This delicious and easy Manicotti recipe has pasta filled with a three cheese filling and topped with marinara sauce. It’s quick to make and the ultimate comfort meal!
If you need a few more fun dinner ideas, be sure to try my Meatball Subs, Harvest Bowls, or Pot Roast!
Manicotti is the ultimate comfort food hug.
Manicotti is the ultimate comfort food hug.My favorite thing about our Manicotti recipe is instead of trying to stuff the cheese filling into fragile pasta tubes, we roll the filling in softened, “no boil” lasagna noodles, which give it a more authentic taste and noodle to cheese ratio, plus they’re so much easier to assemble.
And if you have a few extra minutes and want over-the-top, restaurant quality manicotti, make our homemade Marinara Sauce that only takes 15 minutes. You’ll thank yourself later!
How to make Manicotti:
Marinara (or use store-bought): This easy homemade marinara only takes 15-minutes, but if you’re in a pinch, you can use 3 cups jarred sauce.
Cheese Filling: Mix ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, herbs, and 1 cup parmesan cheese in a bowl then set aside.
Prep Noodles: Pour 1-inch boiling water in a large casserole dish and submerge a few dry, no-boil noodles, allowing them to soak until pliable (about 5 minutes). Separate the noodles with a fork if needed so they don’t stick. Remove them to a single layer on a plate.
Assemble: Pour about 1 ½ cups of marinara in a 9×13 baking dish. Scoop ¼ cup of the cheese mixture and place along one short end of the lasagna noodle. Roll up into a tube and place in baking dish, seam side down. We fit 8 manicotti in each row, allowing 16 in a dish.
Bake: Pour the rest of the marinara sauce on top of the pasta, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, until bubbly. Sprinkle 1 cup parmesan over pasta and bake for 5-7 more minutes, until cheese is melted. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serve with homemade breadsticks and a salad!
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: fill and roll the manicotti, place in pan, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Store marinara topping seperatly and add before baking.
To Freeze: Prepare the pan of homemade manicotti, cover with a sheet of parchment paper then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking. Remove parchment, replace with new aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve with extra marinara, as some may be absorbed by the noodles.
Recipe Variations:
- Manicotti with Meat: Add one pound cooked and crumbled ground beef or sausage and add it to the red sauce.
More Favorite Italian Recipes:
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Recipe
Manicotti
Ingredients
Manicotti:
- 3 cups marinara sauce*
- 16 no-boil lasagna noodles*
Cheese Filling:
- 3 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 large eggs , lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley , chopped (or 2 ½ teaspoons dried parsley)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves , chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
Instructions
- Make the sauce.
- Cheese Filling: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs; set aside.
- Prepare noodles: Pour 1 inch boiling water into a large casserole dish . Add dry noodles, a few at a time, allowing them to soak until pliable, about 5 minutes. Use a fork to help separate the noodles if needed, to prevent them from sticking together. Remove noodles from water and place in single layer on a plate.
- Assemble: Spread bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish evenly with 1 ½ cups red sauce. Place one pliable noodle in front of you and scoop ab out ¼ cup cheese mixture in a line along the bottom short end. Roll all the way up into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. (You should be able to fit 8 manicotti in each row, allowing all 16 to fit in the dish).
- Bake: Pour remaining red sauce over the filled pasta. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, until bubbly. Remove cover and sprinkle on remaining 1 cup Parmesan. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe October 2018. Updated March 2022 and August 2024.
Recipe inspired by America’s Test Kitchen and Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
This post contains affiliate links.
I made this recipe and love it. Definitely cheesy comfort food goodness.
Made this recipe for the 200th meal plan and it was delicious and enjoyed by my family. It was easy to make and I had a lot of the ingredients in my pantry.
Easy to do on weekend for weeknight meal
Made this to celebrate the 200th meal plan, it was a whole family pleaser! It was so easy, plan to make a double batch so I can freeze half for a busy night!
I have been making manicotti for years and this is so much faster & easier. Wonderfully delicious!
This manicotti is amazing! So flavorful and easy! I loved not having to stuff shells I was able to find lasagna sheets in the refrigerated section next to the tortellini and loved them. Thank you for blessing us with your talents.
Loved this recipe especially the herbs in the cheesy filling. I made this dish to celebrate the 200th meal plan. Meal plans with shopping list are ideal for busy cooks! I did use manicotti pasta tubes to minimize the pasta per serving. It was a bit of a challenge to stuff the tubes so using the no-boil lasagne noodles would definitely be a timesaver!
This is one of my all time favorite Italian foods. I have made it many times {especially when I cooked and managed restaurant kitchens}. I even made the homemade pasta for the the manicotti. But your recipe is one of the best recipes I have ever made 😋. I find using the dry noodles makes it much easier and time consuming. Thank you !!
Such an easy delicious dish to make to celebrate the 200th meal plan!
I made this to celebrate Lauren’s 200th meal plan, and my whole family loved it! It’s delicious!!