I have Manicotti Recipes to fill your days!
It starts with the fillings. You can edit the filling however you want to create different manicotti recipes.
– sausage, spinach, mozzarella and ricotta
– ham, spinach, mozzarella and ricotta
– pancetta, mushroom, spinach, mozzarella and ricotta
– ground veal, spinach, mozzarella and ricotta
– pumpkin and goat cheese
Manicotti vs Cannelloni:
It’s confusing. There are opinions, stories, and myths. It’s been my understanding that cannelloni are smooth dried tubes that are filled with meat and cheese or whatever was left over from the night before. And that manicotti are similar to crespelle, which you find all over Italy but somehow that translated into manicotti in the USA.
To continue the confusion dried tubes with ridges are sold as manicotti and smooth tubes are sold as cannelloni in the USA. Note that you will not find manicotti on a menu in Italy but you will find cannelloni and crespelle.
The manicotti recipe I have below is the “crespelle” version. Crespelle are Italian crepes that are filled with different varieties of meat and cheeses. Both styles are good and if you have never made the crespelle version of manicotti you should give it a go! Something different, a fun adventure in the kitchen. Why not?
Link to my video (IGTV Channel @carriepacini): Manicotti Video
PrintManicotti Recipes
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
- Category: Meal
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Pasta Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup water
pinch of salt
Filling Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
4 oz deli ham, cut into small pieces
4 oz mozzarella cubed into small pieces
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Red Sauce:
3 cups of your favorite red sauce
Béchamel Ingredients:
2 cups milk (2% or whole)
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Filling: In a bowl mix ham, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, parsley, 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste.
- Pasta: Whisk together, flour, egg, salt and water. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Béchamel sauce: Heat up milk in a saucepan with the bay leaf. Add the butter and whisk. Add the flour and continue to whisk while bringing the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture is thick like a gravy and smooth whisk in the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and 1 tsp of nutmeg. Set aside.
- Pasta: Heat a non-stick 8″ skillet, add about 3 tablespoons of the pasta batter and swirl to cover the bottom like a pancake. Turn out onto parchment paper and continue to make the rest of the pasta.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour a little red sauce and béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish, set aside.
- Place 2 tablespoons of the filling into the pasta and seal up, placing each one seam side down into the baking dish.
- Pour the remaining red sauce and béchamel over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan.
- Bake until heated and dish is bubbling (about 20 min).
- Garnish with remaining parsley.
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