Pasta is so delicious in any shape or form. Manicotti is a fun shaped tubular pasta and you can stuff them with pretty much anything you want. Like cheese. All kinds of cheese. No boiling is required to cook these noodles, they get cooked in the casserole dish with the sauce when it is bubbling in the oven. Manicotti reminds me of the Italian version of enchiladas. The marinara sauce replaces the enchilada sauce, the manicotti shells replace the tortillas, and the cheese is used instead of beef/chicken. Although I’m sure, either of those would be great in this too. You get the idea!
Ingredients for Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided - 1 (16-ounce) carton reduced-fat ricotta cheese ¼ cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 (8-ounce) package manicotti (14 shells) 1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce - can always make your own homemade marinara sauce Cooking spray 1 cup water
How to Make Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
Combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella, cottage cheese, and the next 5 ingredients (through black pepper) in a medium bowl. Spoon about 3 tablespoons cheese mixture into each uncooked manicotti. Pour half of tomato-basil pasta sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange stuffed shells in a single layer over sauce, and top with the remaining sauce. Pour 1 cup water into dish. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup mozzarella evenly over sauce. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until shells are tender. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Tips for Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
One thing I learned when making manicotti is to use a piping bag to stuff the shells. That made it so much easier! I kind of followed this recipe but made it so that there were only 3 servings of manicotti. Manicotti is much easier to fill before the noodles are cooked. Fresh spinach can be used in place of frozen spinach. Cook the spinach down until it has wilted. Maybe add in some fresh garlic to flavor the spinach up a bit. Manicotti can last for 5 days in the fridge. Make in Advance: Assemble the dish and cover tightly with saran wrap. When ready to eat take the dish out of the fridge and bake according to the time and instructions listed below. How to Freeze Leftovers: Let the dish cool completely and divide it into meal prep containers or Tupperware containers. When ready to eat, reheat the manicotti in the microwave for 5 to 7 minutes.
