Spinach Manicotti
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Take traditional spinach manicotti up a notch with few smart shortcuts and cooking tricks — all without any extra work for you!
Looking for an easy way to elevate your traditional spinach manicotti recipe? I have a wonderful recipe that incorporates a few shortcuts and cooking tricks that take this classic dish to the next level without any extra work for you. First, I add heavy cream to good-quality jarred marinara sauce, creating a rich tomato sauce that pairs perfectly with the cheesy spinach filling. It’s as easy as opening a jar and a carton! Next, I add creamy mascarpone, mozzarella, and sharp Pecorino Romano cheeses to the traditional ricotta and spinach filling. This not only adds delicious flavor but also prevents the filling from becoming grainy, which is a common issue with pasta dishes made with ricotta cheese.
Fun fact: the word “manicotti” means “little sleeve” in Italian, describing the cylindrical shape of the pasta tubes. It’s a great prep-ahead dish to pop in the oven when you’ve got company coming or simply for enjoying with family. Pair it with a salad and some crusty bread for a cozy and satisfying meal.
What You’ll Need To Make Spinach Manicotti
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Parboil the Manicotti Shells
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the manicotti shells for exactly 6 minutes (they will only be partially cooked).
Drain well and rinse with cold water.
Step 2: Make the Filling
In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
Add the ricotta, mascarpone cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the Pecorino Romano, the spinach, basil, garlic, oregano, and salt.
Mix until evenly combined.
Transfer the filling to a pastry bag or large zip-lock bag. (If using a zip-lock bag, be sure the corners are square; the rounded-corner bags are difficult to use.) Twist and squeeze the bag so the filling is in one corner. With scissors, snip a ¾-inch opening in corner. Pipe the filling into both ends of the manicotti shells, filling until completely full.
Step 3: Make the Sauce
In a large bowl, combine the marinara sauce and heavy cream.
Mix to combine.
Step 4: Assemble & Bake
Spread ¾ cup of the sauce into a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Arrange the stuffed manicotti shells, narrow side up, over the sauce.
Pour just enough sauce to cover the manicotti (you’ll have about ¾ cup leftover; save it for serving).
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and top the manicotti with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheeses.
Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and lightly golden. (To brown the cheese further, turn on the broiler and bake for a few more minutes, keeping a close eye, until the cheese is golden.)
Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
You may also like
- Baked Penne with Spinach, Ricotta, and Fontina
- Cheesy Stuffed Shells
- Baked Ziti with Sausage
- Julia Turshen’s “A Nice Lasagna”
Spinach Manicotti
Take traditional spinach manicotti up a notch with few smart shortcuts and cooking tricks — all without any extra work for you!
Ingredients
- 14 manicotti shells (from an 8-oz box)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-oz) container whole-milk ricotta cheese (1¾ cups)
- ⅓ cup mascarpone or cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups (8 oz) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1¼ cups (4.5 oz oz) grated Pecorino Romano, divided
- 1 (10-oz) box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt, plus more for boiling the pasta
- 2½ cups homemade or good-quality jarred marinara sauce, such as Rao's
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Parboil the Manicotti Shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the manicotti shells for exactly 6 minutes (they will only be partially cooked). Drain well and rinse with cold water.
- Make the Filling: In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the ricotta, mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese), 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the Pecorino Romano, the spinach, basil, garlic, oregano, and salt; mix until evenly combined. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag or large zip-lock bag. (If using a zip-lock bag, be sure the corners are square; the rounded-corner bags are difficult to use.) Twist and squeeze the bag so the filling is in one corner. With scissors, snip a ¾-inch opening in corner. Pipe the filling into both ends of the manicotti shells, filling until completely full.
- Make the Sauce: In a large bowl, stir together the marinara sauce and heavy cream.
- Assemble and Bake: Spread ¾ cup of the sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange the stuffed manicotti shells, narrow side up, over the sauce. Pour just enough sauce to cover the manicotti (you'll have about ¾ cup leftover; save it for serving). Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and top the manicotti with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheeses Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and lightly golden. (To brown the cheese further, turn on the broiler and bake for a few more minutes, keeping a close eye, until the cheese is golden.) Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Warm the reserved sauce and pass at the table for anyone who would like extra.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dish can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days in advance, or frozen for up to 3 months. (If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight before baking.)
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 manicotti
- Calories: 735
- Fat: 46 g
- Saturated fat: 28 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Sodium: 1,413 mg
- Cholesterol: 213 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this last night, and it was wonderful! My manicotti shells may have been slightly large because I ran out of filling with a couple of shells left. I will increase the filling slightly next time. The pastry bag made filling them a cinch!
Hi Jenn,
Excellent recipe! It’s now part of my favorite pasta meals. To do again ! Thanks.
Hi Jen,
I’m looking forward to making this recipe tomorrow, but can’t find manicotti shells anywhere, can I use large pasta shells as a substitute? Also, how long should I boil them for? Thank you for all your recipes, our family looks forward to any that I make that you have created
Hi Stephanie, You can absolutely use large pasta shells. If you look in previous comments/responses, I also explain how to use no-boil lasagna noodles – they work very well!
In a word, delicious. The second time making it, I added leftover finely shredded rotisserie chicken breast and it was wonderful that way, too. Because of the added chicken, there was excess filling so I made a small lasagna for two, using the filling in the center layer.
This will be our new go-to for a make-ahead dinner when the kids and grandkids are dropping by. Thank you, Jenn.
I made this pasta for our adult daughter’s birthday. You have another winner, Jenn.
Everybody rated this the second best pasta that they had had (#1 is still your ziti pasta with mild Italian sausage).
Only 2 minor changes: fresh spinach and lots more mozzarella.
Thank you, again. You never disappoint us.
Garo
I haven’t had manicotti in years and this was truly delicious! I boiled the noodles for exactly 6 minutes and cooled them immediately, but filling them was very putzy in spite of attempting the pastry bag method. I had trouble with the noodles ripping and folding in a bit. Many years ago, the recipe I used called for using uncooked (regular—not no-boil) manicotti. It was super easy to make and always turned out perfectly. I didn’t use that method on this recipe because I like to make a new recipe exactly as written the first time. The secret to the no-boil method was to have enough sauce to completely cover all of it. I think there was 1/2 cup or so of water added to the sauce. Have you ever tried this method? I will make yours again for sure but will give the old method a try again.
Hi Tess, Glad you enjoyed this but sorry you found it to be a little difficult to execute.
I actually use the method you’re referring to for my stuffed shells recipe but I can’t guarantee that it would work here and would change the recipe quite a bit. Another alternative is using no-boil lasagna noodles. To soften them, fill a large skillet with 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil. Off the heat, place the no-boil lasagna noodles in the hot water in the skillet one at a time. Let the noodles soak together until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating the noodles with the tip of a knife to prevent sticking. Remove the noodles from the water and place them in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel to dry. Using a small spoon, spread about 1/4 cup of the spinach/cheese mixture evenly onto the bottom of three-quarters of each noodle (with the short side facing you), leaving the top quarter of the noodle exposed. Roll into a tube shape and arrange in the sauce in the baking dish seam side down.
Hi Jenn! In the process of making this for dinner tonight and can’t wait to try it. Any recommendations on what to do with extra fillings? I have a little under a cup left that didn’t fit in my shells.
On a side note, I had troubles finding manicotti shells and ordered Jovial Gluten Free ones online. They were a little more expensive but your recipes have never let me down so I decided it was worth the investment.
The one thing that comes to mind for the extra filling is to put it in a small ramekin and bake it. After baking, it would be delicious spread on bread or crackers. Hope you enjoy that as well as the manicotti!
Hi Jenn,
Manicotti shells are not available here, can I use cannelloni shells instead? Cannelloni shells are much thinner, so a little worried about the cooking time. One of your readers suggested using lasagna sheets which I would have done but only the no boiling type available here.😡 Maybe time for me to move back to DC 😆
Thanks😊
Hi Johara, Cannelloni should work beautifully – just follow the instructions on the package for cooking them very al dente before stuffing. You can also use no-boil lasagna noodles! To soften them, fill a large skillet with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Off the heat, place the no-boil lasagna noodles in the hot water in the skillet one at a time. Let the noodles soak together until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating the noodles with the tip of knife to prevent sticking. Remove the noodles from the water and place in single layer on a clean kitchen towel to dry. Using a small spoon, spread about 1/4 cup of the spinach/cheese mixture evenly onto the bottom of three-quarters of each noodle (with the short side facing you), leaving the top quarter of the noodle exposed. Roll into a tube shape and arrange in the sauce in the baking dish seam side down.
Thank you so much.🤗
Hi Jenn,
It was an absolute hit with my guests, thank you. I must admit I got really lazy and used soft tortilla shells instead of Canelloni shells or lasagna sheets. Just followed your Mexican lasagna recipe for cooking time. 😊
I do have some leftover stuffing so planning on making puff pastry pinwheel with it. It may end up a disaster, but worth a try.
Glad it came out well with your tortilla tweak! Thanks for taking the time to follow up. 🙂
Jenn, do you think this filling would work in homemade ravioli? Having trouble finding manicotti. Or…if I made my own pasta sheets to create manicotti tubes, would I need to boil the sheets a bit first??
Hi Jance, I would boil fresh pasta sheets very briefly. You can also use no-boil lasagna sheets soaked in boiling water. See my reply to Johara above. 🙂
Your email arrived in my inbox right in time. Made this for a dinner party and everyone cleared their plates!
Once again another fabulous recipe from Jenn , I did have trouble filling the shells as I don’t own a pastry bag and my plastic bag was a mess… ended up using a knife which was fine just more time consuming. When I make it again it will be with pastry bag in hand.
Added Italian Sausage to the filling. Substituted large shell pasta since unable to find manicotti shells. Delicious.
Excellent recipe! Even my meat loving Italian husband loved it! I added a little extra garlic and mixed everything in a Cuisinart and it was molto bene! Did not see what to do with the 2TB of basil but just sprinkled it on each serving. Deeeeeelish!
The basil is mixed in with the filling.
Amazing manicotti recipe. My eyes rolled back in my head after the first bite. Hands down the best manicotti I have ever had.
DELISH! An easy- fun dish to make as a couple- as we did. I added cooked, small chopped, Italian sauage to the filling. The sauce was perfect too. We doubled the recipe to have enough manicottis for our dinner and extra that we froze (w/o the sauce) for future meals. A worthy dish to serve guest too! Another Winner Jenn! Thank you.
Beautiful recipe. I used fresh lasagne sheets and made cylinders with those. Saves a piping bag and boiling the tubes.
This was absolutely the best Manicotti I have ever had. The only thing I changed was cutting the recipe in half. The sauce was perfect, the filling was perfect, would not change a thing.
I want to make this tonight… But can I use fresh spinach?
Hi Christy, I think I’m weighing in too late to help, but fresh spinach is fine to use; just make sure to cook and squeeze out any liquid before incorporating it into the recipe. I’d estimate you’ll need 1 – 1.5 lbs. Please LMK how it turns out!
Love this idea. I have always hated the graininess of using ricotta, so have always used cottage cheese instead. But I get yelled at by many people that ricotta is the only right way 🙂 Love this idea, can’t wait to try it.
We try to watch our fat intake, so I wonder what your thoughts are on using part skim ricotta, reduced fat cream cheese, and/or half and half?
Hi Carol, I think all of those subs will be fine here. Enjoy!