. This doesn't take long.
- Hold the manicotti at an angle with the bottom resting against a cutting board and stuff the shell with the cheese filling using your fingers.
- If you have a shell that tears a little, it's ok.
- Pour about ¾ of a cup of sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Place the stuffed noodles in a row in a single layer of your dish. The dish below only shows one row, but you should be able to fit two rows of manicotti side by side in your baking dish.
- Pour the remaining sauce mix over the stuffed shells.
- Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the top.
- Either bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, cover and put the fridge to bake later, or properly cover with foil to freeze for later use.
- Store leftover manicotti in the fridge.
FAQs and Tips
Do manicotti shells need to be cooked first?
Yes, but not all the way. The trick to perfect manicotti is to half-cook the pasta shells first. If you cook them all the way, you are going to have a difficult time stuffing them, and you will for sure have overcooked manicotti by the time you serve it. So follow the package instructions to boil the manicotti shells, but only cook them halfway, remove them from your pot with tongs, and lay them on a large cutting board.
Does this dish freeze well?
Yes, once you have this dish put together, cover it well with a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and pop it in the freezer! Use within 6 months. No need to thaw it; just pop it in the oven. It will take a bit longer to bake, though. Read How to Freeze a Casserole for more tips!
How do I stuff manicotti shells without breaking them?
Half-cooking your shells will take care of most of your breaking problems. The second thing to do is just to stuff them until they are full but not packed so tight with filling that the shells break.
More of my Favorite Pasta Dishes
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Three Cheese Manicotti Recipe
Are you looking to try a delicious, baked, homemade manicotti recipe? Let me tell you my tips and tricks for stuffing manicotti, as well as share my recipe for the cheesiest mixture to stuff those shells! This recipe can be made ahead as well as frozen for future dinners!
Ingredients
- 14 Manicotti Shells uncooked
- 16 oz Small Curd Cottage Cheese 16 oz container
- 1 Egg
- ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 2 Cups Colby Jack Cheese shredded
- 24 oz Spaghetti Sauce (I use Hunt's 4 cheese) 24 oz can
- 3 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 ½ Cups Mozzarella Cheese shredded
Instructions
- Boil the manicotti according to package directions until it's half cooked.
- Being half-cooked stops the manicotti from overcooking in the oven, as well as making it easier to stuff the shells without cracking them.
- Drain and lay the manicotti out across a cutting board in preparation to be stuffed with cheese filling.
- While you are waiting for the water to boil and waiting for the manicotti to cook, spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together the spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside.
- Mix together the cottage cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, and Colby jack cheese in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- After the manicotti is half cooked and drained and laid out, allow it to cool just long enough that you can handle it without burning your fingers. This doesn't take long.
- Hold the manicotti at an angle with the bottom resting against a cutting board and stuff the shell with the cottage cheese/cheese mixture using your fingers.
- If you have a shell that tears a little, it's ok.
- Pour about ¾ of a cup of sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Place the stuffed manicotti in a row in your dish. The dish below only shows one row, but you should be able to fit two rows of manicotti side by side in your baking dish.
- Pour the spaghetti sauce mix over the stuffed shells.
- Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the top.
- Either bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, cover and put the fridge to bake later, or properly cover with foil to freeze for later use.
Notes
- The trick to perfect manicotti is to half-cook the pasta shells first. If you cook them all the way, you are going to have a difficult time stuffing them, and you will for sure have overcooked manicotti by the time you serve it. So follow the package instructions to boil the manicotti shells but only cook them halfway, remove them from your pot with tongs, and lay them on a large cutting board.
- Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutrition
Calories: 312kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 24gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 1038mgPotassium: 412mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 995IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 523mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Jeff
One of my favorites
Mindee
Make this dozens of times!!!