Description
This manicotti recipe is pasta bake comfort food at its finest! This easy no-boil method lets you indulge in layers of creamy cheese and savory filling without the fuss.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 ounces manicotti (14 shells)
- 28 ounces fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (divided)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus 1/2 tablespoon for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon (optional)
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Make the tomato sauce: In a medium bowl, mix the fire roasted tomatoes, 1 clove grated or minced garlic, olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix well until all the olive oil is incorporated. Stir in 1 cup water (this added moisture allows the dry pasta to cook while baking*).
- Squeeze all the liquid out of the spinach using a strainer over the sink. Mix the spinach, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 minced garlic clove, egg, parsley, the tarragon, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13” baking dish.
- Use a pastry bag or long spoon to place the filling into the dry manicotti pasta. Then place each pasta tube into the dish.
- Top with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake covered with foil for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with additional chopped parsley. Allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
*This manicotti recipe is a no boil recipe so the dry pasta cooks in the sauce while baking. You’ll fill the pasta tubes while they are dry, then add 1 cup water to the marinara sauce which is enough moisture to cook the pasta at the same time as baking. (Important: you don’t need to buy no boil pasta, just standard manicotti.) If you prefer cooking the pasta, you can boil the pasta tubes before baking, fill them using a pastry bag, remove the 1 cup water from Step 2, and shorten the bake time by 30 minutes!
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
