🇮🇹 Italian · Pasta
🍝 Manicotti
Manicotti
Manicotti are wide pasta tubes filled with a creamy, herbed ricotta filling, baked in tomato sauce until tender and golden — a comforting vegetarian relative of cannelloni.
Where cannelloni is often filled with meat, manicotti's name meaning 'little sleeves' typically refers to a purely cheese-based filling — a simple, satisfying dish popular for family Sunday dinners.
Ingredients
Equipment: Large pot, Mixing bowl, Piping bag or spoon, Baking dish
- 12–14 manicotti tubes (or crepes, as an alternative wrapper)
- 500 g (2 cups) ricotta
- 250 g (2 cups) shredded mozzarella, divided
- 80 g (1 cup) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 600 g (21 oz) tomato passata or marinara sauce
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the manicotti tubes just until pliable, slightly under package directions (they will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and lay flat to cool.
- In a bowl, combine the ricotta, half the mozzarella, half the Parmigiano, the egg, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper, mixing until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the base of a baking dish.
- Fill a piping bag with the ricotta mixture and pipe into each cooked manicotti tube.
- Arrange the filled tubes in the baking dish and pour the remaining sauce over the top.
- Scatter with the remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake a further 10–15 minutes until bubbling and golden.
- Rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.
Chef Tips
- Undercook the pasta tubes slightly before filling — they finish cooking in the oven and can become too soft if fully cooked beforehand.
- A piping bag makes filling the delicate tubes far easier and cleaner than a spoon.
- Fresh herbs make a noticeable difference in the filling compared to dried alone.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Fully cooking the pasta before baking, resulting in overly soft, fragile tubes.
- Overfilling the tubes, causing them to split.
- Using low-moisture pre-shredded mozzarella straight from a bag with anti-caking agents, which can affect melt quality — freshly shredded is best.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- A good source of calcium and protein from the cheeses.
- Vegetarian-friendly comfort dish.
Cultural Note
Manicotti is more commonly associated with Italian-American home cooking than with a single specific region of Italy, evolving from various stuffed-pasta traditions brought by Southern Italian immigrants.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze baked or unbaked for up to 2 months.
Reheating: Reheat covered in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 20 minutes until warmed through.
Serve with: A simple green salad, Garlic bread, A light Chianti