You’re going to need to sit down for this one.
Because tonight’s recipe is going to knock you off your feet!
Growing up, one of my favorite meals was my mom’s cheese manicotti: oversized tubes of pasta, stuffed with cheese and baked to bubbly golden grown perfection. I have fond memories of sitting on the kitchen counter as a little girl, and helping my mom stuff the manicotti noodles. I can still smell the yummy ricotta cheese and freshly boiled pasta.
So, as someone who’s primary love language is…cooking… I decided that I wanted to treat a special gentleman to my favorite childhood meal.
And let’s just say…they were a hit.
And the best part, is that this recipe makes a lot. So you can have leftovers for the week, plus some to pop in the freezer for weeks down the road!
Unfortunately, as with all roll-your-eyes-to-the-back-of-your-head delicious recipes, this is not Specific Carb Diet friendly…or gluten free…or vegan. BUT, it is something that is well worth the effort.
Here’s what you need: (Makes one pan (14 stuffed manicotti), enough for seven people — or two with a plethora of leftovers!)
1 box of manicotti noodles, cooked per package directions
1 pint ricotta cheese
1 8 oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese + 1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese for the top
2 eggs
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
4 Tbsp EVOO, divided
1 – 32oz jar of tomato sauce
Tools:
Large stock pot
Colander
Good Chef’s Knife
Large, nonstick pan
11 x 17 baking dish
Small spoon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook the manicotti noodles in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions. (Should be 7 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium sized mixing bowl, combing the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese, two eggs, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Mix well to combine.
Next, heat 2 Tbsp EVOO in a large, nonstick frying pan. Saute your onion and garlic with salt, pepper, and 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, until translucent. Then, add 2 more Tbsp EVOO and your ground turkey, and cook thoroughly, until there is no longer any pink. Finally, stir in your jar of pasta sauce, and set aside.
Next, spray the bottom of a 11×17 baking dish with olive oil cooking spray, and the spoon 1/4 cup of the turkey sauce mixture into the bottom of the pan and spread it out evenly.
Stuff each manicotti noodle with 3 Tbsp of the cheese mixture, and place the stuffed noodles in two even rows in your baking dish.
Once they are all stuffed, pour your turkey sauce mixture evenly over top, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, as well as any leftover ricotta cheese mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until bubbly and beautiful.
Serve two per person to start, along with a vegetable and salad! (I made roasted broccoli, yum!)
OH MY GOSH. This meal is fit for a king! Seriously, wow – what a treat!
Growing up, manicotti was always my favorite meal. There’s something so whimsically comforting about giant tubes of pasta stuffed with rich and creamy ricotta cheese! It melts in your mouth, and the tomato sauce just rounds it all out with this homey, hug-on-a-plate flavor from our imaginary Italian grandmother, or nona.
I’m telling you — close your eyes, take a bite, and you’ll be transported to a villa in Italy overlooking a vineyard. (Pre-COVID days, of course.)
And the leftovers are no joke. This is the gift that keeps on giving. Because, much like lasagna, it saves like a dream. Except this form of pasta/cheese/sauce — is incredibly fridge/freezer-friendly, as it’s already in individual servings: the manicotti noodles themselves!
So do yourself a favor: make this dish! I promise, your tastebuds will be singing!!!!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ITALIAN DISH? Pizza? Spaghetti? Fettuccini Alfredo? Minestrone soup? Let me know!
“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5
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71 responses to “Three Cheese Manicotti!”
Totally trying this! Also, been missing you. Been busy. Hugs my sweet friend.
Thanks Melissa! I hope you love it! I’ve missed you too my dear friend! Hugs and love xox
Yummy!!!
Thanks Laura! It was!! Hugs and love xox
Now this is something I will like, except I may use beef instead of turkey. I’m not too crazy for turkey excepts for breast or whole baked.
Thanks so much Alice!! Yes beef would work great too!! I hear ya! Hugs and love xox
So yummy! I was craving pasta today and I made Chicken Alfredo (my sauce was bought and the chicken pre-cooked). Pasta is one of my weaknesses and it is so comforting for me too! Peace and love sweet lady! 💚
Thank you so much KL! Oooh chicken Alfredo sounds lovely! I agree – comfort food!! Hugs and love xox
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I’m dreaming of manicotti for Chrsitmas…set that to whatever music you like.
Hahaha you’re too funny HJ! …with every shopping list I write. Where the ricotta cheese glistens and children listen to hear it bubbling in the ovennnnn 😋😁😎😂 thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
I’m the sort of person who feels like a master chef if I can make Jello… 😉 This looks waaay beyond me.
Thanks Mark! Hahaha oh my gosh you’re too funny. I used to be that way about instant oatmeal! I felt like a chef extraordinaire! Hugs and love xox
I may actually have to try this one…
I hope you do, Greg! It’s well worth the time! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
Wow. I hope that somebody was able to help you up.
Hahaha oh yes. Thankfully I was certainly helped up! I appreciate you stopping by my dear friend, JB! Hugs and love xox
Hugs and love to you your Caralynness.
xoxox 🙂 heheh
the manicotti looks delicious and easy to create, thanks for sharing
Thank you so much!! It actually is incredibly easy! And fun to stuff! And with two sets of hands working together, it goes by in a snap! Hugs and love xox
I know this has nothing to do with this post but can you please tell me if I sent the post about Russell Brand back successfully as I haven’t done it for a long time 😊
Oh sure thing. I will look into it! Thanks again Kenneth for passing that post along! Means a lot! Hugs and love xox
Yummy 😋😋
Thank you so much friend!! It really was a treat! 🙂 Hugs and love xox
Looks delicious but due to having Celiacs, you do not need to add this to my airlift. 🙂
Thanks! Ok I’ll leave this one out. However I believe there are gluten free manicotti noodles out there!! 🙂 Hugs and love xox
My mouth is watering! lol
Hahah thanks Kara! They were super yummy! Hugs and love xox
Looks yummy and yes I could imagine having some. I love spagatti. Thanks for sharing.
thank you so much Hannah! oh yes – Spaghetti is a classic! glad you stopped by! Hugs and love xox
Looks epic! I’ll post up a recipe someday. I do on insta. And kawaii, the photo, of the new A-Team in NYC. You were my perennial single person that made me feel better about being single and I’m single still and have lost love again. I don’t write so much about these things, but a bit jello, in hindi/urdu we say ‘nazar’ or ‘ill-intended gaze’, but mine isn’t that. God bless, Christmas will be beautiful, and I’ll be here, reading on wordpress, and writing, I promise. Pray you keep posting 😉
thank you so much! oh friend – don’t lose hope. love is out there for you! i totally believe that! and no worries, i will keep posting for sure! Hugs and love xox
Thank you, lady caralyn 🙂
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Yes I am praying for you guys to stay together Caralyn, you look so happy and I can see some chemistry between you just by looking at the photos. I will keep it in prayer.
Awww thank you so much 🙂 that is so sweet of you!!! I appreciate it!! Hugs and love xox
I love when you post about delicious food. Knowing your background it is just wonderful to see you enjoying and embracing feeding yourself Well. ^_^ I’m so happy you made it through to better days.
Awww thank you so much! Yes! Me too! I am so grateful to be able to enjoy and love food again!! It is a gift to nourish our bodies! Hugs and love xox
Did I some how miss a post about how you two met or is that upcoming?
Hi Melissa! Haha oh my gosh well I haven’t posted about that yet! But I’ve known him for seven years!! Haha Hugs and love xox
Ooooo ‘sneak attack’ of the heart!
Hahah yes you’re right!! Sneak attack indeed!
This looks delicious Caralyn! Manicotti is one of my favorite dishes (I love Italian food). I first tried it as a little girl when my grandma Vivian was in the hospital. I was scared and hungry, so she shared her dinner with me. Even a hospital can’t screw up this dish! Ever since then it’s been a favorite treat of mine. 💙
Thank you so much Emily! Me too – I love love love Italian food!! Aw what a special memory. Thanks for sharing! Hugs and love xox
Absolutely delicious! My mama made this when I was growing up too..I’ve made it for my family but then with one of my kiddos and I being gluten free we made our own little spin off and ditched the pasta noodles for us two and used roasted cauliflower in place…comforting enough to put you in a food coma!!!
Hi Ali! Thank you so much! Oh my gosh roasted cauliflower!! What an amazing idea! You know what – I honestly think cauliflower is a kitchen super power!! It’s so good and such a canvas!!! I’m going to try this next with zucchini noodles and try a zucchini “manicotti” roll up! Or you could try the gluten free lasagna noodles and do a roll up of sorts. They sell them on amazon … let me see if I can grab a link for ya! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
Oh yes that’s an awesome idea..thank you!!!
I’m excited to try too! Haha
https://amzn.to/2HM2lP4 there you go!!
Sweet!! Thanks so much!!
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Should the Pope happen upon this, he’s sure to declare it a sin. A tempting, indulgent bit of lingual carnality, a seduction of the senses and sure to blow your mind.
Hahaha oh my gosh you’re too funny! Thanks Hugs and love xox
I just wondered, with Halloween and all, what table top dreams our Pumpkin8r would present to this world as no pumpkin is sure to survive this lot. Halloween is killing off lots of innocent lives in the Pumpkin Patch, I believe. Last night, we even had the biggest orange coloured moon rising over the Saron mountain range just east of us and it reminded me of the Bing pic of a pumpkin field in the USA. Just large orange mounds of vegetable matter.
Hmmm 🤔
Looking too yumm😊💟
Thank you so much!! 🙂 Hugs and love xox
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Ohh!! This looks absolutely amazing…
Thank you so much!! Oh my gosh they were!! Glad you stopped by! Hugs and love xox
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One of my favorite dishes to make and to eat!!!
Thanks Laura! Oh yes! Isn’t it such yummy comfort food?! Hugs and love xox
Yum.
Can I please come over to eat this?
hahah absolutely! i’ll set you a place at the table 🙂 hehe thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
Wow! it all looks very tasty! I’ve been looking for a great manicotti recipe! Thanks, Caralyn! You Rock!!