Easy Italian Manicotti Recipe in Under 1 Hour

A classic Italian Manicotti recipe made with prepared tomato sauce, ready in just one hour from start to finish! It’s the perfect comfort food that won’t break the bank. This manicotti is stuffed with three cheeses, but you can easily toss in leftover cooked proteins like sausage or chicken. For a vegetarian twist, add some of your favorite chopped veggies. It’s one of my family’s favorite Italian dishes, and I make it at least once a month.

What’s the difference between Manicotti and Cannelloni?

I was born and raised in Rhode Island and ate some incredible Italian food growing up. At the ripe age of 50 I have been pondering some existential questions. The simplest of those questions has to be, “What is the difference between Manicotti and Cannelloni?” Jacqui Debono from “The Pasta Project” explains it best! I’m just gonna share her awesome article here: https://www.the-pasta-project.com/cannelloni-or-manicotti/

I don’t have a lot of time! 😉

Easy manicotti recipe in under 1 hour. Seriously? Yes! Now I don’t shop for the items the same day. If you do your shopping in advance, you can put this amazing dish on your dining room table in one hour. Try it and let me know how it goes.

Manicotti – Three Cheese filling (VIDEO)

Authentic Italian Manicotti filled with a creamy filling of 3 cheeses topped with marinara sauce

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Equipment Method Video

Ingredients

  

• 1 box Manicotti pasta tubes
• 2 16 oz. Jars Italian Tomato Sauce Homemade or store bought…I love Rao’s pasta sauce
• 2 tbsp Sea Salt salt the pasta water

Manicotti Cheese filling

• 3 cups Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup Parmigiana Reggiano Cheese grated
• 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese shredded
• 2 Eggs beaten
• ¼ cup Parsley Italian Flat leaf or curly parsley chopped fine one handful fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. Sea Salt
• ¾ tsp. Black Pepper ground

Optional filling ideas

• 2 cups Spinach fresh torn into smaller pieces or 1 cup frozen (drained of liquid)
• 1 cup Mushrooms chopped medium size
• 1 cup Olives chopped

Equipment

• 1 Ziploc bag or Pastry bag optional
• 1 Pair of Scissors optional
• 1 large rectangle baking dish

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. In a large pot fill ¾ way with water (about 5 qt) add 2 Tablespoons of Sea Salt (if using regular salt 1 Tbsp and bring to boil)
3. In a large mixing bowl combine Ricotta cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, eggs beaten, chopped parsley, salt & pepper. Stir until combined. Set aside.
4. Once the pasta water is at a rolling boil add manicotti tubes one by one carefully.
5. After 1 minute gently stir to be sure the pasta tubes do not stick together. Cook for 7 minutes.
6. Drain into a colander and lightly rinse with cool water.
7. Set up workspace to that everything is within reach.
8. Pasta, filling, baking vessel and tomato sauce.
9. In a large baking dish add ½ jar of tomato sauce and spread to cover bottom of dish.
10. In a large storage bag like a Ziploc freezer bag fill with cheese filling. When ready to fill manicotti pasta tubes snip off ¾” off one lower corner. Twist the top and add a chip clip so the cheese doesn't squeeze out.
11. With a Manicotti tube in your hand fill halfway with filling applying pressure on filling bag. Similar to using a Frosting piping bag.
12. Turn Manicotti tube around and fill the remaining half with filling. Lay filled pasta tubes onto tomato sauce in pan. Side by side until all pasta tubes are filled. You may need to cut tubes in half if there isn’t enough room for a whole pasta piece.
13. Top manicotti with remaining Tomato sauce plus 1 1/2 cups water.
14. Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 375-degree oven. For a tender pasta and more moisture bake covered with foil.
15. We like a little bit of crispy edges on our manicotti so i bake this uncovered. 🙂
16. after 30minutes I like to add about 1/4 cup of additional grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and 1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese.
17. Bake for an additional 10 minutes to melt cheese.
18. Serve and enjoy!

Video