Easy Cheesy Manicotti is tender manicotti shells stuffed with three kinds of cheese and smothered in savory tomato sauce. A simple Italian dish that’s sure to be a hit!
Easy Cheesy Manicotti
Easy Cheesy Manicotti is a cheese lover’s dream dinner! Cheesy goodness in every bite. It’s a tasty, simple dinner my kids always request because cheese is everyone’s best friend in our home. This is an easy meal to freeze and bake later and is an ideal option for delivering to new moms, friends or neighbors. We almost always double the recipe and prepare two pans. We bake one for dinner and freeze the other for another time, or to give to someone in need of a warm, rich, nourishing dinner. Pair it with a crisp green salad and a loaf of french bread or a batch of our Pizza Factory’s Bread Twists for a delicious meal that everyone loves!
Suggestions for This Recipe
- This baked manicotti recipe is so easy because you don’t even have to boil the pasta noodles before baking! This really simplifies the whole process and cuts prep time way down.
- If you’re freezing one or more pans of this recipe, follow the instructions in the recipe card below. Once the dish is covered with foil, use a marker to write baking instructions on top of the foil so you (or anyone you take this meal to) will remember the correct baking temperature and how to bake it.
- Thaw the cheese manicotti dish overnight in the refrigerator before baking. Leaving the foil on the pan, bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Then uncover, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over the top, then return to the oven for about five minutes or until the cheese melts.
- You can add ground beef or turkey to this dish to give it a bit more bulk. Just mix browned beef in with your cheese mixture and fill your manicotti shells as directed in the recipe card below.
- This recipe is delicious with our Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce or with your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce from the grocery store.
How to Fill Manicotti Shells
To keep mess to a minimum there’s a super easy way to get all that cheesy goodness in the manicotti shells. Using a spoon, fill a Ziploc bag with the cheese mixture, then cut a hole in one of the corners. Start at one end of the pasta shell and pipe mixture in until about halfway full. Then turn the shell over and repeat on the other side. No mess, no fuss, just perfectly filled pasta shells!
More Tasty Pasta Dishes
- Baked Italian Sausage Rotini
- Chicken Parmesan
- Slow Cooker Lasagna
- Pasta Sausage Bake
- Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
How to Make Easy Cheesy Manicotti
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) package manicotti pasta uncooked
- 24 ounces spaghetti sauce or 3 cups homemade spaghetti sauce - divided
- 3 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoon parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, and spices until well blended.
- Spoon the cheese mixture into a Ziploc plastic bag. Clip one corner of the bottom of the bag, about 1/2 inch. Pipe the cheese filling into the uncooked manicotti shells. Start on one end of the manicotti shell until about 1/2 full, then pipe the mixture into the other side filling the shell.
- Place the filled manicotti shells in the 9x13 pan.
- Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the manicotti shells. Make sure every shell is covered with sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 55 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and take off the foil.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over the shells and bake for 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- See instructions for freezing in the description above.
Tammy says
could you substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta?
Charlie says
Hi Tammy:
You could substitute, but you would want to drain the cottage cheese some. In my opinion though the ricotta is so much better!
In Italy ricotta is considered a cottage cheese. Gives a much creamier texture.
Charlie says
Morning Girls!
This sounds so delicious and I will surely be making it.
Haven’t had manicotti in years!
Kayla Bowen says
Can you boil the manicotti shells first???
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes, of course! Not boiling them just saves a little extra time. Thanks for asking!
Alexandra Garcia says
how many people does this feed?
Favorite Family Recipes says
It should make about 8 servings
Hope this helps!