This is a huge pan full of warm comfort. This Manicotti is not only delicious, but it will feed a crowd and pack a nutrient punch. Ya’ll know how I feel about spinach.
SAUSAGE AND SPINACH MANICOTTI
My husband doesn’t love ricotta, so I use a combo of ricotta and cottage cheese. If you’re not a hater, by all means go full ricotta. Just make sure to have a total of 2 cups of gooey cheese.
The spinach is optional, but highly encouraged. There will never be another time in your life when you will enjoy eating spinach this much.
Ingredients
- 12 Large dried manicotti shells
- 1 lb ground Italian Sausage* (Hot or Mild, whatever you prefer.)
- 1 5 oz. bag fresh baby spinach, chopped
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 cup ricotta cheese** (or 2 cups of ricotta if not using cottage cheese)
- 1 cup cottage cheese**
- 6-ish tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tbsp dried basil)
- 1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or line with foil (dull side up).
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Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels.
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Brown sausage in a pan. Once sausage is almost completely browned, wilt in the chopped spinach and remove from heat.
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For filling, combine sausage mixture, 3 cups mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese, and basil.
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Spoon filling into a large zip top bag and snip off a corner a bit smaller than the opening of the pasta shell. Carefully pipe filling into pasta shells until just filled.
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Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta.
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Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake Manicotti for 15 minutes and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
*Sub out sausage for ground beef, chicken, or pork instead!
**If you’re a fan of ricotta, feel free to skip the cottage cheese and use 2 cups of ricotta instead. Or vice versa! Just be sure to have 2 cups total.
