Go Back
+ servings
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

A delicious Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti recipe that is easy to learn and perfect for a main course.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 12 manicotti
Calories 347 kcal

Equipment

  • 9X13 inch pan
  • frosting piping bag or gallon zip bag

Ingredients
  

Cheese and Spinach Filling

  • 15 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
  • 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 10 ounces frozen spinach thawed & squeezed dry
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pasta

  • 1 box manicotti noodles (12 to 14 shells)

Sauce

  • 4 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions
 

Cooking Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350℉.
  • In a large bowl, mix the cheeses, spinach, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir together until well blended.
  • Place about 1½ cups of marinara sauce in a 9x13-inch pan. Spread it around to cover the bottom.
  • Place the mixed filling into a plastic bag. You can use either a frosting piping bag or a gallon zip bag. Snip the corner, gather the top and squeeze the filling into the corner. Hold an uncooked manicotti shell in your hand and squeeze the filling inside the shell. Let it overflow on both sides. Alternately, you can stuff the uncooked noodles with a small spoon or fork. Place the filled shell into the sauce-lined pan. Repeat with remaining manicotti and fill the pan with the stuffed shells, until you run out of shells and filling. You should be able to fill 12 to 14 shells- if you run out of room in your pan, use a separate smaller pan to accommodate the extra.
  • Cover the pasta completely with marinara sauce, using about 2½ cups of sauce. Sprinkle ½ cup Parmesan on top. At this point, you can cover with foil and refrigerate until you're ready to bake, or you can cover with foil and place it in the oven immediately.
  • Bake, covered with foil, for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Notes

It's perfectly okay to use low fat ricotta and low fat cream cheese. If you don't wish to use the spinach, it's ok to leave it out and just turn this into a cheese-stuffed manicotti. If you don't wish to use the plastic bag method of squeezing the filling into the shells, you can use a very small spoon or fork to stuff the filling-- it will just take a bit longer and might be a little messy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1stuffed manicottiCalories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 19gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 874mgPotassium: 445mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 3630IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 339mgIron: 1.8mg
Keyword best manicotti recipe, how to make manicotti, manicotti, spinach and cheese manicotti
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!