Three Cheese Manicotti Recipe

Big bite of cheese manicotti on the end of a fork!

5 from 1 vote

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!

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: baked manicotti, cheese manicotti, manicotti recipe, stuffed manicotti

Servings: serving

Calories: 312kcal

Author: Mindee

Cost: 15

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