READY IN 1 hr

Three Cheese Manicotti II

Read Reviews (328)

"The whole family will jump for joy when they try this easy Italian dish!" — Sonrisa

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a bowl, mix 3 cups mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, egg, and basil. Stuff cooked manicotti with the mixture.
Spread about 2 cups pasta sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti in the dish, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and continue baking 10 minutes, until mozzarella is melted and bubbly.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 25 mins
COOK 35 mins
READY IN 1 hr

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Sep 15, 2006

Very tasty! But manicotti are much easier to stuff when they are uncooked! I make a no-boil version by adding 1 cup of water to the marinara sauce (I only use 1 jar) and changing the baking time to one hour. (For easy stuffing, put the ricotta mixture into a large ziploc bag and snip off the corner.)

—CORBINMOM

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Jul 09, 2011

A pretty good base recipe, but I found it very bland. The second time over, I seasoned the cheese mixture with salt and pepper, as well as some parsley and a pinch of nutmeg. I cooked the garlic in a tad of butter, just to soften them up a bit before adding them to the mix. (The first time I made it we were bitting into almost raw pieces of minced garlic!) I also shredded the mozzarella by hand, with the finest grate setting, which helped it melt more evenly into the mix. It takes a little longer in the oven then stated. But again, like I said, a pretty good base recipe, just season it a bit and then make it yours with your choice of ingredients!!!

—polarpixie0

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455 Ratings

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Apr 28, 2008

This was really good. The only changes I would suggest is soaking the manicotti in hot water for 15 minutes instead of boiling them. They are much easier to fill. They will cook the rest of the way in the oven to the perfect consistancy. Secondly, I used 36 oz of sauce. Coat the bottom before you place your pasta down.

—scout

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Feb 01, 2008

This tasted great. I don't know about others, but I had difficult fitting all the shells into a 9x13 pan without having to stack some on top of each other. Fortunately, there was enough sauce to make this possible and keep the shells from sticking to each other. To the pasta sauce, I added ground sirloin, minced onion, and Italian seasoning. When I make this again, I will probably try adding a cup of water to the pasta sauce and not pre-cooking the shells, as I found it impossible to stuff them and not tear them in some way once they were al dente. The Ziploc baggie trick also didn't work for me when stuffing the shells. I had much better success with taking some of the cheese mixture, rolling it in my hands into a tube like it was playdough, and then inserting the rolled cheese into the shell. ****UPDATE**** I've now made this a second time with spinach added to the cheese mixture (which is a good way to sneak in a veggie since I couldn't even taste its presence) AND 1 cup of water added to the sauce to allow the shells to cook in the oven. It was MUCH easier to fill the shells with a Ziplock baggie while they were uncooked, and I just adjusted the cook time to 1 hour, which worked perfectly. The dish tasted the same and was much less work.

—CYNDIDH

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Nov 11, 2005

This was wonderful! DH claimed it was the BEST manicotti he has ever eaten. I added some parsley to it and some fresh grated parmesan cheese. *I used a large freezer bag, filled it with the filling and cut a hole in the corner to fill the shells easily* Will make again, Thank YOU!

—Mrs.Escandon

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Oct 05, 2008

This was great! I did take the advice of others and only put the manicotti into boiling water and removed the pan from the burner and let it sit for about 5 min. then filled them. They finished cooking perfectly in the oven. Very easy and tasty meal. Great with a tossed green salad and garlic bread.

—Patti

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Aug 18, 2009

HELPFUL SUGGESTION WITH MANICOTTI: I didn't know what method to try on cooking the manicotti just enough to stuff and finish cooking while baking so I took the easiest, and each time it works out perfectly! Heat a big pot until it boils, take off, stick manicotti in it, and let sit for 15 min! Take out one at a time and let them dry as you prepare the filling. I wasn't sure if this would taste gross if I filled them too much and I'm glad they weren't overpowered by the ricotta! Using a gallon size freezer bag and cutting the end, I just stuffed as much as I could. Easier to not put ALL the filling in at once so you can squeeze it out the bag w/o feeling really weak (guilty). I didn't bother adding the Parmesan at the end of baking and w/all the mozz on top, it wasn't needed! 2C of sauce on the bottom of 9X13 was perfect. Served w/garlic bread and salad! Perfecto :)

—Chef Joy

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May 07, 2008

This was the first manicotti I ever tried, much less made. I'm not a big ricotta fan but this turned out really good. For the pasta sauce, I made the "Best Marinara Sauce Yet" also from allrecipes.com. I followed the recipe exactly as far as ingredients but I took the advice of others here (I love simple!) and put the cheese mixture in a gallon freezer bag, cut the corner and stuffed the uncooked manicotti quite easily and with no mess! I then added a cup of water to the marinara, put everything in the baking dish as directed and cooked the manicotti in the oven for an hour. Worked perfectly, little mess and easy for a baking newbie! I will make this again!

—Bill721

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Nutrition

Calories
725 kcal
36%

Carbohydrates
68.9 g
22%

Cholesterol
125 mg
42%

Fat
30.6 g
47%

Fiber
8.2 g
33%

Protein
43.4 g
87%

Sodium
1782 mg
71%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Three Cheese Manicotti II

Serving Size: 1/6 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 725
Calories from Fat: 275

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 30.6g 47 %
Saturated Fat 16.1g 81 %
Cholesterol 125mg 42 %
Sodium 1782mg 71 %
Potassium 1087mg 30 %
Total Carbohydrates 68.9g 22 %
Dietary Fiber 8.2g 33 %
Protein 43.4g 87 %
Sugars 24g
Vitamin A 41 %
Vitamin C 10 %
Calcium 132 %
Iron 43 %
** Thiamin 18 %
Niacin 144 %
Vitamin B6 38 %
Magnesium 40 %
Folate 74 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.