Easy Vegetarian Spinach and Cheese Manicotti Recipe
This No-Boil Baked Manicotti Recipe is a Sunday night dinner worthy meal that’s easy enough to throw together on a busy weeknight! The secret to getting this manicotti recipe on the table in just over an hour? Don’t boil the manicotti noodles before filling them! That’s right friends! You can prep this cheesy vegetarian dish in just 10 minutes!!
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You Will Love This
- It’s a NO BOIL pasta dinner. You might be wondering if you need to boil the manicotti noodles before baking this delicious pasta dish… I have good news for you – the answer is NO! The sauce/water mixture is going to do all the work for you – which means fewer dishes for you to wash AND less prep time. You’ll end up with perfectly al dente pasta; no boiling required! Be sure to serve it with my super easy garlic bread recipe or a simple salad!
- The flavors are amazing. The cheesy spinach filling is the star in this baked manicotti! The trifecta of basil pesto, herbs, and spices comes together to give the filling a boost of bold flavor and that nutty Parmesan rounds everything out. Bland, boring stuffed pasta dishes are a thing of the past with this flavor-forward cheese manicotti!
- It takes about an hour from start to finish, but most of that time is baking in the oven! The best part about this spinach manicotti is that it screams SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER but it’s filled with staple ingredients and takes just inutes to throw together!
- If you loved this no boil manicotti, be sure to check out my Easy No Boil Lasagna, my No Boil Pasta Dinner, or my One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Spaghetti Sauce – Use homemade spaghetti sauce or your favorite store bought sauce. Marinara or any pasta sauce will work!
- Water – The water combines with the pasta to create the perfect amount of moisture to cook the noodles right in the sauce so you don’t have to boil them or rinse them with cold water!
- Uncooked Manicotti – You should be able to find these pasta tubes at pretty much any grocery store near the other pastas.
- Fresh Spinach – Be to use fresh and not frozen. Frozen spinach will release too much moisture into the pasta dish.
- Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese – Use whole milk cheese instead of part skim for the best flavor and texture.
- Shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan – I love the mix of mozzarella and Parmesan for this baked manicotti. It gives you the melty, gooiness from the mozzarella and the salty, nutty flavor from the Parmesan.
- Egg – The large egg helps to bind the filling together and give it a creamy texture. You can omit it if you don’t have any on hand though.
- Basil Pesto – If you want to make your own, I have a delicious homemade pesto recipe but store bought will work just fine as well.
Instructions
Mix spaghetti sauce and water until well combined. Set aside. Add chopped spinach, ricotta, half the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, egg, pesto, oregano, garlic powder, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper to a large bowl.
Mix until well combined.
Spread half the tomato sauce in an even layer in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish or this large saute pan.
Transfer spinach and cheese mixture to a piping bag, cut the tip off and fill noodles. Nestle filled manicotti into the baking dish in a single layer.
Cover manicotti with remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle with remaining shredded mozzarella.
Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for about 50 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Let rest and garnish with fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan and enjoy this manicotti baked to perfection!
How to Stuff Manicotti
- In this stuffed manicotti recipe, you do NOT need to cook the manicotti shells before baking. It’s easier to stuff the manicotti without breaking it when the noodles are UNCOOKED. It’s also easier to work with uncooked noodles than try to manipulate and fill boiled limp noodles! The sauce does all the work in cooking the pasta in this dish so that you don’t have to.
- Transferring the cheesy filling to a piping bag or Ziploc bag will make the filling process super easy! Then when you’re ready to fill, just snip off the end of the piping bag with sharp scissors.
- Make sure the opening that you cut on your piping bag is about as large as the opening of the manicotti noodle or just slightly smaller so you can easily pipe the filling into the noodles.
- If you don’t have a piping bag you can totally use a small spoon or spatula (or even just your hands) as well.
- Pipe the filling into one end of the noodle, then flip the noodle and fill the other side. This technique will ensure that the entire inside of the noodle is filled.
- Don’t overstuff the noodles. There is just enough filling to fill all 14 of the noodles. If you overstuff them, chances are good you won’t have enough filling to fill all of them.
- If you want to add some protein feel free to add cooked ground beef, ground turkey, Italian sausage, or turkey sausage to the tomato sauce!
Tips
- If you’re using jarred spaghetti sauce for this manicotti recipe, pour your spaghetti sauce into a medium bowl. Add 1 cup water to the jar, twist the lid back on, and gently shake to loosen any extra sauce. Then pour the water from the jar into the medium bowl and mix to combine the sauce and water. This will ensure that you clean every last bit of sauce out of the jar!
- Don’t worry if it looks like too much sauce when you assemble the cheese manicotti. Trust me it’s not! The moisture from the sauce/water mixture is what’s going to cook the noodles so the baked manicotti needs to be real saucy in the beginning. After about an hour in the oven, a lot of the sauce will be absorbed into the pasta.
Manicotti vs. Cannelloni
- Manicotti and cannelloni are different noodles but can be filled with the same cheesy ricotta filling! You can use either for this recipe and you’ll end up with very similar results.
- Manicotti noodles are large tubes of pasta that are cut at an angle on each end. To me, they look like large penne noodles. Manicotti has ridges on the outside giving them a very distinct texture that lets the sauce nestle into every nook and cranny of the noodle.
- Cannelloni is traditionally made with thin sheets of fresh pasta that are wrapped around a cheesy filling, creating a very similar shape to manicotti, but with a different process. The ends of cannelloni are also straight across instead of cut at an angle like manicotti. I’ve even heard of folks using lasagna noodles to make cannelloni which I’m sure has some Italians rolling over in their graves!
- However, you’ll most likely see cannelloni as an already rolled, tubular dried noodle in a box that you can purchase at your grocery store or on Amazon.
- The key difference between manicotti and cannelloni noodles is that manicotti has distinct ridges while cannelloni noodles are smooth in texture. But they are essentially both large tubular pasta that will taste great when stuffed with a cheesy spinach filling and slathered in spaghetti sauce.
Manicotti vs. Stuffed Shells
- Another familiar pasta shape that’s often stuffed is jumbo shells! This is my favorite No Boil Stuffed Shells Recipe – I’m sure you’ll love it too!
- Stuffed shells are basically just huge shell noodles that are stuffed with whatever you’d like – cheese, spinach, ricotta – and baked in spaghetti sauce with more cheese on top. They are normally boiled before they’re stuffed but as you’ll see in my easy Stuffed Shells Recipe, the step of boiling is really not necessary!
- Manicotti, cannelloni, and stuffed shells are basically just different pasta shapes that can be filled with the same filling. Honestly, I’d be hard-pressed to decide which one is my favorite because they are all delicious and I’m not one to discriminate against any kind of noodle!
FAQ
What are some side dishes that go well with manicotti pasta?
My family favorites to serve with this no boil manicotti include: Easy Garlic Bread, Cheesy Caprese Garlic Bread, and Cheesy Olive Garlic Bread. I also love to serve it with a Simple Beet Salad, Peppery Arugula Salad, or Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad.
What is the best recipe for manicotti?
This one! My no-boil manicotti recipe is SO quick and easy! It’s loaded with tons of flavor from simple pantry ingredients and it takes just minutes to prepare. This one will quickly become a family favorite in your dinner rotation.
Family Favorite Pasta Recipes
Did you love this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
No Boil Baked Manicotti Recipe
This No Boil Baked Manicotti Recipe is a Sunday night dinner worthy meal that’s easy enough to throw together on a busy weeknight! The secret to getting this manicotti recipe on the table in just over an hour? Don’t boil the manicotti noodles before filling them! That’s right friends! You can prep this cheesy vegetarian dish in just 10 minutes!!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 14 manicotti 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 24 oz. (3 cups) spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup water
- 8 oz. uncooked manicotti noodles
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 16 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
- 12 oz. shredded mozzarella
- 5 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix spaghetti sauce and water until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine chopped spinach, ricotta, a third of the mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, pesto, oregano, garlic powder, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.
- Transfer to a piping bag (a gallon Ziploc baggy works well too).
- Spread half the spaghetti sauce mixture in an even layer in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Cut the tip off your piping bag about the width of the manicotti noodles. Fill each noodle with filling.
- Nestle filled manicotti into the baking dish. Then pour the remaining sauce in an even layer on top of the noodles.
- Top manicotti with remaining shredded mozzarella. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for about 50 minutes or until the noodles are just about cooked through.
- Remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the noodles are al dente. Broil on high for a minute or so if desired.
- Let rest for a few minutes before garnishing and serving. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan and enjoy!
Notes
- If you’re using jarred spaghetti sauce, pour your spaghetti sauce into a medium bowl. Add 1 cup water to the jar, twist the lid back on, and gently shake to loosen any extra sauce. Then pour the water from the jar into the medium bowl and mix to combine the sauce and water. This will ensure that you clean every last bit of sauce out of the jar!
- Don’t worry if it looks like too much sauce when you assemble the cheese manicotti. Trust me it’s not! The moisture from the sauce/water mixture is what’s going to cook the noodles so the baked manicotti needs to be real saucy in the beginning. After about an hour in the oven, a lot of the sauce will be absorbed into the pasta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 manicotti
- Calories: 238
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 537.6 mg
- Fat: 10.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.6 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 16.4 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
This recipe was originally shared in May 2018. It has been updated to include process shots, tips for making the dish perfectly, and an improved recipe in October 2021.
Can these be prepped the night before?
Yes! Prep the night before and store in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Great idea, Missy!
Everyone LOVED this recipe. Easy and fast to make. I baked it right away
( covered ) and it was ready in 40 minutes. Thank you!!!
Woohoo! Love to hear that, Melissa 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!!
This really is THE BEST no-cook stuffed pasta recipe. So easy and comes our perfect every time. The basil pesto is what makes the flavor so much better than those without. I make my own basil pesto and freeze it in mini muffin trays (about 1 tbsp each) then pop out and store in a freezer bag so I can grab as many as I need any time. This recipe is asked for by my family more times than any other and I have shared the link with so many. Thank you for the most awesome recipe!!
You are so sweet, Pattey! What a great feeling to have your family appreciate what you’re making and enjoy it! Basil pesto is totally the secret weapon that makes this a cut above the rest. That and not having to boil the manicotti before baking! Thank you so much for your kind words – I’m really glad you enjoyed this no boil manicotti recipe!
We really enjoyed this! I didn’t have the pesto but it wasn’t missed. We aren’t vegetarian so I added a half pound cooked sausage and a half pound cooked ground beef to the filling. This filled around 20 shells.
I’m so glad to hear that this recipe worked well for your Meghan! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and sharing what worked for you. I really appreciate it 🙂
How many manicotti in a serving?
The nutrition facts are based on 1 manicotti. Great question, Rose!
Does it works for air fryer too?
I don’t think this recipe is best suited for the air fryer unfortunately.
I love this recipe – THANK YOU so much!! 💕💕 It’s great as is although I was experimenting with it and use marinara sauce on the bottom then top with Alfredo sauce. The combination is amazing. I also have been changing up the cheese. Thanks again for a fantastic recipe that comes together so easily and freezes well too. I divided cooked manicotti (2 of them) into a Ziploc baggie, then into the freezer they go.💕
OH my gosh what an amazing idea, Brenda! I bet that flavor combination was delicious. I am going to try that next time I make this cheesy manicotti!
I made this today so easy peasy!
I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about not boiling the manicotti first.
They turned out fantastic.
I used a 9 x 13 glass pan and substituted Italian seasoning for the oregano.
Thank you so very much for this recipe. It will be a favorite of mine!
Woohoo! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe worked well for you, Brenda! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Hi I would like to use a sausage stuffing any ideas for me?
That sounds delicious! You could either add the stuffing to the sauce which might be easiest, or you could add it right to the filling mixture. Just be sure to cook it before you add it to the dish. Can’t wait to hear what you think if you try it!
I have made this recipe at least 6 times now. Very quick and easy. Tasty too my kids love this when I make it. Teaching my son how to cook. This is definitely one recipe
I will teach him.
Can the manicotti noodles be stuffed ahead and frozen? Would you add sauce after thawing on day of use?
I think that could work! I haven’t tried it before, but it seems like it’d be worth a shot. Thawing overnight and then adding the sauce before baking would definitely be the way to go. Great question, Lynn!
I have made this twice now. Always loved manicotti, but always had trouble filling it. I replaced the egg with a bit of corn starch to make it completely vegetarian. After filling, had some left over so covered tightly and froze some and when I used again, thawed and made as in the original recipe. It has always been a hit. Making it for a Thanksgiving potluck next week.
I have to admit this was as good tasting as it was easy. I make my own sauce ahead and freeze which makes it an even easier meal. I not only impressed the kids, but I impressed myself too. Has any made any or all of this ahead?
We absolutely loved this recipe – easy and delicious! I was so pleased that it called for fresh spinach and I loved the addition of the basil pesto in the filling. Best of all — the noodles were cooked perfectly! This will be my go-to recipe from now on.